This is

as days pass by, by Stuart Langridge

. Here I write about many things. In the past I wrote about other things but the past is past. I write code for people to play with, I write about my life on Twitter, and I write here.

On I wrote Make 3D DVD covers with Linux and the Gimp, on the subject of Linux.

There's this whole big community of people out there making custom covers for their DVDs. These covers are really pretty, most of the time. People work on them for days and days and days, and then release them to the amazement of the community. However, when they do release them, they don't normally demonstrate them by just showing people the cover image; instead, they show a pretty drop-shadowed 3D view of the cover instead, looking like it's in a DVD case. To get that 3D view they tend to use either IMANDIX Cover, a closed-source Windows-only program, or a Photoshop Action (which is a plugin for a closed-source program available only on closed-source operating systems). We in the Free Software community need to get some of that 3D DVD cover action! We need to be able to turn into Well, now you can. Grab dvdcoverdisplayer.py and store it in the .gimp2.2/plug-ins/ directory in your home directory, and then make it executable. Then, get yourself a DVD cover image from somewhere, open it in the Gimp, and click Python-Fu > DVD Cover to get the pretty 3D version. GPL-licenced. I'd be interested in suggestions for other "views" it should do. Now I have one more reason to suggest to people that they can use the Gimp and move away from Windows.
mrben

Wow!

Very cool

Alan Pope

That's really nice, like it.

How about one that just shows the edge and front/back? The kind of picture you get for box-art when you browse software stalls in online stores.. As an example go to http://ebuyer.com/ and click "software" on the menu at the top. They pretty much all use this view.

Would be good for showing off the box even if your product is delivered as an ISO image with no box and/or manual included.. :D

Michael Sheldon

Looks great, a book view would be nice too.

OnCallBald

Nice work Mr Aq

sil

Michael: what does a "book view" look like?

Michael Sheldon

Like a book ;)

See: http://www.erynn.ca/assets/temp/book%20cover%2024%203D.gif

(Sorry for the crappy book subject, just googled for something suitable)

Basically a box with a slightly altered top section.

olseda

How about a version that will run on a mac? maybe.

--cheers

olseda

sil

olseda: the Gimp runs on Macs.

Dkid

Does this only work with Ubuntu?

sil

Dkid: it shouldn't do. However, it hasn't been touched in a while so it might not work in newer versions of the Gimp...

Dkid

How do you make it executable .. :|

sil

Dkid: right click the file, say Properties, and then look under Permissions.

Dkid

Hey, erm sorry bout all these questions but where can you find the python_fu

sil

Ubuntu: Add/Remove Programs, search for gimp-python

Debian: apt-get install gimp-python

Other distros, I can't help you with, I'm afraid.

Businessrealmz

good work.

do you mean about 3d that it can be rotated at any angle or can be viewed only in 3 angle. since youre looking for a suggestion i suggest have a video demo in yuotube.

mixi

just remember to run a : chmod +xr dvdcoverdisplay.py

zack

cool. demonstrate on you tube.

zack

i love it

Charles Edward Pax

I just tried it and it's so very cool!

Just so everyone knows, in my Ubuntu 7.04 install the directory should be ".gimp-2.2/plug-ins/" not ".gimp2.2/plug-ins/".

Also, the forum thread I started with my DVD cover design can be found at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=38345.

I'm going to post about this script right now.

André

Hi, I've got Gimp for Mac OSX. I'm wondering if you could post up an executable version of dvdcoverdisplayer.py for me to install?

sil

André: I'm afraid not -- as far as I'm aware it requires the gimp-python plugin. I don't know if that's available for OS X; the #gimp IRC channel might be able to help with that?

I like Balloons and cheese

i can't get this to work, their is no permission under the properties to make in executable so i just changed the extension to .exe and it still won't work. Help

sil

OK, if there's nothing in the permissions section, then try opening a terminal window and typing:


chmod +x ~/.gimp2.2/plug-ins/dvdcoverdisplayer.py


and that should do it.

Rob

Looks very nice here, but can get it to work using Gimp 2.4.6 in Ubuntu heron hardy. I installed the plugin in the /.gimp-2.4/plug-ins folder and made it executable, but in Python-Fu now show.

Please help.

Erica

This sounds like some awesome software.

Aristo

Hey this is an awesome script. And you got admirers way into 2009 :)

Could you maybe help get a gimp command line script for multiple cover creation.

Maybe something like, collect all files in folder, and running this script in all of them, and then saving them in a new dvd cover folder? batch process the files, it would be truly awesome. :D

Aristo

and, forgot .. any chance that the background can have transparency rather than a plain white? It would be nice to see the picture blend in with the background.

sil

Aristo: cor, I've got no idea; I haven't touched this script in years...

gruz

Thanks a lot! Cold not find any 3D-box maker for Linux. So had to use this one. I'm quite happy with it now (-:

http://gruz.org.ua/images/stories/2011/12/notifyarticlesubmit_box.png

This website belongs to Stuart Langridge. Contact details are available. Don't eat yellow snow. Valid HTML5, at least in theory, except for the bits that aren't because I'm that futuristic that I'm ahead of the spec, oh yes. HTML5 help from Bruce Lawson, among others. Fonts from the superb FontSquirrel. End.