Everyone loves cookie, especially Oreo. It’s a good friend to watch football/soccer, watching your favorite movie or enjoying a quiet dusk with a cup of coffee. In the name of Oreo, let’s create a text that looks like pieces of cookies.

As you know, Oreo is a cookie that has three layers. For the top as well as the bottom layer, we are going to take advantage of a pattern called “recessed”, which is fortunately available in GIMP. In this tutorial, I am going to create a word of “OREO”, but you can create your preferred one if you want.

In order to make the cookie text looks a bit artistic, I will also add a little shadow so the text looks more alive. Let’s get started.

Bonus: Most essential GIMP shortcuts

• Launch GIMP and create a new file by going to File -> New. I use a 1024×768 image in this tutorial.

• Change the background color to blue (or other color you like). To do so, click on the foreground selector on the Toolbox panel.

• Click the Bucket Fill Tool on the Toolbox panel and make sure the Fill Type is FG color fill.

• With the Bucket Fill Tool selected, click anywhere on the canvas to apply the color.
• Click the Text Tool on the Toolbox panel to add your text. Use white as the color of your text.

• Use the Align Tool to set the position of your text. Having the text on the center area of the canvas would be great.
• With the Perspective Tool selected, set the perspective of your text.

• Click the text layer and go to Layer -> Layer to Image Size.

• With the text layer selected, go to Layer-> Transparency -> Alpha to Selection.
• Click the Bucket Fill Tool on the Toolbox panel and set the Fill Type to Pattern fill and select recessed for the pattern type.

• With the Bucket Fill Tool selected, click on the text area to apply the pattern.

• Crete a new transparent layer by going to Layer -> New Layer. Select Transparency on the appearing pop-up dialog.

• Change the foreground to black.

• Click the Bucket Fill Tool on the Toolbox panel and restore the Fill Type to FG color fill.

• With the Bucket Fill Tool selected, click on the text area.

• Go to Select -> None.
• Select the top layer and change its opacity to about 65 until you get cookie texture.

• With the top layer selected, go to Image -> Merge Down to merge it with the text layer.
• Select the text layer and go to Layer -> Transparency -> Alpha to Selection.
• Go to Layer -> New Layer to create a new transparent layer. Select Transparency on the appearing pop-up dialog and give this new layer a name. In this example, I give it a “cream” name since we are going to use this layer for the cream layer of the cookie.

• Flip the foreground-background.

• With the Bucket Fill Tool selected, click on the text area to apply the white foreground.

• Go to Select -> None.
• Move the cream layer below the text layer.

• Select the cream layer and click the Move Tool on the Toolbox panel.
• Click the canvas and use the arrow down button on your keyboard to move the cream layer a little down.

• Duplicate the cream layer to 3 or 4.

• Disable the text layer and the background layer.

• Go to Image -> Merge Visible Layers. On the appearing pop-up dialog just select the Expanded as necessary option and click the Merge button.

• Now you only have three layers.

• Re-enable the text layer and the background layer.
• With the cream layer selected, go to Layer -> Transparency -> Alpha to Selection.
• Create a new transparent layer by going to Layer -> New Layer. Select Transparency on the appearing pop-up dialog and give this new layer a name. In this example, I give it a “bottom cookie” name since we are going to use this layer for the bottom layer of the cookie.

• Click the Bucket Fill Tool on the Toolbox panel and set the Fill Type to Pattern fill and select recessed.

• With Bucket Fill Tool selected, click on the text area to apply the pattern.

• Go to Select -> None.
• Move the “bottom cookie” layer below the cream layer.

• With the “bottom cookie” layer selected, click the Move Tool on the Toolbox panel.
• Click on the canvas and use the arrow down button on your keyboard to move the bottom cookie layer a little down.

• Duplicate the “bottom cookie” layer to 3 or 4.
• Disable the text layer, cream layer and background layer.

• Go Image -> Merge Visible Layers. On the appearing pop-up dialog just select the Expanded as necessary option and click the Merge button.
• Now you have only four layers.

• With the the “bottom cookie” layer selected, go to Layer -> Transparency -> Alpha to Selection.
• Create a new transparent layer by going to Layer -> New Layer and select Transparency on the pop-up dialog.
• Make sure the foreground color is black.

• Click the Bucket Fill Tool on the Toolbox panel and reset the Fill Type to FG color fill.

• With the Bucket Fill Tool selected, click on the text area.

• Go to Select -> None.
• With the new layer you have just created selected, set its opacity to about 65 (same as the top layer of the cookie).

• Disable the background layer and go to Image -> Merge Visible Layers. On the appearing pop-up dialog just select the Expanded as necessary option and click the Merge button.
• Now you only have two layers.

• Re-enable the background layer.

Until here, you have done with the cookie. As I said at the beginning, we will also add a shadow to make the cookie text looks more artistic. Follow these steps to add the shadow.

• Select the top layer and go Filters ->  Light and Shadow -> Drop Shadow.
• A pop-up dialog menu will appear. You can set the value of Offset X, Offset Y, Blur radius and Opacity. In this case, I leave all the values default. Click the OK button once you are done with the settings.

That’s it. Following is the example of cookie text I created.

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