Preview
In this tutorial, I will show you how to make an image like the one shown above. To view the hidden image, either drag your mouse over it while holding down the left mouse button, or just press CTRL + A. (IE users ONLY!)
1. Open any two images that you want to use. Make sure they are the same size. For this tutorial, I am using pictures that came with my computer. I resized them both to 300 x 192.
2. Make a new document that is the same size as these pictures. For example, I would make a new document that is 300 x 192.
3. Click the add new layer button to add 2 new layers, leaving you with a total of 3 layers.
4. Drag the 2 images that you want to use into this document. Place the image that will be the main image on the bottom layer, and the image that you want to hide on the middle layer.
5. Now minimize this document, as you won't need it for a sec. Whenever you highlight an image, a blue grid will overlay it. We need to make this grid in order for the hidden image to be able to hide. To make the grid, make another new document, this time 2px x 2px. Make your foreground colour #0A246A. Zoom your 2px x 2px document in all the way, so it is at 1600%. Grab your pencil tool (make it 1 pixel in size) and draw a dot in the top left corner, and in the bottom right corner, so your image looks like this.
Now press Edit > Define Pattern and name it Hidden Grid. Now you no longer need this grid open, so you can close it. (You do not have to save it)
6. Switch back to your main document, with your 2 images. Select the top layer in the layer menu, and using the marquee tool, right click the document and choose Select All... Right click the document again, and choose Fill. Select the same options as in the picture.
This will place the grid onto your document. Now your layers list should look like this.
7. Make sure that the top left pixel of your document is blue, not transparent. Select the middle layer called Hidden in your layers list. Hold CTRL and click the top layer. This will select every pixel that the grid is revealing. Press delete to remove these pixels. Hide the grid layer, by pressing the eye next to its name on the Layers List. Your image should look like this...
8. Now press Image > Adjustments > Levels. Change the Input and Output levels so they hide the hidden image. To achieve the best results, change the levels so that your main image is light in colour, which helps in hiding the hidden image. To check how your final result will look like, make the grid layer visible again. This will show how the end result will be when the image is selected. If you can see the hidden image well, then you have selected the right levels. However, if the image is too dark or light once the grid is visible, then you should change the Input and Output levels to suit your needs.
9. Save your image as a .gif, so it retains its features. If it is saved as .jpeg, then the hidden image will not work.
Here is my final result.
Tips for this sig.
- Select a main image that has a lot of detail. This will help in hiding the hidden image.
- To test your image, save it as a .gif and open it in Microsoft Internet Explorer. (Right click image - Open With... > Internet Explorer). Either drag your mouse over the image, or press CTRL + A.
