Trouble with Photo Blend tool

[kdog509adam75+]

I'm using Paint Shop Pro 2021 Ultimate and I'm having a problem with a tutorial from the Paint Shop Pro Learning Center.

The problem revolves around using the Blend Tool. This is a link to the tutorial I'm following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6uM6kB ... RU&index=2

Specifically, it involves the final tutorial in this video where 2 images are loaded using the Blend Feature combined with the Brush In tool. In the video, when this procedure is followed, the people in the image were removed to allow only the back ground or scenic view to remain.

When I use the sample images included with the tutorial it works fine. However, if I try using my own images, the area that I brush out results in a black spot in the brushed out area. For the life of me I can't figure out where I'm going wrong.

Please see images

Any thoughts?

[LeviFiction]

I see you appear to be using the same image for both images in the blend. I duplicated an image to test this out.

The only way I can get the same result is to brush out the same area on both images which makes sense. If I remove the same area from both images then PSP has nothing to use to fill in the area. If I only remove content from one image it gets filled in with the other image.

[kdog509adam75+]

That's the part that is messing me up. If I brush out the couple in Image A and leave Image B untouched and press Process, nothing changes, the couple are still present. If I brush out the couple in Image B and leave Image A untouched and press Process, again nothing changes. If I brush out the couple in both images all I end up with is a black area where the couple used to be. Is the fact I'm using the same images for both A ad B the problem?

[LeviFiction]

Yes it's because you're using the same image. It's supposed to look like that. You'll notice in the video they always have images taken from a tripod and the people are always in different locations. This is because it's going to add/blend the images together. We can do the same thing manually by putting the images on their own layers and using the eraser tool to erase parts of one image to let other parts show through.

Think of it this way, if you take a photo and print two copies, then you cut out (brush out in Photo Blend) the couple on one photo and overlap them you'll see the couple of the bottom image through the hole. If you cut the couple out of both images and put them on top of each other you won't see any part of the image at all. What you're doing when you Photo Blend is deciding what parts of the images to keep, and which parts to cut out. PSP then takes what's left and blends them together. If you've cut a whole in both images in the same spot the blending will result in black because you've chosen not to have any data in that space.

[kdog509adam75+]

OK, I'm tracking now..... I took one of my example images, opened it in PSP and mirrored it. Then using the Blend tool, I brushed out the two boats in each image because they were in different locations in the images. When I clicked process, the boats were removed and the two sample images were blended together. The couple were kind of squished together, I suspect their position was too close in each image. The same with the palm tree. If I try to brush them out I end up with the Black Hole of Calcutta effect. I'm going to play around with some more images, but I'm understanding how this works, so thanks for taking the time to help me clear this up. Appreciate it.

[Jean-Luc]

Why not use the Magic Fill tool?