Images with a glow

flag with glow 1

This tutorial was written September 6, 2006, and is © copyrighted by Carol Tapp.

I wanted to find a tutorial on Images with a Glow to present to a PSP group for which I am a moderator. I did an extensive Google search and could not find one that was complete and that gave the effect I wanted, so I decided to write my own.

This tutorial was written in and for PSP 9, but with minor adjustments you should be able to create it in any version of PSP from 7 through X.

YOU WILL NEED:
Paint Shop Pro - You can get a 30-day free trial HERE.

A favorite tube

Tools that we will be using in PSP9 are the flood fill tool and the picture tube tool. You will also use feathering and saving a selection to the image's alpha channel.

Remember to save often in case of a lockup of your PSP.

Let's get started!

new image

Open a new transparent image about 300 by 300. On it place a tube you wish to use in your glow image, resized so it is about 225 x 225. Select Edit/Copy (Ctrl + C). This will save your tube to the clipboard to use later when we place it back on the image. Save this image in case you should need it later (if you don't finish the tutorial in one sitting), or minimize it in case you should lose your tube from the clipboard.

Open another new transparent image about 300 by 300. Flood fill it with white (or the color you want for your glow). Add another layer (Layers/New Raster Layer). Flood fill it with black (or the color you want for your foreground). You may use any colors that are compatible with your tube. The first layer (the one on the bottom) is the one that will determine the glow color.

Select Edit/Paste as New Selection (Ctrl + E) and place your tube in the center of the image. It will have the "marching ants" surrounding it.

Selections/Promote Selection to Layer (Ctrl + Shift + P). Hit the delete key several times to completely delete the tube but leave the selection. Change to Layer 2 (the foreground color layer) and press the delete key to delete your foreground color where the tube was.

Let's save the selection to the alpha channel so we can use it when we put the tube back on the image. Selections/Load-Save selection/Save selection to Alpha Channel. Give it a name if you wish, but it isn't necessary, as this will be the only selection saved with this image.

Choose Selections/Modify/Feather (Ctrl + H) and choose 25 to 45. I used 45 on the flag and 25 on the autumn leaves.

In your layer palette, highlight Raster 2 (layer 2). Now hit the delete key several times to erase part of the foreground color. (On the flag, I pressed it twice. On the leaves I pressed it three times.)

Selections/Select none (Ctrl + D). Layers/Merge all (flatten).

 feathering

Now retrieve the selection you saved to the alpha channel. Selections/Load-Save Selection/Load Selection from Alpha Channel and select Load. The tube selection is now on your image.

You should still have the tube on your computer's clipboard. Select Edit/Paste/Paste into Selection. Selections/Select none.

Now your image is ready to be framed or used as you would like.

You can use various colors on the original two layers to have the foreground and the glow in whatever colors you wish. Here are a few I've created from various tubes.

flag 2      autumn leaves     

fish      Patriot's Day     

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed creating your image as much as I did writing it. While I've written lots of tutorials for using software in my past teaching career, I'm fairly new at creating tutorials for using Paint Shop Pro.

If you have any problems, don't hesitate to contact me.

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Tutorial written and created by Carol Tapp. My tutorials are copyrighted by law. You may LINK to them only. You may not remove any of the graphics, zip files or html within these pages to reproduce these tutorials, without my written permission. These pages may not be removed from this website and sent via e-mail, nor saved, stored or archived in files in YahooGroups or other mailing list sites, nor may they be translated and placed on another site. You may save the tutorial to your own computer in order to work on it off line. You may also print the tutorial but for your use only.

Any creations made from these tutorials belong to you and you may use them as you wish.

Page last modified September 12, 2006; 7:30 pm ESDT.