The Dodge or Burn Tool

The Dodge or Burn Tool, located lastly in the Gimp Tool box, allows users to either lighten (dodge) or darken (burn) strokes of the image they are working with. This tool comes in handy when only part of the image or photograph is too dark or too light.

In the Dodge/Burn Options Box, there are options that are very similar to some of the options with the Blurring, Sharpening, and Smudging Tools. First, set the Opacity and Brush Size of the Dodge or Burn. Next, you have the Pressure Sensitivity options that you can choose from. Here, the Opacity and Hardness have been selected.

In the Type section of the Dodge/Burn Options Box, there is the choice to Dodge or to Burn. Remember Dodge means lighten and Burn means darken. Notice here the choice is to Dodge. In the Mode section of the Options Box, Midtones are selected. Shadows or Highlights may also be selected. Lastly, set the Exposure to complete the settings.

In the example of the Dodge or Burn Tool, the dodge tool is used to lighten a part of the image.

The green pasture in the photograph become lighter colored by clicking and dragging in the pasture after choosing the settings in the Dodge/Burn Options Box.

By choosing the Burn option in the Dodge/Burn Options Box, the pasture would become a darker green color.