PhotoImpact 12 has several preset work modes. For this tutorial, we will be using the Full Edit mode so all of the tools in PhotoImpact will be available to you.

As you work, use your mouse to drag this along with you to mark your place.

LET'S GET STARTED

You will need a clipart image in any format. In the event that you don't have one, feel free to download the ones provided with this tutorial. They are from the Ulead clipart collection that comes with the boxed version of PhotoImpact.

Open your image in PhotoImpact. Check to make sure it is RGB 24bit True Color. If you're not sure, look in the lower right corner of the screen. If you see a small red, green, and blue icon, your image is ready to use. If not, click whatever is there (usually 256) and select RGB True Color.

Now we're ready to start. Use the crop tool to crop away the excess white from your image. Don't crop right up against the image, leave a tiny bit of white space as shown in the diagram below:

Drag the nodes either in or out to adjust, then double-click to crop. On the menu, select Web\Image Optimizer and save to your hard drive as a .jpg file. Be sure you remember where you saved it because we'll need it again.

Click on the Selection tool and select the Magic Wand. When you do, the attributes on the menu bar will change. Set your attributes as shown below. It is important to make sure connected pixels is checked. Click inside of your image on the white part. You will see selection lines around your image. Right-click inside your image and select Invert from the pop-up menu. This will cause the selection line to be around the object only.

While the selection lines are still active, select Edit on the menu, then select Trace Edges and Selection Marquee.

When the Trace screen pops up, simply click Ok. Accept all the defaults just as they are. This will take you back to the workspace. You won't see any difference other than the Mode option on the menu bar has changed to Horizontal Deform. Change the mode to 3D Round. Your image will change to a solid blob. The color will depend on whatever color was last used. It really doesn't matter.

Now comes the fun part. We're going to "skin" the 3D object with that image we saved in the beginning. On the menu, select Edit\Fill. When the Fill screen is displayed, click on the Image tab. Click on the browse button and find the image you saved. If it's the right image, it will show in the small window on that screen. Set the Fill mode to Fit to Image.

Click Okay. Now look at your image - it's in 3D!! It is a path object, you can use the path tool to add a border or use Hue and Saturation to change the color, and of course, you can save it in your Easy Palette.

Here are a few more examples of 3D clipart. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial found it to be useful.

You're invited to join the PIRC Fourm! This is an active PhotoImpact Forum where you'll find a wonderful group of warm, friendly, talented, and knowledgeable people who are ready and willing to share their expertise with you. There are creative activities for all levels of PhotoImpact users. This forum is 100% free and everyone is welcome.