In article <_qhvf.192082$>,
says…
um…fading one image into another so there is no seam line, I’m a bit new to photoshop, and these newsgroups,
"J. A. Mc." wrote in message
On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 12:02:08 GMT, "lilaclady" found these unused words floating about:
Hi, I use photoshop 7 and was wondering how to blend 2 photos or images
into
each other. I did have a tutorial on this written down somewhere, but it
has
run off, lol. If anyone can help, thanks heaps in advanced 🙂 Chrystina
Define "blend".
Let’s say that you have 2 images that are 4"x6" and wish to have one dissolve into the other. I’d start with Ctrl-N and set the dimensions to about 4"x12" the same resolution and Mode as your originals (if the originals are not the same size, you will need to Crop them, Size them, etc.) with a chosen color for the background. This will allow you place the two images side-by-side to start. I know, you want them to blend together, and they will need to overlap, but that comes later. Now, decide which image will become the lower of the two. Maybe one has an element that you wish to obscure with the blending of the other image. If not, just choose one. Open it, and do one of several things, Ctrl-A (Select All), Ctrl-C (Copy), then click on the "new" document and Ctrl-V (Paste), or double-click on the "Background" (italics) name it something else/allow default, click OK, then drag this Layer (from the Layers Palette) to the new document. Do the same for the other image. You’ll now have three Layers in your new document, the original Background, plus Layer 1 & Layer 2 – rename them, if you like. You can always move these Layer’s positions, relative to each other in the Layer Palette order, either up, or down.
Here we get a bit version specific. I don’t have 7 handy, so I’ll tell you how I’d proceed in CS2 (can’t remember when the Layer Mask icon was added to the Layers Palette). Choose the upper Layer (2, or whatever you called it) and click the Layer Mask icon. A blank Layer Mask will be created. Click on it, and add a horizontal Gradient to this mask. You may want to experiment with the Gradient Tool’s setting to get the type of fade that you desire, but choose Transparent to Black. If you are not having luck, use the Marquee Tool to restrict the Gradient to a smaller portion of the mask. If v7 doesn’t have the Layer Mask icon (danged poor memory), go to Select>Load Selection>Layer Transparency, then hit "Q" for Quick Mask. Use Gradient Tool to create the type of transition that you want, hit "Q" again and Select>Save Selection>Layer Mask (from the pop-up).
Make sure that the Layer and it Layer Mask are locked (they are by default), and with this "top" Layer active, use the Move Tool to place the Layer & Mask where you want them, over the "lower" image. I’d hold down Shift, so you don’t get any vertical mis-alignment. Play with the Move Tool to get the blend to look right for you. When you are satisfied, you will now have an image that 4 "x <12", but because you chose the color of the background (one that shows clearly from the colors in your two images), just Crop to the edges of the two images, now overlapping. I might Save_As PSD before the Crop, so I’d not have to expand the Canvas, if ever wanted to do something different.
If you find that the Gradient Tool made too abrupt a transition, you can always Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur the mask (make sure that you have the mask active, not the image Layer!). You can also go back, Delete the mask, and make a different one, if you wish, without harming the image Layer(s). If the images are the same size, i.e. 4×6 in this example, if you decide that you want Layer 1 to blend into Layer 2, just rearrange the Layers, and drag the Layer Mask up to the now top Layer.
There is no problem in using, say a 4×6 and a 4×10 image, except then, in the above paragraph, you’d need to re-do the Layer Mask.
Trust me, it’s simpler to do, than it is to either read, or write about it. If you are on a MAC, substitute Command, for Ctrl.
Hunt
