Because pictures are so much betterer…

Kylie Min”O”gue

Step 1. Create a new layer (call it Aura1 so you can keep track of it), and draw a big fat line where you want your aura to be.

Step 2. Apply Gaussian Blur to the Aura1 layer, making sure that it’s very blurred.

Step 3. Create a new layer (Aura2), and draw a smaller, lighter coloured aura line.

Step 4. Gaussian blur that layer, but less than the first one (we need the aura to be more concentrated around where it is coming from)

Step 5. Create another new layer (Aura3), and do the same again with a thinner brush and lighter colour (this final one is purest white)

Step 6. You guessed it, more Gaussian blur. Again, less than the last one.

Step 7. Merge the aura layers you created. This lets you erase the bit you don’t want (the bit that covers her hair and face) without having to do it separately in each layer. The best way to do this (on PSP 6.02 anyway) is to make the background layer not visible, then merge all the visible layers (your three aura layers)

Step 8. With the eraser tool, erase the bits you don’t want around her face. It’s often easier to see what you’re doing if you drop the opacity of the merged aura layer to about 50%.

Start with the opacity set to 100% for the main part of her face, and then drop it to 20-30% with a smaller brush size when you get round to doing the edges of her face and hair. This gives you a little more control at the edges and stops it from looking really harsh. It also leaves a little aura colour on her face which looks more natural, as she is clearly glowing with some mystical Australian life force.

Step 9. You may end up with some ragged looking aura edges around the edge of her face and hair (see above). Smooth these out using the Soften tool. It’s like the paintbrush, but it softens things by blurring gently in the area you draw on. And voila, you have your aura…