Gimp Tutorial: How to Easily Create a Realistic Balloon

I am not sure where I learned this technique but I have used it many times over the past 2 years. Here are the steps I take: 

Open a new file. I set the size to 400 x 400.

Make a new transparent layer.

Use the ellipse tool to make a circle 

Go to menu> select > to path

Select the forground and background color tool and choose the color of your choice- the foreground color needs to be several shades lighter than the background color.

Pick the blend tool and set the shape to radial. Starting in slightly from the upper left portion of the circle, drag the gradient to the lower right just past the center.

From the menu pick filters> distorts> curve bend. Use these settings:

To finish, use the ellipse tool to make a small oval on the bottom side of the balloon. Fill it in with the darker color. To give it a softer, smoother look, go to menu> filters> blur> Gaussian blur and set the blur radius to 2.