I was playing around with gimp and came up with this:
So before I forgot I thought I'd post how I'd gotten to that point. Because of the way I created the drop, it is possible to have different levels of transparency and different hues for the drop.
So here's how to do it:
First, open gimp and make a picture at your choice of resolution. I suggest 512x512.
1. Create a new, transparent layer, and call it "full drop". You'll need to create a white drop-like shape. You can make your own, or use mine, right here. If you're using mine, open it as a layer.
2. Copy the full drop layer, call the layer "Drop Color", select the drop with the magic wand and fill it with a shade of slightly less saturated blue; you can change this later.
3. Create another empty layer, call it "Outer Shadow." Use the magic wand to select the shape of the drop from the full drop layer, and shrink it by 10-15 pixels. Invert the selection, and feather it by about 25 pixels. Make sure you're working on the Outer shadow layer, and fill it with black.
4. Now reselect the form of the drop, and invert the selection. In the color menu, click Color to Alpha. Make the color in the dialog box black, and hit okay. If you did that correctly, there should be a black outline around the drop, fading as it moves inwards. Hide the Full drop layer for now. Set outer shadow layer mode to normal, opacity ~25%.
5. Make a new layer, call it Refract, and select it. Select a small ellipse about 1/3 the size of the round bottom part of the drop. Feather it by about 80 - 120 pixels. There should be no dotted line anymore, but the selection is still there. Fill it white. Set layer mode to normal, opacity ~65%.
6. Create a new layer, called Light. Select a long thin-ish rectangle about 1/4 - 1/5 the height of the drop. Shrink it about 10 pixels, then Grow it 10 pixels to round it out nicely. Feather it so that the feathered selection is half the original area of the unfeathered selection. Fill it white. Position it where I did in my example drop (or experiment
), by rotating and moving the layer. Set the layer mode to overlay, opacity 100%.
7. Apply a layer mask to the drop color layer, reset your colors to black foreground, white background. Click the gradient tool, and set it to radial. Set the opacity to about 75%, and click about in the center of the dot and drag outwards past the tip about 50-100 pixels. Your color layer should be translucent in the center and heavier around the edges. Set the layer mode to normal, 100%.
8. Make all the layers visible, set full drop layer mode to overlay, 100%.
Sorry I couldn't describe this in more detail, I've run out of time. I'll post more pic later.
-Alex
EDIT: I know the template drop pic looks blank; it isn't. Right click it, download, and open it as a layer with a transparent background. It should be there.
So before I forgot I thought I'd post how I'd gotten to that point. Because of the way I created the drop, it is possible to have different levels of transparency and different hues for the drop.
So here's how to do it:
First, open gimp and make a picture at your choice of resolution. I suggest 512x512.
1. Create a new, transparent layer, and call it "full drop". You'll need to create a white drop-like shape. You can make your own, or use mine, right here. If you're using mine, open it as a layer.
2. Copy the full drop layer, call the layer "Drop Color", select the drop with the magic wand and fill it with a shade of slightly less saturated blue; you can change this later.
3. Create another empty layer, call it "Outer Shadow." Use the magic wand to select the shape of the drop from the full drop layer, and shrink it by 10-15 pixels. Invert the selection, and feather it by about 25 pixels. Make sure you're working on the Outer shadow layer, and fill it with black.
4. Now reselect the form of the drop, and invert the selection. In the color menu, click Color to Alpha. Make the color in the dialog box black, and hit okay. If you did that correctly, there should be a black outline around the drop, fading as it moves inwards. Hide the Full drop layer for now. Set outer shadow layer mode to normal, opacity ~25%.
5. Make a new layer, call it Refract, and select it. Select a small ellipse about 1/3 the size of the round bottom part of the drop. Feather it by about 80 - 120 pixels. There should be no dotted line anymore, but the selection is still there. Fill it white. Set layer mode to normal, opacity ~65%.
6. Create a new layer, called Light. Select a long thin-ish rectangle about 1/4 - 1/5 the height of the drop. Shrink it about 10 pixels, then Grow it 10 pixels to round it out nicely. Feather it so that the feathered selection is half the original area of the unfeathered selection. Fill it white. Position it where I did in my example drop (or experiment
), by rotating and moving the layer. Set the layer mode to overlay, opacity 100%.7. Apply a layer mask to the drop color layer, reset your colors to black foreground, white background. Click the gradient tool, and set it to radial. Set the opacity to about 75%, and click about in the center of the dot and drag outwards past the tip about 50-100 pixels. Your color layer should be translucent in the center and heavier around the edges. Set the layer mode to normal, 100%.
8. Make all the layers visible, set full drop layer mode to overlay, 100%.
Sorry I couldn't describe this in more detail, I've run out of time. I'll post more pic later.
-Alex
EDIT: I know the template drop pic looks blank; it isn't. Right click it, download, and open it as a layer with a transparent background. It should be there.