How do I apply a bevel effect without the black edges?

[Neyjour]

Is it possible to apply a bevel effect without a black edge?

My maps all have a black border that's fairly thick. When I apply a bevel effect (to give the terrain edge a bit of height) the black parts of the beveling make the black border become even thicker (right arrow), which I don't like. What I want is to have the lighter/bright bevel effect (left arrow) around the entire terrain border, but Paint Shop Pro (the program I use) doesn't seem to have the ability to do that.

Is it at all possible in another (free) program? I do have the GIMP, but don't have much experience with it. I only use it periodically for cropping...


EDIT: I figured out a way to do this, but it's extremely time-consuming and tedious, so if anyone knows of a better way to achieve it, I'd still like to know please!

What I'm doing is:
1) Open the base terrain (without my black border) and duplicate the layer.
2) Apply the bevel to the duplicate.
3) With the Freehand selection tool, select a portion of the edge that's bright.
4) Invert the selection and delete.
5) Duplicate the original base terrain again and move it to the top layer.
6) Change the angle of light slightly until a portion of the edge (right next to the one I previously did) is bright.

Then repeat steps 2 > 6 over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

There has GOT to be a better way.

[Jacktannery]

The normal GIMP bevel tool won't help because it adds the layer of pale and dark directly to the layer. What you need is something that seperates all these out. Luckily...

1) use this script-fu Layer Effects | GIMP Plugin Registry
- Right-click on the link that says "layerfx.scm". A pop-up menu should appear. Click "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." or whatever the equivalent option in your browser is.
- Save the file "layerfx.scm" in your scripts folder. Should be in your computer/users/you/gimp 2.8/scripts.
- Once you have saved the file in your scripts folder, if you are already running GIMP, either click <Toolbox>/Xtns/Script-Fu/Refresh Scripts, or just close and reopen GIMP.
- If you have done this correctly, the scripts will appear in the menu under <Image>/Script-Fu/Layer Effects.

This script replicates several photoshop filters in the Gimp. One of them is called 'bevel and emboss'. When you use this bevel filter (instead of the normal gimp bevel filter) it separates the light and dark strokes on different layers with masks, so it is easy to manipulate. This should be what you need.

I advise however that you check out the 'inner glow' and 'outer glow' filters (also included in the above script-fu) as I think that's what you are looking for rather than a bevel. Photoshop has these also.

[Neyjour]

The normal GIMP bevel tool won't help because it adds the layer of pale and dark directly to the layer. What you need is something that seperates all these out. Luckily...

1) use this script-fu Layer Effects | GIMP Plugin Registry
- Right-click on the link that says "layerfx.scm". A pop-up menu should appear. Click "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." or whatever the equivalent option in your browser is.
- Save the file "layerfx.scm" in your scripts folder. Should be in your computer/users/you/gimp 2.8/scripts.
- Once you have saved the file in your scripts folder, if you are already running GIMP, either click <Toolbox>/Xtns/Script-Fu/Refresh Scripts, or just close and reopen GIMP.
- If you have done this correctly, the scripts will appear in the menu under <Image>/Script-Fu/Layer Effects.

This script replicates several photoshop filters in the Gimp. One of them is called 'bevel and emboss'. When you use this bevel filter (instead of the normal gimp bevel filter) it separates the light and dark strokes on different layers with masks, so it is easy to manipulate. This should be what you need.

I advise however that you check out the 'inner glow' and 'outer glow' filters (also included in the above script-fu) as I think that's what you are looking for rather than a bevel. Photoshop has these also.

Jack...thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!

That is exactly what I was hoping for (the bevel)! I'm playing around with the various settings right now. I LOVE that I can choose a colour (other than white) for the highlight and shadow colours, adjust the opacity, and choose a style for the bevel. So great! Thank you again!

[Jacktannery]

It's a pleasure Neyjour.