Primary Method

 

  1. Open a new blank white image using the new image icon. Set the size to 12,288 pixels wide by 512 pixels high.
  2. Next open up your source images. You may need to prep the images prior to using them for your panorama. PSP7 contains some excellent effects filters that can help improve the look of your images. These are selectable from the Enhance Photo section under Effects on the main menu. I find the first 3 "automatic" options to be very effective at enhancing a dim or slightly out of color image. Use the effects to your advantage.
  3. Go to your first source image and choose Edit, then Copy from the main menu to copy the entire contents of this image. If you only want to copy a portion of the image you first need to select the desired area using the Selection Tool from the left tool palette. Now left click at the top left area of the section, hold down the mouse button and drag diagonally across to the lower right corner of your desired selection and release the mouse button. There will be a dotted rectangle around your selection.
  4. Switch back to the blank 12,288 image and select Edit, then Paste As New Layer to add your copied selection to the master panel as a new layer. You can reposition this layer within the master panel by clicking and dragging it to a different area which is a good idea to do since each pasted layer will default to the center of your master panel.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for your remaining source images. Hopefully you will have enough images to fill or exceed the width of the master panel. If not, you can always duplicate one or more of your source images and paste it into the master panel and later use the Clone Brush and Paint Brush to edit the entire scene to make the duplicate areas look unique. It is also possible to mirror the duplicate image by selecting Image and them Mirror.
  6. Once all your layers are copied to the master panel you need to position them to or below the bottom of the master panel as well as to both the left and right edges. You will notice that some layers are covered by others. The layers are much like a handful of playing cards. Each card overlaps the one just below it just as the layers do in your image. Fortunately you can toggle the priority order of these layers in PSP. For an example click on a layer that overlaps another to make it the active layer. Next select Layers from the main menu, then Arrange. You will see four possible options. Choose the option Move Down to position this layer under the one it originally overlapped. Experiment with the other options as needed until your layers are stacked correctly.
  7. Next you must position the individual layers based on the terrain in each. Try to match up terrain in neighboring panels as close as possible.
  8. When you have all the layers positioned satisfactorily choose Layers from the main menu, Merge, then Merge All (Flatten) to combine all layers as one image.
  9. Select the Paint Brush and a size of 10 or higher using the floating Tool Options menu. Use the Paint Brush to erase (white out) the area above your terrain. It is a good idea to do the majority of this work with a larger brush and then change to a size of 2 or 3 for the final editing. I recommend painting a couple pixels into the top of your terrain region with the smaller brush. This will ensure that only the colors directly related to your terrain region will be visible in the final panorama. Now it's time to use the Clone Brush to touch up the terrain seams caused by your layer edges. Refer to step 19 below to learn how to use this tool.
  10. Make sure the image window is full screen before continuing. Next use the Selection Tool and highlight approximately half of your image (you can start and end your entire selection actually outside the image window in full screen mode if you are zoomed out enough). It is best to end the right side of your selection at a section of your terrain that is relatively flat at the top. What we will do in the next couple steps is flip flop the two halves in another image as new layers. This will make both edges of your final base image align exactly to each other.
  11. Choose Edit and then Cut.
  12. Next create a new white image (12,288x512).
  13. Choose Edit and then Paste As New Layer to add your copied selection as a new layer in the white image. Click on the layer and drag it toward the lower right corner to generally position it, we will fit it exactly to this corner later.
  14. Switch back to the previous image which will still show your original selection on the left side. Choose Selections from the main menu and then Invert. This will automatically select the remaining portion of your image.
  15. Choose edit and then Cut.
  16. Next choose edit and then Paste As New Layer. Go ahead and drag this layer to the left hand corner.
  17. Now you want to zoom in at a 3:1 ratio or greater. You can use the + key but I find it easier to simply position my mouse cursor near the bottom left area of the screen and then use the scroll wheel on my mouse, forward zooms in, back zooms out. You now need to align both layers exactly to the bottom and corresponding side so that there is no visible white region below or to either side. This can be tedious at first but after some practice you will be able to align the layers in a matter of seconds.
  18. Click on Layers from the top toolbar, then Merge and finally Merge All (flatten) to combine your layers into the base white image.
  19. At this point both ends of your base image are in good shape but the middle will have a visible seam which will need some editing to blend the two regions together naturally. Select the Clone Brush and right click on an area you want to use as a starting point to copy from. Now left click, holding down the mouse button, just to either side of the middle seam and drag across this area. Notice that the source area will also move with your mouse motion so take this into consideration when selecting the source region. Use the Paint Brush tool to edit the small area at the top of this middle seam and smoothe out the rest of the terrain. The Clone Brush is a very powerful tool, use it to your advantage to also remove any unwanted scenery such as a large boulder by copying another portion of the image. I have attached two images below to show a before and after Clone Brush edit on a sample image.
  21. Now you are ready to cut your image into 12 Panel Segments.
  22. Choose the Selection Tool and position your mouse cursor at the very top left point of your image until you see a reading of 0,0 on the the bottom info bar to the left. It registers the position of your mouse cursor on screen as it is moved. Now click the left mouse button, hold it down and drag diagonally right and below the image until you get to 1024 pixels wide as noted in by the info bar by the third set of bracketed values. Only the image itself is selected so don't worry about going below it. Here is an example of the info bar with the encircled yellow section depicting the selected region you will be reading.
  23. You can now go to Edit, select Cut and than Paste As New Image.
  24. Next use the Magic Wand tool to select the white region of this new image.
  25. Go to the Selections menu and choose Invert to select your new terrain only.
  26. Now choose the Selections menu and then Save To Alpha Channel. Click Ok and then Ok again. The alpha channel is used to define all visible data in your panel. The white area (color 255,255,255) defines the transparent portion of your image which will be invisible when the panorama is loaded up in the Course Architect program.
  27. After saving to an alpha channel go back to the Selections menu and then click Select None.
  28. Now you will save the image as a Targa (.tga) file named Pan Segment 01.tga in your Panos folder.
  29. Repeat the above steps 22 thru 28 to create the remaining panel segments naming the files in succession from Pan Segment 01.tga thru Pan Segment 12.tga.

 

 

Part 2 - Library Creator and Course Architect

 

Main Index