Creating Visual Effects - Blend Two Images into One

Before You Begin

• About Tools and Tool Options
• About Layers and the Layer Palette
• Move, Alter, or Distort a Layer

If you have two photographs with similar themes, you can blend them into one image using Paint Shop Pro. For example, you could blend a portrait of your recent graduate with a photo of him receiving his diploma. By using Paint Shop Pro's layer and blend mode features, you can create a ghostly image of one photo on top of the other. For example, you could place the faint image of your son's face off to one side, quietly contemplating the significance of his great accomplishment.

1. Copy Secondary Image to a Separate Layer

   Open the main image, such as an image of a high school. Open the secondary image, such as a graduation portrait, and select Edit, Copy. Change to the main image and select Edit, Paste, Paste as New Layer. A copy of the secondary image appears on a layer above the main image layer. Name this new layer Secondary. Close the secondary image because it is no longer needed.

2. Resize and Position Secondary Image

   Change to the Secondary layer. Click the Deform tool and drag a corner node with the right mouse button to resize the new layer proportionately, as needed. Click in the middle of the secondary image and reposition it on the Secondary layer so that its location complements the main image.

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   Note - If you can't see the corner nodes when trying to resize a layer with the Deform tool, you can enter the percentage by which you want to reduce the secondary image in the Deform tool's Scale X (%) and Scale Y (%) boxes on the Tool Options palette.

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3. Change Layer Blend Mode to Hard Light

   On the Layer palette, change the Blend Mode for the Secondary layer to Hard Light. The Secondary layer appears as a ghost over top of the main image.

4. Clean Up Secondary Layer and Merge

   On the Layer palette, change to the Secondary layer if necessary. Then click the Background Eraser tool on the Tools toolbar and remove any portions of the layer you don't want to use in the final image. For example, you might erase the background from around a person's portrait.

   On the Layer palette, adjust the Opacity of the Secondary layer to make it appear even more ghostly. When you're satisfied with the effect, select Layers, Merge, Merge All (Flatten).

5. View the Result

   I decided to show you two examples of this technique, one sedate, the other more playful. The first image blends a graduation portrait of my Mom with a picture of her old high school. The second image blends three photos: a close-up of a leaf after a morning rain, my daughter Katerina the ballerina, and a larger Katie seemingly touching the smaller image trapped in a rain drop.

Figure 15.10

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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