Before/After Tutorials
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1.Image Improvements  
2.Professional Tools  
3.Objects & Layers  
4.Creative Effects  
1. Image Improvements

Improve Image

Before
After
Steps

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Example 1: Color  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: Automatic  
·Apply changes  

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Example 2: Exposure  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Smartfix correction  



Improve Selected Areas

Before
After
Steps

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Example 1: SmartFix  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Draw Selection around glasses  
·Apply Feather with Radius 10  
·SmartFix correction  

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Example 2: Gamma  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Select: Draw a Lasso around the cat  
·Feather radius ~15, Apply Feather  
·Exposure: Brightness, increase Gamma  
 
·Invert Selection  
·Feather radius ~15, Apply Feather  
·Exposure: Brightness, decrease Gamma  
Remove Color Stains

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: Color Cast  
·Press the Pipette  
·Click on the white T-Shirt  
·Apply changes  
·Repeat above steps with other image areas  




White Balance

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Automatic White Balance  



Highlight Shadows (Flash)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Exposure: Smart Flash ~120  
·Apply changes  



Highlight Image Areas (Reflector)

In the previous example, the flash simulation is very distinctive, causing the image to loose some of it's magic. The following tutorial will show you a more conservative approach, by highlighting only parts of the image, similar to using a reflector panel on location.

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Exposure: Smart Flash ~50  
·Apply changes  
·Zoom into the face  
·Retouch Brush: Lighten Mode  
·Deactivate Paint Over, Step ~10  
·Set Radius and Feather  
·Amount ~50  
·Use Eraser Brush for corrections  



Clone Image Areas

Before
After
Steps

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Example 1: Surf Twins  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Clone Brush  
·Set Radius to size of head  
·Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into the sand above the surfboard  
·Paint over the surfboard  
·Set Radius to 1/4 size of head  
·Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into the center of the right head  
·In the center of the left head, paint in circles towards the outside border  
·Use the Eraser Brush for corrections  
 
 
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Example 2: Shoreline 100 years ago  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Clone Brush  
·Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into a green area of the image (select source point)  
·Using different source points, replace houses with trees and shrubs.  
 


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Example 3  
 
Replace person in picture with stones  


Washout Effect (Colorkey)

The Colorkey effect enhances a motive in a black&white or sepia colored image. Usually, this effect calls for layers - in CodedColor however you only need to follow a few simple steps.

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: HSL  
·Hue Range: Reds  
·Lightness ~40  
·Saturation ~ -200 (minus)  
·Apply changes  
·Eraser Brush: restore the beef on the plate to the original color  



Straighten Horizon

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Rotate dialog  
·Activate Crop  
·Click in image: a horizontal line appears  
·Drag & align the line with the horizon  
·Press OK and then Apply Crop  


Improve Contrast & Color

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Exposure: Brightness  
·Reduce Contrast by -30  
·Color: HSL  
·Increase Saturation by +70  


Remove Artefacts & Scratches

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Noise: Noise Reduction 255, again 255  
·Apply changes  
 
·Clone Brush: remove artefacts  
 
·Color: HSL  
·Reduce Saturation by -255  
·Apply changes  


Remove Red Eyes

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Red Eye removal: Automatic  
·Draw circle around eyes  
·Apply  


Image Composition

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Crop  
·Move box  
·Apply Crop  
·Clone Brush: remove unwanted artefacts  


Change Aspect Ratio

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Select  
·Select digital format (4:3)  
·Hold ALT key pressed  
·Move bottom right corner to reduce frame size while preserving aspect ratio  
·Position frame  
·Press Apply Crop  


Equalize Histogram

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Curves: Curves  
·Move bottom left point to ~50  
·Move top right point to ~220  
·Apply changes  


Improve Backlight Images

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Exposure: SmartFlash ~250  
·Apply changes  
·Alternative: Brightness, increase Gamma  
Replace Colors

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Replace Brush  
·hold SHIFT key pressed and click on the yellow leaf to select the source color  
·Radius ~80, Opacity 100, Tolerance ~85  
·Select a destination color (in this case red) and paint over the leaf  
·Use the Eraser Brush to correct mistakes  


Crop with Rounded & Softened Edges

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Select: Circle, draw a circle  
·Feather Radius ~ 80, Apply Feather  
·Press Apply Crop  
·Save image as JPG: choose White as background  
·Alternative: save as PNG to preserve transparency  
Convert to B/W or Sepia

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Convert To Sepia  


Vignette Effect

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Select: Circle  
·Draw an elipsis, starting from the center of the image  
·Invert Selection  
·Feather radius ~100  
·Apply Feather (takes a while)  
·Exposure: Brightness  
·Increase Gamma  
·Click Apply Changes  
2. Professional Tools

Soften Background and Retouch Details

The following example unites many of the above editing tools in order to create a perfect photo. With a little practice, you can make professional improvements in CodedColor, that otherwise can only be achieved by much more expensive applications. Make sure to compare both images in full size!

