How to Draw a Circle in Gimp

While there is no "Draw Circle" tool in GIMP, there are several ways you can create circles using the tools provided. The Path tool will create a vector circle that you can add a border to. You can use the Select tool to create a circular border from the Ellipse Select function. You can use that same basic function to create a solid circle with no border.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Creating a Bordered Circle with the Path Tool

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You'll find this in the upper-left corner of the Toolbox. It looks like an oval with a dashed border.^{[1]XResearch source}
By default, you'll be creating a freeform ellipse shape.
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Press and hold .⇧ Shift while dragging to make a circle. Holding ⇧ Shift after you start dragging will allow you to make a perfect circle instead of a freeform ellipse. If it doesn't work at first, you may need to start a new ellipse and try again.^{[2]XResearch source}
- If you need to make a circle of a specific size, use the "Size" fields in the bottom section of the Toolbox.
This will create a vector object from your circle.
The circle you created will seemingly disappear. This is normal.
Click the current foreground color in the Toolbox and select the color you want to use as the border for the circle.
A new window will appear. You'll be converting the circle to a
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Set the width of the circle border in the "Line width" field. By default, this will be pixels but you can change it to another unit of measurement.^{[3]XResearch source}
- You can choose to create the stroke with different tools for a more artistic effect.
The circle will be created with the border in the color and size you selected.
You can use the Bucket Fill Tool to fill the circle with a different color after creating it. Select the color you want to use from the color picker, then click inside the circle with the Bucket Fill Tool selected.^{[4]XResearch source}

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Creating a Bordered Circle with the Select Tool

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You'll find this in the upper-left corner of the Toolbox window. The button has an oval with a dotted border.^{[5]XResearch source}
The Ellipse tool can create ovals and circles.^{[6]XResearch source}
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Hold .⇧ Shift while dragging to make a perfect circle. The shape will snap into a perfect circle. If this isn't working correctly, try releasing and starting over, GIMP can be difficult at times. Make sure to not hold ⇧ Shift until after you start dragging.
- If you need to make the circle a specific size, use the "Size" fields in the "Tool Options" section of the Toolbox.
A new menu will appear which allows you to select the selection you just created, essentially allowing you to create an outline.^{[7]XResearch source}
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Enter the size you want to use for your circle border. For a thin border, enter "1" for a single-pixel border. Larger numbers will add that number of pixels to each side of the selection. For example, entering "2" will result in a border that is four pixels wide.^{[8]XResearch source}
- You can change the unit of measurement if you prefer working with different units.
Click the foreground color in the Toolbox and use the color picker to choose the color you want to use for the circle's border.
This will fill the circle's border with the color you selected. Your circle now has a border color and a transparent center.
You can use the Bucket Fill Tool to fill the circle with a different color if you want to. Select the color you want to use as the foreground color, then select the Bucket Fill Tool and click the inside of the circle.^{[9]XResearch source}

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Creating a Borderless Circle

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While this tool is normally creating an ellipse-shaped selection, you can use it to create circles as well. You'll find this tool in the upper-left corner of the Toolbox window.^{[10]XResearch source}
Click and drag on your canvas to begin creating an ellipse shape.^{[11]XResearch source}
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Hold .⇧ Shift after you start dragging to create a circle. This will snap the ellipse into a perfect circle shape. Make sure to keep holding ⇧ Shift as you release your mouse button. If this doesn't work properly the first time, try starting a new ellipse.
- You can specify the exact size of the circle by using the "Size" fields in the "Tool Options" section of the Toolbox. Make sure the height and width are the same to make a perfect circle.
Click the foreground color box in the Toolbox to open the color picker. This color will fill the circle. The circle will be borderless.
The circle will fill with the color you selected.

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How can I draw curvy lines in Gimp?
Vincenzo Pernice
Community Answer
Select "Paths tools". When you click two or more times in different spots of your document, you create a line between two points (be sure that you are in the correct layer). Then click on this line, and drag this as you want to modify it into a curvy line.
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Is it possible to draw three intersecting circles to create a coloured Venn diagram with GIMP?
Shaats Pvt. Ltd.
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Yes, it is possible to create a colored Venn diagram with three intersecting circles using GIMP, a popular image editing software.
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