Diptychs - two is better than one! / Discuss

Sara Heinrichs (awfulsara) says:

Okay, my dears. The quick and dirty way is to just size em the same, double the width of your canvas, and drop the second image into the first. But I like presenting it with a bit of flair, so this is what I do...

1. Open both images in Photoshop, or photo editing software of your choice. (Yes, you could probably figure that first one yourself, but let's be thorough.)

2. Looks: Decide how you want your dip to look, i.e. what dimensions you want to use. Using shots that are too wide side by side will make one heck of a long skinny dip, and might work better layered one on top of the other, if ya wanna get real crazy. I usually use either a 4x6 ratio for verticals or a square crop for Anything Else. But I'm boring.

3. Resize: Crop and resize accordingly. Make em the same actual size, say, fer example, 400x600 pixels, or 600x600 pixels, or make one panel a different width for a more asymetrical dip.

4. Border: It helps to have some separation between the shots, so they don't merge together too much. I usually create a thin, 1 pixel border around each one. (In PS: Select --> All, Select -> Modify -> Border: Width 1. Edit -> Fill: Choose a contrasting color - I like white or gray for a dip that will have a black border. Opacity: 75%)

5. Resize canvas: From one of the resized, border-added images, double the width of your canvas + 10 pixels on one side only (or add the width of your second panel + 10 if it is smaller/larger than the first). In other words, for a 400-pixel wide right hand image, add 410 pixels to your canvas size on the left. Those extra 10 pixels will provide a little buffer between the shots. (In PS: Image -> Canvas Size: Width 410 pixels. 'Relative' checked. Canvas extension color: black - or whatever you please for your very own dips.)

6. Add second image: Toggle back to your other image, copy and paste it into the widened canvas, drag it to the far edge so there is space between them.

7. Almost done! Finishing touch is just to add a bit more canvas around the side by side images to give them a little framing. (PS: Image -> Canvas Size: 30 pixels both width and height.) Then flatten your layers, save as "My Awful Diptych", upload, and post here for glee of masses.

Clarification: the pixel amounts given here assume a small image, 600x800 max, not an original. If your file is full size, adjust the border amounts accordingly, or you won't even be able to see it at the small size.

Questions? Clarifications? Rants and raves cause my instructions are PScentric? Might look like alot, but it is FAST. You'll be churning out diptychs before ya know it...
Posted at 1:57PM, 21 March 2005 PDT (permalink)