How Can I Turn a Picture Into a Metal Object Using Paint Shop Pro?

Use Paint Shop Pro to turn a picture into a metal object by using the program's "Curves" command on a black and white version of the picture. The skills you learn in this project let you create effects such as making a person's head appear to be on a coin. For a more surrealistic effect, use Paint Shop Pro's selection tools to make just a portion of the picture metallic while leaving remaining imagery unchanged. Make a backup copy of your file before starting this project, as the operations you'll perform will permanently change your picture.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Click the "File" menu's "Open" command, and then navigate to a picture whose subject you'd like to turn into a metal object with Paint Shop Pro. The program will load the picture for you to apply the effect to.
   • 2
     Click the "Image" menu, and then click the "Grayscale" command to make Paint Shop Pro discard the picture's color information. The result is a black and white image that more closely resembles something metallic.
   • 3
     Click the "Layers" menu, and then click the "New adjustment layer" sub-menu. Click the "Curves" item to display a dialog box whose controls let you interactively change the values of the loaded picture. Specifically, the dialog's curve specifies the output value of each input value in your picture. "Value" refers to how light or dark a pixel is. The horizontal coordinate of each point on the curve is the input value, and vertical coordinate is the output value.
   • 4
     Click the red diagonal line at the bottom of the dialog box, then drag the line upward until a peak forms in the red line. Click another point slightly to the right of the peak, then drag downward to form a valley.
   • 5
     Create several more peaks and valleys with the red line. Each additional peak you make above the original curve indicates you want to make a value much higher than it originally was. Each valley tells Paint Shop Pro you want to make a value much darker. The result of multiple peaks and valleys is what appears to be extra highlights and shadows in your picture. This abundance of highlights and shadows is a key characteristic of highly reflective surfaces, such as those of metallic objects.
   • 6
     Click "OK" to close the "Curves" dialog box. The picture you loaded now appears as a metallic object.