Creating a logo is one of the common tasks a graphic designer will be asked to do, and this tutorial will walk you through all of the steps involved.

1.)  First, let’s create a new blank document. Click File > New or Press Ctrl+N.

A pop-up box will open.  Set your canvas size to 600x400 pixels then click OK.

2.)  Create a new layer by clicking the lower left icon on the Layer Dialog box. If you cannot locate the Layer Dialog box, go to Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Layers or Press Ctrl + L.

A pop-up box will appear where you have can adjust the layer settings.  Name the new layer “Ring”.  Set the Layer Fill Type to Transparency and then click OK.

3.)  Select the Elipse Select Tool by clicking the dashed oval icon located on the first upper row in the Toolbox or simply press E.

Create a circle that’s 250x250.  Click and drag anywhere on the canvas.  Press shift to adjust the dimensions so that you can create a perfect circle.  You can check the dimensions in the lower area of your window.

4.)  Click the foreground color in the Toolbox.

A pop-up box will then appear.  Type in 333333 in the HTML notation box. Click OK.

Go to the background color and make sure it’s white.

5.) Select the Blend Tool by clicking the icon highlighted below or simply press L.

Click the image of the gradient and select FG to BG (RGB) in the dropdown menu. This setting makes sure that the gradient is composed of your foreground and background colors.

Next, select the checkbox beside the gradient image to reverse the direction of the gradient.

Click the Shape option and select Radial.

Click the checkbox for Adaptive Supersampling.

Now, go back to your canvas.  Click and drag from the top to the bottom of the circle.

This is how your canvas should look like afterwards.

6.)  Now, go to Select > Shrink.

A pop-up box will appear. Shrink the selection by 25 pixels and click OK.

You’ll notice that the circle outlined by the animating dashed lines is now smaller than the first one you created.

7.)  Select the Blend Tool once again.

On your canvas, click and drag from the bottom to the top.

Your output should look similar to this.

8. Now, add a new layer.

A pop-up box will appear.  Name your layer Sphere.

Click Select > Shrink.

A pop-up box will appear.  Shrink the selection by 5 pixels and click OK.

This is how your canvas should look like afterwards. You’ll notice the animated circular outline is now a bit smaller than before.

9.)  Now, click the Bucket Paint Tool in the Toolbox or simply press Shift+B.

&Click the foreground color.

A pop-up box will appear.  Select any blue color or you can use the same shade I used.  Type in “216eda” for the HTML notation. Once you’re happy with your color, click OK.

On your canvas, click anywhere inside the animated circular outline.  The outline will be filled with the blue color you assigned.

Click your foreground color once again.  In the pop-up box, assign a cyan color.  You can use the same shade in this tutorial.  Type in 4feeff in the HTML notation.

In your toolbox, you’ll notice that the blue foreground color is now replaced with a cyan shade.

Click the blend tool once again.  Set the Gradient to FG to Transparent.

Deselect the Reverse option as well as the Adaptive Supersampling.

Create a gradient.  Start from a little above the lower end of the circle and create a line that’s 120 pixels long.  You can check the dimensions on the lower portion of the window.

Your image will now look similar to this.

10.) Now, change your foreground color to white.

Click the Brush Tool in the Toolbox or simple press P. Set the opacity to 70%.  Select the Circle Fuzzy (19) brush, and set the scale to 10.

Position the brush with the top half overlapping with the circle.  Click.

You’ll notice there’s a faded white shade coming from the bottom.

11.)  Add a new layer.

A pop-up box will open.  Name the new layer Gloss and click OK.

Click the Elipse Select Tool or press E.

Create an oval at the upper part of the cirlce.

In the Toolbox, select the Blend Tool or Press L.  Set the Gradient to FG to Transparent, the Offset to 0, and the Shape to Linear.

Click and drag from the top of the oval to the bottom.

You’ll have a white gradient from the top afterwards.

Set the opacity of the layer to 75%.

You’ll notice the gradient has become lighter and more discreet.

12.)  Next, let’s add text to the logo.  Select the Text Tool in the Toolbox by clicking the letter A icon or simply press T.  You can choose any font you want.  Just make sure you pick a big font enough font size so the text is noticeable.

Click anywhere in the canvas.  The Text Editor dialog box will appear.  Type in the initials you want to insert in your logo.  In this tutorial, I used “GS” to stand for GIMPShop.

Whatever you type in the Text Editor will reflect on the canvas.

However, you may notice that the letters don’t really blend in with the rest of the picture.  To fix this,  first click Select > None or press Shft+Ctrl+A.

Next, click Filters > Light and Shadow > Drop Shadow.

A pop up-box will appear.  Set the X and Y Offset to 0 and then click OK.

You’ll notice there’s now a shadow around the text that makes blend better with the rest of the elements.

13. Lastly, select the Background Layer in the Layer Dialog Box and set its opacity to 0.

Now, you have a transparent background.

Great!  Now you know how to create your own logo which you can use as your signature mark.  Watch out for more cool tutorials on the site!