Tutorial: AKVIS Chameleon

Workspace

To create a collage using AKVIS Chameleon do the following:

• Step 1. Open an image with the object that you want to use for creating a collage.
• Step 2. Use any selection tool to select a fragment Grab Fragment from the Filter menu of the photo editor.

  In Adobe Photoshop: Filter –> AKVIS –> Chameleon –> Grab Fragment; in Paint Shop Pro: Effects –> Plugins -> AKVIS –> Chameleon –> Grab Fragment; in Corel PHOTO-PAINT: Effects –> AKVIS –> Chameleon –> Grab Fragment.

  If everything is done correctly you’ll see a message that selected object is saved into the clipboard.

• Step 3. Open an image that will be used as a background for the future collage and choose Make Collage from the menu Filter.

  In Adobe Photoshop: Filter –> AKVIS –> Chameleon –> Make Collage; in Paint Shop Pro: Effects –> Plugins -> AKVIS –> Chameleon –> Make Collage; in Corel PHOTO-PAINT: Effects –> AKVIS –> Chameleon –> Make Collage.

After this AKVIS Chameleon window opens. This window looks like that:

Workspace of AKVIS Сhameleon plug-in

The Image Window with 2 tabs - Before and After. The background image and the inserted fragment is in the Before tab, while in the After tab you can see the collage. It is possible to switch between the tabs using the Tab-key.

In the upper part of the window you can see the Control panel with the progress bar, which shows the approximate processing time remaining, and the following controls:

• The button opens the files with the ending .chameleonFragment. You can save the fragment that you use to make a collage. The file will contain information about the fragment's location on the background image, the drawn outlines and the parameters on the Settings panel. Open the saved fragment by pressing the Ctrl+O hot-keys (+O on Macintosh).

• The button saves the fragment with its parameters to the separate file .chameleonFragment. The hot key for this operation is Ctrl+S (+S on Macintosh).

• The button Undo cancels the last action. If you press this button several times, you can cancel several actions. The hot-key for this operation is Ctrl+Z (+Z on Macintosh).

• The button Redo allows restoring the changes canceled by the action Undo. The hot-key for this operation is Ctrl+Y (+Y on Macintosh).

• The button starts the process of collage creation. The hot-key for this operation is R.

• The button allows closing the AKVIS Chameleon window and saving the collage into your photo editor.

• The button calls information about the program.

• The button calls help files to the program.

• The button allows selecting the interface language. To change the interface language click on with the left mouse button, then choose the language from the drop-down menu.

• The button allows closing the plug-in's window without applying the result.

At the left side of the Image Window there is the Toolbar that has of the following buttons:

• The Keep Area Pencil tool (only for Montage Mode) is used to outline the areas of the fragment that should stay unchanged. You can activate this tool by pressing the button K on the keyboard.

• The Drop Area Pencil tool (only for Montage Mode) is used to outline the areas of the fragment that should adapt to the background image. You can activate this tool by pressing the button D on the keyboard.

• The Eraser tool (only for Montage Mode) is used to erase the drawn outlines, except for the red outer frame that shows the limits of the fragment. You can activate this tool by pressing the button E on the keyboard.

• The Transform tool is used to set the size, the angle and the position of the pasted object. You can activate this tool by pressing the button T on the keyboard.

The parameters of the selected tool are shown on the Control Panel.

Navigate and scale the image using the Navigation window. In the Navigation window you can see the reduced copy of the image. The red frame shows the part of the image that is now visible in the Image Window; the areas outside the frame will be shaded. Drag the frame to make other parts of the image visible. To move the frame, bring the cursor inside the frame, press the left mouse button and, keeping it pressed, move the frame in the Navigation window.

Navigation window

To scroll the image in the Image Window you can press the spacebar on the keyboard and drag the image with the left mouse button. Use the scroll wheel of the mouse to move the image up/down, by keeping the Ctrl key pressed – to the left/to the right, by keeping the Alt key pressed − scale the image.

Use the slider or the buttons and to scale the image in the Image Window. When you click on the button or move the slider to the right, the image scale increases. When you click on the button or move the slider to the left, the image scale reduces.

You can change the image scale by entering a new coefficient into the scale field and pressing the button Enter (Return in Macintosh). The fall-down menu shows some frequently used coefficients.

You can use hot-keys to change the image scale + and Ctrl++ (++ in Macintosh) to increase the image scale and - and Ctrl+- (+- in Macintosh) to reduce the scale.

Under the Navigator there is a Settings Panel where you can can choose the mode to create the collage and settings to the selected mode.

Below the Settings Panel there is a Hints field: first time you launch the program it shows a short description of AKVIS Chameleon; as you work with the program it shows hints to the parameters of the chosen tool or the chosen mode.