Creating Visual Effects - Create a Panorama

(Page 11 of 11 )

Before You Begin

• Create a New Image
• About Layers and the Layer Palette
• Move, Alter, or Distort a Layer

Some places, such as the Grand Canyon, the Great Smoky Mountains, or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., are just too large to photograph with a single shot. That shouldn't stop you from trying to capture their majesty, however. If you carefully take a series of overlapping photographs, you can use Paint Shop Pro to "stitch" them together into a single, panoramic image.

1. Create a New Image

   Select File, New or click the New button on the Standard toolbar. Set the Image Dimensions to 2" high by 11" wide. Specify a Resolution of 300 pixels per inch for print or 100 for onscreen use. Select a white background and click OK. Save the image in PSP format with the name Panorama.

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   Note - The 2" x 11" size is adequate for an eight-image horizontal panorama; feel free to adjust these measurements to fit your needs.

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2. Copy First Image to Its Own Layer

   Open the image you want to place on the left in your panorama and select Edit, Copy. Change to the Panorama image, select the top layer from the Layer palette, and select Edit, Paste as New Layer. Rename the new layer Pan 1.

3. Resize and Position the Pan 1 Layer

   Click the Deform tool on the Tools toolbar. Change to the Pan 1 layer and resize it to fit the Panorama image by dragging a corner node with the right mouse button. Reposition the Pan 1 layer along the left side of the image window.

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   Tip - To make the process of resizing and placing the images easier, enlarge the canvas so that it's larger than the Panorama image. See Change the Working Area Without Affecting Image Size.

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4. Copy, Resize, and Position Additional Images

   Repeat steps 2 and 3 to copy each additional image in your panorama to its own layer. Resize and position each image so that the images overlap. To make it easier to position each additional image, temporarily reduce its Opacity on the Layer palette, and then return it to 100% before placing the next image.

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   Note - To make the images fit together perfectly, make use of the Deform tool's capability to rotate and skew a layer.

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5. Merge and Crop the Final Image

   Chances are you had to rotate or skew at least one or two images to meld them with their neighbors. If necessary, use the Eraser tool to gently remove portions of overlapping layers that do not meet up perfectly. After positioning each layer precisely, merge the result into a single layer by selecting Layers, Merge, Merge All (Flatten). Click the Crop tool on the Tools toolbar and crop the result, removing any empty regions.

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   Tip - You can create a panorama easily using Photo Album. Select the images to use and then click the Panorama button. Click the Settings button, select the options you want, and then click the Create button.

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6. View the Result

   After stitching together eight separate images, I'm left with a panorama of a suburban neighborhood.

Figure 15.11

 

This chapter is from Paint Shop Pro 8, by Jennifer Fulton, (Sams, 2004, ISBN: 0672323893). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now.

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