How to Sponge in GIMP

by Daniel Trump
The GIMP's user interface encourages experimentation.

The GIMP's user interface encourages experimentation.

Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images

From business cards to advertisements to websites, graphic design is indispensable for small businesses. Do-it-yourself business owners wary of pricey professional designers can turn to the GIMP, free-to-download software formally known as the GNU Image Manipulation Program, to create designs of their own. While GIMP mirrors the features of prominent -- and expensive -- graphic design software, it seems to lack a sponge feature, which typically increases the saturation of colors in an image. However, creative use of the GIMP's paintbrush tool serves the same purpose.

1. Click “File” and then “Open” to open the image you'd like to manipulate.

2. Select the paintbrush icon from GIMP's toolbox window.

3. Click the arrow on the drop-down Mode Menu in the paintbrush tool's options menu, which appears in the toolbox when the paintbrush is selected. Upon first opening, GIMP and selecting the paintbrush, the mode will be set to "Normal."

4. Choose “Saturation” from the Mode Menu.

5. Adjust the paintbrush's opacity using the slider in the tool's options menu. Start with about 10 percent opacity.

6. Change the color of the paintbrush by clicking the foreground color box, which starts as a black box when you open GIMP. In the “Change Foreground Color” window that appears when you click the black box, select a primary color such as red or blue. Selecting a non-primary color may result in image degradation, such as artifacting or pixelation.

7. Hover over the part of the image you'd like to manipulate; click and hold the left mouse button to paint. With these altered settings, the paintbrush will now increase the image's color saturation.

8. Adjust the opacity to your taste. A higher opacity increases the amount of color saturation while a lower opacity lessens the amount.


  • Choose black or white rather than a primary color to desaturate colors instead of saturating them.
  • To create a sponge-like texture, use the paintbrush in “Normal” mode with the color and opacity of your choice. Click the brush style icon, which starts as “Circle 50” when you select the paintbrush after first opening the GIMP. From the menu that appears, click on “Sponge 01” or “Sponge 02” and paint as usual.

Photo Credits

  • Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images
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