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Rotate on Horizon Line, with autom. Crop  
·Select 4:3 Format, und crop away the right part of the image  
·Remove the red Color Stain  
·Do some Gamma Correction  
·Soften the skin in the face using the Retouch Brush  
·Remove the 2 boats using the Clone Brush  
·Mark the background & mountains using the Lasso; apply Selection Feather  
·Soften the selected area with the dialog Basic Effects: User Filter: Blur  
·Repeat the softening, until the background appears out of focus (reduce focal depth)  
Stage Objects (Colorkey with Mask)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Mark the person in the image with the Lasso  
·Invert Selection, Apply Selection Father  
·Color Tool: HSL  
·Saturation -255 (minus)  
·Click Apply Changes  
 
·Correct the borders using the Retouch Brush: Desaturate with Amount ~100  
·Correct borders using the Eraser brush  
 


Unfocus Background

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Select: Lasso  
·Draw a selection around the person  
·Feather Radius ~20, Apply Feather  
·Invert Selection  
 
·Effects: Advanced Effects  
·Select Blur, Filter Size 50, Intensity 0.5  
·Click Apply, OK  
 
·Exposure: Brightness: decrease Gamma  
·Click Apply Changes  
 
·Use Retouch Brush to darken and blur edges around person  
Extract Objects (Transparency)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Transparency  
·Tolerance ~ 70  
·Use the Eraser brush to correct spills  
·Press CTRL-C to copy this object including transparency into the clipboard  
 
Hint: if you want to save this object, then you need to use an image format like PNG, which supports transparency.  


Combine / Overlay Images

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Press CTRL+V to copy above object as Layer into the image  
·Resize and Rotate Layer  
·Press Merge Layers  
·Call Crop to remove the overlay  
·Retouch Brush  
·Radius ~75, Opacity ~50, Mode: Darken, Amount ~50  
·Darken the "dark side" of the moon  
Colorize B/W Image

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Open Paint tool, activate brush  
·Feather ~75, Blend Mode: Colorize  
·Zoom image into detail  
·Select colors and paint  
·Use Selections and Fill tool for large areas  
·Use Eraser Brush to correct errors  


Replace Background (Mask)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open person image in editor  
·Select: Lasso  
·Draw a selection around the person  
·Add a Feather  
·Press CTRL+C  
 
·Open jungle image in editor  
·Advanced Effects: Blur the image  
·Press CTRL+V  
·Position the layer and click Merge layers  
·Use the Eraser Brush to correct edges  
Replace Background (Fill)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Do some Exposure Correction  
·Add some Flash  
·Remove artefacts using the Clone Brush  
·Open the Fill tool  
·Load an image with a nice sky in the Texture panel. Increase/decrease the size.  
·Tolerance ~15  
·Click in the sky to fill, and play with the tolerance slider  
·Remove spills with the Eraser brush  

Note: Read the full tutorial here.  


Improve Portraits

Before
After
Steps

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This example uses a large number of tools and is highly dependent on taste, so we list only the basic steps:  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Change eye color: Red Eye Manual mode  
·Brighten eyes: Retouch Brush Lighten  
·Saturate lips: Retouch Brush Saturate  
·Improve skin color: Color HSL, increase Saturation  
·Soften skin: Retouch Brush Blur  
·Darken hair: Exposure Levels, increase Shadows  
·Remove spots & artefacts: Clone Brush  
·Sharpen eyelashes: Retouch Brush Sharpen  
·Soften garment: Selection with feather, Sharpness Blur  


Paste into Selections

Before
After
Steps

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·Open fish image in editor  
·Select: Rectangle  
·Copy a square area with CTRL+C  
 
·Open pot image in editor  
·Select: Lasso  
·Select front panel of pot  
·Edit: Paste into Selection  
·Stretch Clipboard image? YES  
 
·Repeat with side panel and top, except this time also Darken the selected area using the Retouch Brush  


Perspective Correction

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Perspective  
·Extend Workspace 2x  
·Move top red handles to left & right  
·Click Apply Changes  
·Click Crop  
·Position crop frame  
·Click Apply Crop  
Create Panoramas

Before
After
Steps

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·Select frames in Explorer  
·See Panorama topic for detailed description  

3. Objects & Layers

Add Watermarks

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Add: Watermark  
·Line1: Custom Text1  
·Position: Bottom Center  
·Border Margin 40, Transparency 50  
·Font: Arial 36  
·Font Color: Yellow Pastel  


Add Text Labels

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Add: Text Labels  
·Frame Width 50, Background White  
·Line Width 2  
·Click New Label, then click inside image  
·Drag handles to position text and arrow  
·Save Image will create a new image file, so the orginal is not overwritten.  
 
