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How to Flip, Mirror and Reverse Images in GIMP Editor

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free and open-source image editor that allows you to edit, retouch, and manipulate images. It has a wide range of tools and features that enable you to flip, mirror, and reverse images.

Why Flip, Mirror or Reverse an Image

There are several reasons you may want to flip, mirror or reverse an image in GIMP:

  • To create symmetrical designs, patterns or drawings
  • To correct the orientation of scanned documents or photos
  • To achieve a mirrored reflection effect
  • For fun – to see the opposite or backwards version of an image
  • As part of making composite images or photomontages
  • As part of preparing images for 3D rendering

Ways to Flip or Mirror in GIMP

GIMP provides three main ways to flip or mirror an image:

1. Flip and Rotate Tools

  • Use the Flip Tools to flip an image vertically or horizontally
  • Use the Rotate Tools to rotate an image 90, 180 or 270 degrees

2. The Transform Tool

  • Provides options to flip, rotate and perspective distort the image

3. The Mirror Tool

  • Creates mirrored reflections of an image

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to flip, mirror or reverse images in GIMP:

Flip Image Horizontally

  1. Open the image you want to flip in GIMP
  2. Select the Layer > Transform > Flip Horizontally menu option
  3. The image will now be flipped horizontally

Flip Image Vertically

  1. Open the image you want to flip in GIMP
  2. Go to Layer > Transform > Flip Vertically
  3. The image will now be flipped vertically

Rotate Image 90 Degrees

  1. Open the image you want to rotate in GIMP
  2. Go to Image > Transform > Rotate 90° CW to rotate the image clockwise 90 degrees
  3. Use Rotate 90° CCW to rotate the image counter-clockwise

Rotate 180 Degrees

  1. Open the image you want to rotate in GIMP
  2. Go to Image > Transform > Rotate 180°
  3. The image will now be rotated 180 degrees, completely upside down

Mirror Image Horizontally

  1. Open the image you want to mirror in GIMP
  2. Select the Mirror Tool from the toolbox
  3. In the Tool Options, set the Orientation to Horizontal
  4. Click and drag across the image to create a horizontal mirror reflection

Mirror Image Vertically

  1. Open the image you want to mirror in GIMP
  2. Select the Mirror Tool from the toolbox
  3. In the Tool Options, set the Orientation to Vertical
  4. Click and drag across the image to create a vertical mirror reflection

Reverse Image

  1. Open the image you want to reverse in GIMP
  2. Go to Colors > Invert to reverse all the colors in the image
  3. This will create the visual effect of reversing the image

Tips

  • Use the Transform Tool to flip, rotate, skew, and perspective distort images
  • Adjust the spacing in the Tool Options of the Mirror Tool to create tiled effects
  • Use Layer Masks if you only want to flip or mirror part of the image
  • Save the transformed image to preserve the changes

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