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Photo Aging
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Photo Aging
Created by: The Alb

 
This tutorial will show you how to "age" a photo with the help of Paint Shop Pro in only a couple of steps.
 
Download File Download File
For this tutorial, I used one of the photos that came with PSP (girls.jpg). If you don't find it in your Sample Images folder (within your PSP programme folder) you can get it with the download file on the left. Of course you can also take any other photo of your choice.
 
Open Image

Open your photo in PSP, duplicate it with Window || Duplicate (Shift+D) and close the original image.

In case you're working with a photo of your own and not that from the download file, you should now check the Layer palette if there is only one background layer (if not, go to Layers || Merge || Merge All [Flatten]) and if the color depth is 16 Million Colors (Image || Increase Color Depth || 16 Million Colors).

Then promote the 'Background' layer to a raster layer. To do this, go to Layers || Promote Background Layer.
 

Then you add a Mask layer by going to Layers || New Mask Layer || From Image. This opens the Add Mask From Image dialog in which you choose:
– Souce window = your photo
– Create mask from = Source luminance
– Invert mask data = unchecked
 

Click on the lower, 'Raster 1' layer in the Layer palette, and add a new layer on top of it (Layers || New Raster Layer).

This has the effect of having added a new layer ('Raster 2') between the original image layer and the mask layer. And we want to fill that new layer now.
 
Materials Palette - Materials Box  Materials Pattern Option

Materials Palette - All Tools Option

In the Materials palette, set the Foreground material to Pattern, click into the Foreground material box and set:
– Pattern = Ricepaper 05
– Angle = 0
– Scale = 100

It's important to have "All tools" checked.
 
Flood Fill Tool  Preset: Reset to Default Option

Now activate the Flood Fill tool and reset to default, then change:
– Match mode = None

Check again whether the middle layer ('Raster 2') is selected in the Layer palette, and fill it with the pattern.

The result (on the left) looks a bit strange – but only for a minute.
 
In the Layer palette, click on the top line ('Group - Raster 1') and add a new raster layer (Layers || New Raster Layer).
 
Drag this new layer ('Raster 3') below the layer group. Be careful not to add it to the group but to have it standing alone below the group (check the screenshot on the left).
 

Set the Foreground Material to Color and choose black as your Foreground color.

Check that the new bottom layer is selected in the Layer palette and fill it with the black color.
 

As a final touch you may try to play with the Opacity of the mask layer ('Mask - Raster 1') to give it an even more interesting touch. In the example on the left the Opacity was reduced to 50%.

That's it: an old-looking, quite old-fashioned style photo!