how to make force fields??

[Stixxer]

hello i'm trying to create a force field with paint.net

but all i can make is this

pls help me guys

[salu]

hmm

well if its for an image

add a new layer and draw a filled circle on top of the image..

then go to the layer properties and reduce the opacity until you see the image under neath

[Gladi8or2]

It looks more realistic if the outline of the forcefield has a higher opacity than the middle part, since it is a shell and not a filled sphere.

[Stixxer]

can you describe this in noob language please? thank you.. or in german that would be even greater^^

[BoltBait]

Heh. The only thing I can say in German is, "Ein Bier bitte."

[Gladi8or2]

Okay, my German isn't very good (although I learned it three years in school), so I'll give it a try with pictures...

This is how a transparant sphere would look like:

But the force field is not a sphere, but just a shell, so it would look like:

As you can see the darker part is on the outside, not on the inside. Now for the forcefield you can do the same but with a color you like.

@BoltBait: I guess that's the most useful phrase in German

[Stixxer]

wow thank you.. but how can i make this sphere? with gradients??

[Blooper]

You will need the alpha mask plugin.

1. Start off with a new layer (CTRL+Shift+N). Double-click the layer, and set the transparency slider to 127-ish.

2.Select the ellipse tool ( ), and in the toolbar, click :ShapeOutline: once to change it into :ShapeInterior:. This will let you draw a filled circle. Now, hold Shift, and draw a circle containing the object or character you want in the force field in white. Use the move tool () to fine tune the position of the circle.

3. Double-click the layer with the circle on it. Put the transparency slider back up at 255.

4. Select all (Ctrl+A), cut (CTRL+X). New image (CTRL+N), Paste (CTRL+V).

5. Add a new layer, then move it down. Fill it with black. Flatten (CTRL+Shift+F). Invert colors (CTRL+Shift+I). Save as "ForceFieldMask.png".

6. Go back to the picture you want to add a force field to. Fill the empty layer above the character with whatever color you want the sphere to be. Go to Effects>Alpha Mask. Load the image you saved earlier, "ForceFieldMask.png". A little explanation: The bright a pixel is on the image you loaded (called the "mask"), the more opaque it will turn the image you apply the effect to. That means the black parts will disappear on the image you filled in the color of your forcefield earlier. Ok, so now you should have a circle the color of your force field.

7.Gaussian blur as wanted. Go to Effects > Alpha mask, and reload ForceFieldMask.png. This time, tick the box that says "Mix alpha". I can't exactly explain how that works as I don't myself, but go on :o. You should now have your force field. You might want to tinker with the layer's opacity after that.

Now, I think I took you through a ton of unneeded steps, but it's not so bad.

[david.atwell]

Have you already tried using MKT's Shape3D plugin?