Three-dimensional text in a thumbnail

I couldn’t find a textual answer to this problem, so here it is: Let’s say you want to make a thumbnail from an existing picture and add three-dimensional. That is: Something in the foreground (e.g. a face), then the text, then something in the background. The trick is to add a layer mask. Here are the steps for GIMP.

1. Open the picture
2. Add a text area with your text
3. With the text area still selected, go to Layer > Mask > Add Layer Mask > White (full opacity)
4. Use a black brush to hide parts of your text behind objects and a white brush to bring it back.

Seems simple enough once you know the steps…