Hint: if you then call Text Labels in the original image, the labels will be loaded again.  


Add Speach Bubbles

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Optional Fill Brush: select a Texture and increase to 200%, set Tolerance 50, Fill Mode Exclusive, Blend Mode Normal, etc.  
 
·Add: Clipart  
·Select a file from Symbols\Callouts  
·Activate Add Clipart as Layer  
·OK, reposition & resize layer, Merge Layers  
 
·Add: Text, Size 30  


Add Clipart Wartermark

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Add: Clipart  
·Select copyright.png from Symbols  
·Activate Add Clipart as Layer  
·Size 200%, Transparency 90%  
·OK, reposition layer, Merge Layers  
 
Hint: you can do this to a number of files in the Batch Conversion dialog  
Design Greeting Cards

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects Borders & Shadows: Create a polaroid frame  
·Add Text layers  
·Rotate Layer, Merge Layer  
·Add Clipart layers  
·Rotate Layer, Merge Layer  
·Paintbrush: add water effects  


Add Google Map

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Add: Map  
·Search for "Jasper", OK  
·Zoom out and position map  
·Capture  
·Add Mask, Add Shadow, OK  
·Merge Layers  
 
·Optional: add some Text  


Create Collage

Before
After
Steps


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·Select images in explorer  
·Edit: Create Collage  
·Define Width, Height of collage, number of Columns and Rows, background Color for space between images: White  
·OK, reposition layers, Merge Layers  
·Crop  
 
Hint: creating a page layout with the Pixpedia Publisher is more flexible (see next tutorial)  
Create Map Collage

Before
After
Steps

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·Call Tools > Map Capture  
·Search for a location and open a map  
·Press Capture, and then Apply Crop  
 
·Click Add Layer and load an image into the layer. Repeat for several images.  
·Open Layer options for all layers and define a Shadow  
·Merge Layers and store the collage to a file  
 
·Add Text Labels to the images, pointing to locations on the map  
·Increase the Frame Width, if the labels overlape the image borders  
 
Design Page Layouts

Before
After
Steps


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·Select images in the explorer  
·Tools: Create Photobook  
·New Project: CodedColor Layout  
·Add more images  
·Select one or more Page Layouts  
·Add Borders & Shadows, edit text, position image elements, etc.  
·Add Curved Text as title  
·Activate Gradient property for title  
·Add Background image  
·etc...  
·Save as JPG or PDF  
 
Note: Pixpedia Publisher must be installed during CodedColor setup  
 
 


Blend Images

Before
After
Steps

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Example 1  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Select: Circle around girl  
·Feather Radius ~100, Apply Feather  
·CTRL+C  
·Open sunset image in editor  
·CTRL+V  
·Position layer above sunset  
·Optional: Layer Options  
·Set Transparency  
·Click Merge Layers  
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Example 2  
 
·Open face image in editor  
·Advanced Effects: Duotone Image  
·Select pale brown as Color  
·Apply, OK  
·Steps as above: insert face selection into tree image  
·Use the Eraser Brush with Opacity and Feather to fix edges  

4. Creative Effects

Pop Art (Colorkey with Color Shift)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: HSL  
·Select person, Invert Selection  
 
·Select colors with the Pipette and reduce Saturation  
·Clear Selection  
 
·Apply some Hue Shift to the bathing suit  
·Click Apply Changes  



Simulate Speed

Before
After
Steps

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·Basic enhancements: Color Balance, Straighten Horizon, Flip, Crop  
·Advanced Effects: Add Motion Blur  
·Angle 0, Distance 3, Steps 6  
·Press Apply  
·Eraser Brush  
·Feather 100, Opacity 80  
·Paint over surfer and splash  


Oil / Watercolor Painting

Before
After
Steps

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1. Oil Painting  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Advanced Effects: Oil Paint  
·Brush Width 40, Blend Edges  
·Apply to create oil paint effect  
·Activate Apply on top of previous effect  
 
