posted on Sep, 5 2005 @ 02:30 AM
Putting images like that together is done in layers. Look up some tuturials on that.
I for one use Paint Shop Pro 8 myself.
Follow these google links:
www.google.ca...
www.google.ca...
It takes awhile to get used to do the product.
I will deconstruct your avatar how I think it was made, or how I would make it myself.
Im not sure if the background is one image or two. The sky and tree could be one piece, or they could be seperate layers.
If they are seperate layers I would do the sky first, then put in the tree layer.
As for the lightning im not sure if its a preset effect or what not, but either way it comes next.
Now the lightning may not look the best, but now you can alter that lightning layer however you want. You can erase or alter the opacity of certain
parts of it around the tree etc. See how the lightning works around the tree.
Now again im not sure how the lightning was made, but im going to guess that some sort of lighting technique was applied to make the image seem like
night time. I am not sure how its done in photoshop, but in psp its all presets.
It looks to me like a single light source.
Im no expert, I only do this for fun. Just learn by experimenting.