Welcome to Wouter's Designs - PhotoImpact

Ghost Image Tutorial for PhotoImpact 8, XL and 10
(Can be done using earlier versions of PI).

Description:

How to make a ghost effect in PhotoImpact.

Skill Level:

Beginner. I assume you know where the tools are in PhotoImpact.

Additional Files:

An image of your choice or use mine. It is a drawing made by Holbein the Younger. He was a German artist who lived from 1497 - 1543. You can download it from here.
Unzip the object to your desktop.

Author: Wouter Démoet.

Terms of Use: Please read

NOTE:

Save your work often. I suggest you read the entire tutorial, before you start. And if you need help, or if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me at wouter@demoet.nl

Instructions:
Open your image in your copy of PhotoImpact. Pick up the Standard Selection Tool from your Tool Panel. In the Attribute Toolbar please use these settings: Draw a selection on the face like this. Make sure you included the forehead, nose and chin in your selection: Right click: Soften and soften the selection with 20 pixels like this: Note: We could have had the same results when we would have set the Soft Edge of the selection to 20 in the first step. I wanted you to see how the shape of the Selection Marquee changes from rectangle to a rounded rectangle. The 20 pixels of the Soften command and of the Soft Edge will be added to the size of your selection. Right click: Convert to Object. Change to the Transform Tool and in the Attribute Toolbar, set the transform methode to Resize and click the button to lock the ratio aspect like this: Flip the object Horizontally Click on one of the Transform Handles and drag to make the object larger. Make it about the size of the woman's upper arm and put it in place. It needs to fit between the shoulder and the elbow like this: In your Layer Manager increase the transparency to 25% like this: Right click: Merge All. You are done! Optimize and save your work. Below are a few examples of what you can do with this technique: I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial as much as I liked writing it for you.

Instructions:

Open your image in your copy of PhotoImpact. Pick up the Standard Selection Tool from your Tool Panel. In the Attribute Toolbar please use these settings:

Draw a selection on the face like this. Make sure you included the forehead, nose and chin in your selection:

Right click: Soften and soften the selection with 20 pixels like this:

Note: We could have had the same results when we would have set the Soft Edge of the selection to 20 in the first step. I wanted you to see how the shape of the Selection Marquee changes from rectangle to a rounded rectangle. The 20 pixels of the Soften command and of the Soft Edge will be added to the size of your selection.

Right click: Convert to Object. Change to the Transform Tool and in the Attribute Toolbar, set the transform methode to Resize and click the button to lock the ratio aspect like this:

Flip the object Horizontally Click on one of the Transform Handles and drag to make the object larger. Make it about the size of the woman's upper arm and put it in place. It needs to fit between the shoulder and the elbow like this:

In your Layer Manager increase the transparency to 25% like this:

Right click: Merge All. You are done! Optimize and save your work. Below are a few examples of what you can do with this technique:

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial as much as I liked writing it for you.