In this tutorial, we will teach you how to work with the layer styles feature in Gimp. To work on this feature, we would have to install a plugin first. You can download the plugin from the following link:
registry.gimp.org/files/layer-effects_24_0.scm
You will notice that the file above has a "dot SCM" extension. This means it's a script file and will have to be installed accordingly.
For that, we will need to copy this script file and place it in the Gimp installation directory which would be the following:
C:\Program Files\GIMP 2\share\gimp\2.0\scripts
With that taken care of, let's start with the tutorial.

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Step 1 -- The Script Fu Option
After installing the script, open up gimp and you will notice the Script Fu option appearing at the top here. If you don't see any such option, simply move to the Filters menu and right at the bottom you will notice the Script Fu option. Move to that option and then click on the Refresh Scripts option. After doing that, you should see the Script Fu option appearing at the top, next to the Filters option.

Step 2 -- Adding the text
With the scripts installed successfully, you can go ahead and create a new document where the layer styles will be applied. First of all, pick up the text tool from the toolbox and insert some text on the canvas. We will be applying different styles on this text. For this tutorial, we have selected Gill Sans MT Bold for the font, keeping the size to 86 points.

Step 3 -- Using the Bevel and Emboss Layer Style
First, let's give this text a 3-dimensional look. For that, you would have to work with the highlights and shadows. Therefore, you would need to apply the Bevel and Emboss layer style. So open up the "Script Fu" menu at the top, move over to Layer Effects and select the Bevel and Emboss option.
When you click on the option, a new window will open up. Over here, keep the style to Outer Bevel. That will apply the effects to the outer edges of the text. Next, keep the depth option as it is and make sure the amount for size is not a high value. This size option actually refers to the size of the effect that will be applied on the layer. A smaller number will keep the effect closer to the edges of the text. Last of all, since our background is white here, we have kept black color for the shadow. You can work with different colors according to the composition you are working on but mostly the shadow color you'll end up using will be black.
You can click on the Ok button to apply the filter.

Step 4 -- Adding Drop Shadow
For the next filter, let's see how the drop shadow effect works. First, make sure that the layer you are applying the filter on is selected. After that move back to the Script Fu options and select the drop shadow option from the list.
With that done, a new window will open up. Over here, again you can determine the color that you want for the shadow. For this tutorial, let's just keep it to black. You can even change the opacity of the shadow according to your requirements. For this tutorial, we have just decreased the opacity a bit, keeping it to 56.5. Since we don't have any artwork in the background, we're going to leave the blending mode option as it is, but you can use this option to blend the shadow with the background, if the artwork requires it.
Furthermore, you can even determine the spread of the shadow, meaning how much space it will take up on the canvas. For this tutorial, we have kept the default settings as it. Once done, you can click on the Ok button to apply the filter.

Step 5 -- Using Pattern Overlay
There are other layer styles you can experiment with, for example giving the artwork an outer or inner glow, or applying gradients over the layer. You can experiment with all these different options and add effects to your artwork.
Lastly, we will see how the pattern overlay effect works. So select the Pattern Overlay option from the menu and a new window will open up. Over here, simply click on the Browse button next to the pattern option and you will be shown the patterns that are available in this plugin by default. Simply scroll down and select the pattern that you want to apply on the artwork. For this tutorial, we have applied the pastel stuff pattern.
You can even determine the blending mode of the pattern from here as well or you can simply change the blending mode of the layer this pattern is on. For this tutorial, we'll work with the second option, so simply click on the OK button and close the window.

The rest of the lesson is in this video.