Framing the 3D photo

First we will create the 3D photo frame around the dancing couple.  Assuming that you have opened your image in PhotoImpact, choose the standard selection tool as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Create a static selection by drawing a box around the couple similar to that shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Don't worry too much about getting the selection exactly right at this point.  You will be able to adjust it more accurately in the next step.  Switch to the transform tool as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

In the attribute toolbar, select the Resize transform (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Also, make sure to click on the 'Action on selection' button in the attribute toolbar (Figure 5).

Figure 5

This forces the resize transform to take action on the current selection.  Your selection should now appear as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6

At this point you can grab the selection at any of the handles and resize it as needed.  You can also move the entire selection around until you are satisfied with its position.  Again, try to get your selection to appear as close to the one in Figure 6 as possible.  Note: you might have to unlock the 'Keep aspect ratio' button in the attribute toolbar to get the selection to resize height or width independantly of each other (Figure 7).

Figure 7

Now switch to the Perspective transform by going to the attribute toolbar and selecting the Perspective menu item (Figure 8).

Figure 8

Grab the handle in the upper left corner of the selection and move it down until it resembles the one shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

When you are satisfied, create a new object from the selection by pressing Ctrl+Shift+O or going to the Selection menu and selecting 'Convert to Object'. This should create a new object from your selection.  You can verify this by looking at the Layer Manager.  It should appear much the same as Figure 10.

Figure 10

You can also hide the base image by hitting Ctrl+F5 and see just the newly created object (Figure 11).  Ctrl+F5 again will redisplay the base image.

Figure 11

If you haven't already, now would be a good time to save your work.  Since you originally loaded a JPG image, you'll want to use the 'Save As' function (Figure 12) to accomplish this.

Figure 12

Remember to change the 'Save as type' to UFO (Figure 13) so that your newly created objects are saved intact.

Figure 13

Now that you have your 3D frame created, you can paint the white photo frame around its edges.  Select the paintbrush from the toolbox window (Figure 14).

Figure 14

In the attribute toolbar, set the paint color to white, brush shape to square, brush size to 75 and soften paint edges to 0 (Figure 15).

Figure 15

Now, making sure that your newly created 3D frame object is active as shown in  Figure 10, select the 'Paint on Edges' menu item from the 'Effect' menu (Figure 16) or use the keyboard shortcut SHIFT+P to invoke the same function.

Figure 16

You should now have a white border around the 3D frame object like the one shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17

Before proceeding with the next section, hide the 3D frame object so that it doesn't get in the way.  You can do this by going to the Layer Manager and clicking on the eye icon (Figure 18).

Figure 18