Hello there, this is a tutorial for a technique i recently learned for making avatar silhouettes in Photoshop for use in IMVU graphics. This technique is mostly useful for making the edge around your avatar smoother quickly and easily. A lot easier and quicker than manually going around the edge with the eraser.

I wrote this tutorial with CS6 in mind but I'm sure it will work with other versions as well.


Step 1: Get a picture of an avatar that you would like to turn into a silhouette with a transparent background.

Tip: To take a picture of your avi with a transparent background, type *hiresnobg into the client. This will take a picture with no background or furniture and save it on your desktop.

Tip 2: If you want to use a pose without buying it, go into the shop and try on the pose, then take your picture. Or find a public photo room with poses.

Step 2: Open your picture in PhotoShop.

Step 3: Select the magic wand tool and click on your avatar. If done correctly, your avatar should be the only thing selected.

Step 4: Go to the channels Palette.

Step 5: Click the "Create new channel" button.

Step 6: You should now have a new channel with the shape of your avatar outlined. Select the paint bucket tool and fill in this outline with white.

Tip: It doesn't have to be white, it just has to be a color that is clearly visible against black.

Step 7: Click the "Select" menu option at the top and then click "deselect". Your avatar should no longer be outlined.

Step 8: Click the Filer menu option at the top, then click Blur, then click "Gaussian Blur" and finally apply Gaussian Blur with a setting of 3.8

Tip: You can use another Gaussian Blur setting if you want. This is just the number I found to work best for me.

Step 9: Click the Image menu option at the top, then click Adjustments and then click Levels.

Step 10: In the Levels dialog, set the Input levels to 39 - 1.00 - 59.

Tip: You can fiddle around with these numbers to get a smoother and sharper edge around your avatar.

Step 11: Go back to the channels palette and select your alpha layer.

Step 12: Click the "Load Channel As Selection" button at the bottom of the channels palette.

Step 13: Go to the layers palette.

Step 14: Click the "New layer" button to make a new layer. If done right you should have a new layer with an outline around your avatar.

Step 15: Finally, select the paint bucket tool and fill in the outline with black.


If everyone was done correctly, you should have a fairly decent looking silhouette of your avi that you can use for anything you want.




For more experienced PhotoShop users, here is a less detailed (straight to the point) tutorial:
Use Magic Wand on your avatar
Go to Channels and create a new Channel
Fill in selection with white using the paint bucket tool
Deselect avi
Go to Filter then blur
Add 3.8 Gaussian blur
Go to Image then Adjustments then Levels
Set Input Levels to 39 1.00 59
Go to Channels
Select Alpha Layer
Click "Load Channel As Selection"
Go to layers
Fill in selection with black




For a video tutorial showing this technique on a basic shape, here's a video:

Very Useful . ty for the tut D.M

Good tutorial even for cs3, should be useful for sticker or something.

Hempy wrote:

Good tutorial even for cs3, should be useful for sticker or something.

Or for public room display pictures which is what I originally was gonna do with it. Lots of strip clubs like to use female silhouettes.

Lol you are right I do noticed a lot of public strip clubs in Imvu but it is easy to google some photos for room cover photo. For me this is a brilliant idea for a sticker even with black background prolly could just add some higlight at the edges like white or silver to make it visible. Anyway, good tutorial!

Hempy wrote:

Lol you are right I do noticed a lot of public strip clubs in Imvu but it is easy to google some photos for room cover photo. For me this is a brilliant idea for a sticker even with black background prolly could just add some higlight at the edges like white or silver to make it visible. Anyway, good tutorial!

True..this is for people who want to put effort into their creations. Lord knows IMVU could use more original creativity.

Love this...thank you always!