[GIMP] Ink Bleed on Parchment?

[Sharpe]

Greetings!

So, I was in the process of making a handout for my table-top RPG group using RoBA's Old, Weathered Paper Tutorial when I decided that the ink on the parchment should look more realistic. It needs to bleed into the paper a bit.

Here it is as it sits now: http://imageshack.com/a/img538/3605/WE4h4u.jpg

Yes, I used CG's wood plank background. ;-)

Any tips or suggestions for making the lines look more realistic using GIMP? I tried some blur and distorting the edges, but it just didn't work out real well. The lines are so broad and flat. Hmmm . . . Maybe a pattern fill might work . . .

Thanks for the help!

[lostatsea]

There are several tutorials for ink bleed. Here. A simple way is to duplicate the ink layer, put it beneath the original ink layer, Blur the bottom ink layer(The bleed)try different amounts untill you get the "Spread" you want. Change the blend modes of both layers to multiply or Gimp equivalent. You also might want to blur the top ink slightly. and smear the edges slightly. That should get you in the ballpark of the effect you are looking for !

[Hai-Etlik]

Parchment and paper are made of very different materials and interact with ink in different ways as a result. Making up your mind as to which you are asking about is important.

[xpian]

Screw paper and parchment. Papyrus is where it's at. (as long as you don't mean the font. That's only for Na'vi subtitles.)

[Sharpe]

Whatever looks cool, I'm in favor of doing. :-)

[Dowly]

I saw this method in some tutorial (might have been here at CG).

Duplicate your ink layer twice, so you end up with 3 in total.

Bottom layer:
Blending mode - Grain Merge
Opacity - 65%
Gaussian Blur - 5px
Spread - 3px

Middle layer:
Blending mode - Grain Merge
Opacity - 60%
Spread - 5px
Gaussian Blur - 2px

Top layer:
Blending mode - Multiply
Opacity - 50-70%