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Paint Shop Pro X
Soap Bubble
Although Paint Shop Pro has a Balls and Bubbles effect I must confess that I don’t like it at all… Not that the results aren’t good, but because it simply takes forever to show the effect preview. Since I like to experiment with different settings, such a delay is something that I simply cannot put up with, so I’m better off creating my bubbles from scratch ;)
For this tutorial you’ll need: a photo.
IMAGE CREDITS: Dreamstime
Open your photo, hit Shift + D to duplicate it and close the original. The photo should appear as Background in the Layers palette.
Duplicate the Background layer. This should result in a new layer named Copy of Background.
Duplicate the Copy of Background layer. This should result in a new layer named Copy (2) of Background.
Hit Ctrl + M and Ctrl + I or go to Image – Mirror and Image – Flip.
Lower the Copy (2) of Background layer’s opacity to 50. Then right-click on it and choose Merge – Merge Down from the pop-up menu. The resulting layer’s name should be Copy of Background.
Now duplicate this layer. Again, Copy (2) of Background will be layer’s name.
Go to Effects – Artistic Effects – Colored Foil.
» Settings: blur = 25, detail = 150, color = black, angle = 90.
Then go to Effects – Art Media Effects – Pencil.
» Settings: luminance = 0, blur = 40, color = white, intensity = 100.
So far you should get a texture similar to this:
Note that the zoom is set to 100% so this is only part of the resulting texture.
Now go to Effects – Distortion Effects – Displacement Map.
» Settings: displacement map = current, tile map to cover image = checked, size = between 50% and 75%, blur = 30, 3D surface = checked, intensity = between 75 and 100, rotation = 30, edge mode = wrap.
Change this layer’s blend mode to Hue and merge it with the layer below.
So far you should have an image similar to this:
Note that the colors and/or color distribution might be a bit different depending on the photo you use.
Go to Effects – Geometric Effects – Circle.
» Settings: edge mode = transparent.
Hit Shift + S or go to Image – Resize.
» Settings: pixel dimensions = 60%, resample using ‘smart size’ = checked, maintain original print size = unchecked, lock aspect ration = checked, resize all layers = _un_checked.
Make the Background layer active.
Go to *Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur”.
» Settings: radius = 5.
Make the Copy of Background layer active.
Change the blend mode to Screen.
Duplicate this layer. Once again you should get a layer named Copy (2) of Background.
Apply the same Gaussian Blur on this layer and change its blend mode to Dodge. You should also lower this layer’s opacity to 50.
Make the Copy of Background layer active again.
With the Magic Wand click outside the circle.
» Settings: mode = replace, match mode = opacity, tolerance = 0, use all layers = unchecked, feather = 0, antialias = checked + inside.
Hit Ctrl + Shift + I to invert the selection or go to Selections – Invert.
Add a new raster layer. This layer should be named Raster 1.
Click and drag this layer so that it stays on top of Copy (2) of Background or right-click on it and choose Arrange – Bring To Top.
With the Flood Fill Tool, fill the selection with white.
» Settings: match mode = none, use all layers = unchecked, blend mode = normal, opacity = 100.
Now click on the Selection Tool to make it active.
Place your mouse cursor inside the selection and right-click and drag the selection a little bit down and to the right, so that you get a sort of crescent moon white shape outside the selection.
Hit the Delete key and right-click outside the selection to deselect.
Duplicate this layer and make the new layer active (if not already).
Hit Ctrl + M and Ctrl + I (*Mirror* and Flip) and merge this layer, Copy of Raster 1, with Raster 1.
Apply a Gaussian Blur again.
Change this layer’s blend mode to Dodge and lower the opacity to about 40.
And here’s my final result:
Please note that different photos will result in different bubbles, so my advice is that you experiment with several different photos until you find a result that you like. One type of photo that you should avoid, however, are the ones with a lot of white or very light colors.
Here are other examples created with slightly different settings:
You can also experiment with other reflection effects (instead of using Mirror and Flip, for example) and different blend modes so that you get a different range of colors. You might as well incorporate some rainbow gradients.
Soap bubbles can be quite different depending on the “product” that is used for them, so go ahead and experiment more ;)
Scenes & Natural Effects · Mar 24, 2007 ·