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Glow Effect
A Post effect for Paint Shop or PhotoShop

Glow Effect
A couple of recent gallery images feature a post production glow effect I refined from a trick a Graphic Artist friend showed me. Using a high end image editing program like Paint Shop or Photoshop we can easily create this cool glow effect.

The Poser skill level is Beginner.
The Skill required in your image editor would be intermediate. You will be playing with layers and filters. If you've never used layers before this will be challenging. It may be a good way to introduce your self to the power they have.3

Description:

This tutorial covers a fairly simple technique for creating a glow effect for Poser scenes using two common image editing programs. In this example we will create a glow that only effects the dress on the character in the scene.

Skill Requirement:

The Poser skill level is Beginner.
The Skill required in your image editor is intermediate.
You will be playing with layers, filters and Alpha channels. If you've never used layers before this will be a bit challenging. It may be a good way to introduce your self to the power they have.

What you need:

Poser, any version.
Adobe Photoshop 5 or higher or JASC Paint Shop Pro 5 or higher.

The Theory:

When poser renders a scene if you save the file as Photoshop format (PSD), Poser includes an "Alpha Channel" that contains the transparency information for the scene. This Alpha Channel can be manipulated to create a cool glow effect.

OK, lets go…

Paint Shop Specific Directions are in the left Column, Photo Shop is in the right.

JASC Paint Shop	Adobe Photo Shop
Render your scene as you would normally in Poser. Export the image as a PSD file Open Poser's Hierarchy Editor Hide each element that will NOT be glowing by clicking on the Eye Icon.

Render the scene again, with exactly the same camera angle. Export the "Glow" render. Use the PSD format. Open both renders in you graphics editor. Select the Main Image (first render). Create a new layer on top of the Background layer. Use the Paint Bucket tool to fill the new layer with solid black.
Click Selection> Load Alpha Channel Pick the Glow image (2nd Render) Click OK	Click Selection > Load Selection Pick the Glow Image (2nd Render) Select the Alpha 1 Channel Click OK

Use the Paint Bucket too to fill the selected area with solid white. Press Control + D to Deselect Select Image > Blur > Gaussian Blur... Adjust the radius to 3-10 pixels. Select Color > Solarize... Set the threshold to 128	Use the Paint Bucket too to fill the selected area with solid white. Press Control + D to Deselect Select Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur... Adjust the radius to 3-10 pixels. Select Filter > Stylize > Solarize...
Applying the Solarize Filter should give you a glowing outline.

Select Color > Adjust > Gamma Correction Set the sliders to about 2.2 to brighten the outline.	Select Image > Adjust > Auto Levels
Create a new blank layer on top of all the other layers.
Now we are going to give the outline some color with the gradient fill tool. Save your work with a new file name.
Select the Paint Bucket tool On the tool Control tab change the fill type to "Linear Gradient" Choose appropriate colors. Click the image to fill the layer with color.	Double click the Gradient tool. Set the type to "Foreground to Background" Choose appropriate colors. Drag a line on the image to fill the layer with color.
Note: I usually use the Linear Gradient tool here but you can experiment with all the shapes.
Change the blend mode of the top layer to "Color"	Change the Blend Mode of the Top layer to "Color"

Hide the Background Layer	Select the top "Color" layer. Select Layer > Merge Down.

Right Click the Layer 2 Button Select Merge > Visible

Set the Background layer to be visible again.
OK, you should have a color tinted glowing outline now. Take a deep breath, we're almost done. Save your work with a new file name.
Change the blend mode of the top layer to "Screen"	Change the blend mode of the top layer to "Screen"

Now we can finally see the glow effect. It is a little too much though. We need to remove the areas where it is on top of the original.
Click Selection> Load Alpha Channel Pick the Glow image (2nd Render) Click OK	Click Selection > Load Selection Pick the Glow Image (2nd Render) Select the Alpha 1 Channel Click OK
With the top layer selected press the delete key to clear the selected area. Press Control + D to Deselect Use the Eraser Brush tool to remove glow from any other areas that you don't want it on.
Select Layer > Flatten Image. Save your work! That's all there is to creating this cool glow effect. You can play with the colors and fill patterns to enhance the look. In Photo shop you may want to experiment with the wind effect when your at the glowing outline step. A little lens flare might be cool too. Happy Rendering!

Published on: 2005-01-04 (7950 reads)

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