·Geometric Mean Filter, Size 4  
·Apply to soften edges, OK  
 
·Exposure: Brightness  
·Increase Gamma, click Apply Changes  

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2a. Watercolor with paper effect  
 
·Start with the oil painting from above  
·Fill Tool  
·Tolerance 255, Opacity 50  
·Fill Mode Global, Blend Mode Normal  
·Select a paper Texture  
·Choose Texture Color Black  
·Choose Texture Size 200%  
·Click in image to fill the texture  
·Click Apply Changes  
 
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2b. Watercolor with diluted effect  
 
·Start with the oil painting from above  
·Advanced Effects: Watercolor Tint  
·Blur Amount 0,4, activate Lighten Image  
·Click Apply, OK  


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2c. Watercolor with paper & diluted effect  
 
·Start with the oil painting from above  
·Advanced Effects: Stipple  
·Size 70, Geometric Mean filter  
·Apply to create paper effect  
·Activate Apply on top of previous effect  
 
·Gauzy effect  
·Bur 0.5, Sharp 0.5, Clarity 1.0, Desaturated  
·Apply to create watercolor effect  
 
Water Reflection

Before
After
Steps

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Example 1  
 
·Open image in Editor  
·Advanced Effects: Perlin Displacement  
·Amount 30, X-Scale 20, Y-Scale 20  
·Click Apply, OK  
 
·Crop Image  
 
·Optional: Basic Effects: Wave  
·Click OK  
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Example 2  
 
·Perlin Displacement like above  
·Rotate image by 180°  
·Copy Selection and Paste as new Layer below original image  
·Layer Options: Transparency  


Hamilton Effect

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Advanced Effects: Gauzy  
·Blur 0.9, Sharp 0.5, Clarity 0.5  
·Mode: Desaturated  
·Click Apply, OK  


Highlight Objects (Colorkey with Mask)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Select: Circle  
·Select the mirror object  
·Invert Selection, Apply Feather 10  
 
·Advanced Effects: Gauzy  
·Blur 0.9, Sharp 0.5, Clarity 0.8  
·Mode: Desaturated  
·Click Apply  
 
·Enable Apply on top of previous effect  
·Repeat effect by clicking Apply  
·Click OK  
Chalk Drawing

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Advanced Effects:  
·1. Oil Paint: Blend Edges  
·2. Median Filter  
·3. Stiple: Size 15, Filter Maximum  
·4. Blur: Size 40, Intensity 0.5  
·Frames & Edges: select a Mask  
 
Note: the parameters for the above filters are highly dependant of the size of the image, so you need to experiment with them.  
Fisheye Effect (Binocular)

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Advanced Effects: Elliptical Transform  
·RadiusX 900, RadiusY 900  
·Mode: Compress Both  
·Click Apply, OK  
Mask Borders

Before
After
Steps

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Example 1  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Frames & Edges  
·Select a Mask  
·Image Displacement ~10  
·Click OK  


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Example 2  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Frames & Edges  
·Select a Mask  
·Image Displacement ~30  
·Click OK  
Mask Borders: Filmstrip

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Frames & Edges  
·Select the Filmstrip Frame  
·Image Displacement ~10  
·Click OK  


Mask Borders: Stamp

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Frames & Edges  
·Select the Stamp Mask  
·Click OK  
 
·Add Text layer  
 


Polaroid Frame with Shadow & Text

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Borders & Shadows  
·Activate Add Shadow, Add Border, and experiment with the settings  
 
·Add Text layer  
·Pick a script Font with Size ~60  
·Activate Add Shadow  
·Press OK and Merge Layers  


Frame Images

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Frames & Edges  
·Select a picture frame  
·Set Displacement to 10  
·Press OK  


Add Texture

Before
After
Steps

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Example 1  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Fill Tool: Texture  
·Select brick wall  
·Tolerance 255, Opacity 70  
·Fill Mode Global, Blend Mode Normal  
·Fill image and press Apply Changes  
 
·Effects: Frames & Edges  
·Select a Mask  
·Background Color Black  
·OK  
 
·Add some floating Text with shadow, rotate it  
·Add some Cliparts  
·Merge layers  

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Example 2  
 
·Open image in editor  
·Exposure: increase Gamma  
·Fill Tool: Paper Texture  
·Add Clipart layer  
·Layer Options: set Transparency to 80  
Create a Custom Mask

Before
After
Steps

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·Open image in editor  
·Effects: Invert Colors  
·Effects: Convert to B/W  
·Exposure: Increase Brightness  
·Save into mask folder  
Apply a Custom mask

Before
After
Steps