Fun With Masks and Selections

Neon Sun

To make this image or one similar, first download the black and white graphic above. Then:

1. Increase the colors on the gif graphic to 16 million.
2. Choose Masks|New|From Image (This Window, Source Luminance, Invert checked). Then choose Selections|From Mask, Selections|Save to Alpha Channel. Now choose Masks|Delete and don't merge with the layer.
3. Flood fill this layer with Black.
4. Add three new layers (Shift Click on the Add New Layer Palette 3 times).
5. Name the first new layer "Glow 1", the second new layer "Glow 2" and the top new layer "Fill".
6. Click on the "Fill" layer. Load your selection (Selections|Load from Alpha Channel). Flood fill the selection with black (this can be a little tricky because it's kind of hard to see where the selection is). You can check to see if the flood fill worked by holding the cursor over the "Fill" button on the layers palette. A window will pop up. If you see your sun in black with a transparent checkerboard background, you will know it worked. Don't deselect.
7. Click on the Glow 1 layer. Choose Selections|Modify|Feather and set feather to 7.
8. Set foreground color to turquoise. Flood Fill this layer three times.
9. Click on the Glow 2 layer. Set foreground color to pink. Flood fill this layer three times with the pink.
10. Now, you can switch back and forth between the turquoise and pink layers and add more fill until you get a combination you like. Obviously you could use different color combinations. If you don't like the pink/turquoise, just deselect, click on the glow layers and choose Edit|Clear. Load your selection and feather. Try different color combinations.
11. For a different effect, reverse the two glow layers (just drag the Glow 2 layer under the Glow 1 layer). The second glow sun above is the reverse of the first glow sun.
12. You can also vary the feather for a different effect:
    
    This image has the yellow glow on Layer Glow 2, feathered to 2 and filled. The orange glow was a feather of 7 on Glow 1 layer. Experiment.

Cutout Graphics

To create this graphic

1. Download the black and white butterfly graphic and use the method outlined above to create the butterfly selection.
2. Flood fill the original layer with white.
3. Add a new layer and name it "Fill". Fill this layer with grey or some other medium light color (we will fill this layer later, but for now we need the contrast).
4. Add a new layer and name it Cutout 1. On this layer, load the selection and apply the cutout filter (Image|Effects|Cutout) Color: Black, Opacity 100%, Blur 3, Offset 2,2. Now, you will have a graphic that looks like the following:
   
   As you can see, there are black pixels outside the selection. This is something that happens when you have a complex selection. Don't worry, just invert your selection, hit delete and all is well! Invert your selection again and don't deselect.
5. Add another new layer. Call this layer Cutout 2.
6. On this layer add a drop shadow: Color: White, Opacity 100%, Blur 2, Offset 1,1. Your graphic should not look like the following:
   
   
7. Now, to create the "Embossed" effect (the graphic on the far right). First, turn off the two "Cutout" layers.
8. Create another new layer. Call it Emboss 1. On this layer load the selection (if it is not already loaded) and apply the cutout filter: Color: Black, Opacity: 100%, Blur: 3, Offset -3,-3. Invert your selection and hit delete to get rid of the stray pixels. Invert selection again.
9. Add another new layer and call it Emboss 2. On this later apply the cutout filter the same as above except the color should be White and the offset 3,3. Invert and hit delete again. Your graphic should now look like the following:
   
   
10. Now, go back to your "Fill" layer and fill with whatever color or texture you wish. Turn on the two "Cutout" layers for the cutout effect or the two "Embossed" layers for the Embossed effect. Play with the opacity slider on the two layers to get the effect you want.