Norvin Eitzen

2. Select the Pen tool by clicking on the Pen tool or pressing “P”.  Make sure that “Paths” is selected in the top left-hand corner rather than “Shape Layers” or “Fill Pixels”

3. Draw points around the image and use the Bezier paths to shape nice corners and curves.

4. Click on the “Paths” tab when done and make a selection our of the newly created path ( right click on the path and choose Make Selection )

5. Click on the “Layers” tab.  6. If your working with one layer and it is classified as a “background” change it into a layer.  This can be done by double clicking on the layer, choosing the default name ( layer 0 )  and press OK.

7. Add a layer mask.  Look toward the bottom of the layers panel for a square button with a circle in it..

8. From here you can directly paint on the new layer mask.  Always work directly on the layer mask.  There should be a double border on the layer mask thumbnail instead of the layer thumbnail

Paint with WHITE to make more of the original image visible

Paint with BLACK to make more of the image disappear

9. You can always switch between the layer mask view and the layer view by holding down “ALT” while clicking on the layer mask thumbnail.

10. When you are satisfied with your mask, choose from the “Select” menu the option “Load Selection” and load your “Layer 0”

11. Click on the “Channels” tab and select “Save selection as channel”  This button looks like the one in step #7 (square with circle)

12. Click on the main layer and drag the layer mask thumbnail into the trash can.

13. From the layers menu, select “Flatten Image”

14. Save the document as a TIFF, with no compression keeping alpha channels.  Only the TIFF format will work.

15. The max size that you would ever need for a PowerPoint show is 200dpi, 7.5 inches high and 10 inches wide.

16. Now import the image into PowerPoint.  It should come in preserving the alpha mask such that it is not a square.  If you used gradients during step #8, gradient transparencies will appear.

Enjoy!