Tutorial: 'Stained Glass' Effect
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Medium-easy tutorial; written for PSP 7/8, GIMP 2.0 and Photoshop Elements 5.
0. Choose a Base
This effect works best on images that aren't too dark or heavily tinted. Avoid pictures with strong shadows on the face.
Crop your base down, but don't resize it yet - it's best to work as big as possible. (My images are shrunk to spare your internet connection: I'm actually working at about 380 x 380 pixels.)
1. Duplicate the base, and set the layer mode to 'Dodge'. (Photoshop users: 'Color Dodge'.)
2. Duplicate the base again, drag it to the top, and set the layer mode to 'Burn'. (Photoshop users: 'Color Burn'.)
3. Go back to the dodge layer and invert the colours:
PSP 8: Adjust > Negative Image.
PSP 7: Colours > Negative Image.
Elements: Filter > Adjustments > Invert.
GIMP: Layer > Colours > Invert.
This will make the image go all white, but don't panic, because now comes the clever bit:
4. Still on the Dodge layer, apply a Gaussian blur. Set the radius somewhere between 5 and 10. The higher the radius, the thicker the lines you'll get, so what looks good depends on the size and level of detail of your base. I used radius 8 to get this:
5. The basic effect is there, but it's a bit noisy and pixellated. Merge all the layers, duplicate the result, and set the layer mode to 'Overlay'.
6. Go back down to the bottom layer and apply another Gaussian blur, this time with a radius of around 5. (You may have to adjust depending on the size of your image, but don't set the radius too high or you'll get too much 'glow' and the image will look over-exposed.)
7. Now you can merge the layers and shrink the image down to icon size.
You could stop there, but if you think the image still needs a bit more smoothing, duplicate the layer and apply a noise-reducing filter:
PSP 8: Adjust > Add/Remove Noise > Edge Preserving Smooth, set to 7.
PSP 7: Effects > Noise > Edge Preserving Smooth, set to 7.
Elements: Filter > Noise > Dust and Scratches, radius 1, threshold 65.
GIMP: Filters > Blur > Selective Gaussian Blur, radius 5, delta 50.
Decrease the opacity and/or erase parts of the smoothed layer to restore some of the sharpness if you need to.
And there you go.
Other Results:
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to 
to 
to Medium-easy tutorial; written for PSP 7/8, GIMP 2.0 and Photoshop Elements 5.
0. Choose a Base
This effect works best on images that aren't too dark or heavily tinted. Avoid pictures with strong shadows on the face.
Crop your base down, but don't resize it yet - it's best to work as big as possible. (My images are shrunk to spare your internet connection: I'm actually working at about 380 x 380 pixels.)
1. Duplicate the base, and set the layer mode to 'Dodge'. (Photoshop users: 'Color Dodge'.)
2. Duplicate the base again, drag it to the top, and set the layer mode to 'Burn'. (Photoshop users: 'Color Burn'.)
3. Go back to the dodge layer and invert the colours:
PSP 8: Adjust > Negative Image.
PSP 7: Colours > Negative Image.
Elements: Filter > Adjustments > Invert.
GIMP: Layer > Colours > Invert.
This will make the image go all white, but don't panic, because now comes the clever bit:
4. Still on the Dodge layer, apply a Gaussian blur. Set the radius somewhere between 5 and 10. The higher the radius, the thicker the lines you'll get, so what looks good depends on the size and level of detail of your base. I used radius 8 to get this:
5. The basic effect is there, but it's a bit noisy and pixellated. Merge all the layers, duplicate the result, and set the layer mode to 'Overlay'.
6. Go back down to the bottom layer and apply another Gaussian blur, this time with a radius of around 5. (You may have to adjust depending on the size of your image, but don't set the radius too high or you'll get too much 'glow' and the image will look over-exposed.)
7. Now you can merge the layers and shrink the image down to icon size.
You could stop there, but if you think the image still needs a bit more smoothing, duplicate the layer and apply a noise-reducing filter:
PSP 8: Adjust > Add/Remove Noise > Edge Preserving Smooth, set to 7.
PSP 7: Effects > Noise > Edge Preserving Smooth, set to 7.
Elements: Filter > Noise > Dust and Scratches, radius 1, threshold 65.
GIMP: Filters > Blur > Selective Gaussian Blur, radius 5, delta 50.
Decrease the opacity and/or erase parts of the smoothed layer to restore some of the sharpness if you need to.
And there you go.
Other Results:
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