Exercise 4.1 The following filters manage tilability:

The filters in the Image: Filters > Render menu are especially useful for generating textures. See Chapter 17 for more details.

Exercise 4.2 Oilify was used the second time to soften the curve. If you skip it, edge detection generates an angular pattern. You could try using artistic filters other than Oilify and Cubism in GIMPressionist. For example, you could replace IWarp with another distort filter, such as Waves, to create a pattern with strong central symmetry that disappears if you then apply a filter like Cubism.

Exercise 4.4 You’ll find a good tutorial on the GIMP User Group website: http://gug.criticalhit.dk/tutorials/ronq1/. This tutorial uses an old version of GIMP, but adapting the instructions for later versions is not difficult.

Exercise 4.7 The image generated by the script contains three layers above a white background. The logo is on the top layer, the shadow is on the second layer, and the reflection is on the third layer. This third layer also contains a layer mask with a horizontal gradient, which is used to make the reflection paler. To create the shadow, use the technique described in Proper Shade vs. Cast Shadow. To create the reflection, simply flip a copy of the logo horizontally and move it into place. The relief on the logo itself can be added by using a combination of the Emboss and Bump Map filters.