While digital cameras become more advanced and more popular, it perhaps seems odd that one of the most popular effects that people apply to their images is antiqued sepia tones. This effect can add a degree of interest to most images and can be achieved quite easily in any free pixel-based image editor.
This step by step focuses on creating an antiqued sepia tone effect in Paint.NET and it is extremely easy to achieve, even for beginners to Paint.NET.
1. Select Your Image
© Ian Pullen
You can select any type of image for this process, but selecting the best image that you can to start with will help ensure the final result is as good as it can be.
The image I selected was a little under exposed so I just went to the Adjustments menu and clicked on Auto-Level to quickly improve my starting image.
2. Apply the Sepia Feature
© Ian Pullen
This next step is where Paint.NET comes into its own, as it has an built-in Sepia command that will automatically convert an image in a one-click step.
To use it, just go to the Adjustments menu and click on Sepia. This automatically desaturates the image and applies a sepia tone to the image. This result can be further tweaked to add to the antiqued sepia tone effect by adding the appearance of lens vignetting.
3. Set Your Primary and Secondary Colors
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Normally I'd use a selection with a feathered edge to produce the effect of lens vignetting, but try as I might I couldn't get the Feather Selection plug-in I have installed to have any effect. My alternative method is a very simple solution using the Gradient tool.
The first step is to set the colors. If the Colors palette isn't visible, go to the Window menu and click Colors. The Colors palette has two display states so if there is a button saying More, click on it to expand the palette. If necessary, select Secondary from the drop down menu and set the color as black. Then select Primary and drag the Transparency – Alpha slider to the left until it is set at zero. It does not matter which color is selected.
4. Add a Vignette Effect With Gradient Tool
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Now you can click on the Gradient tool in the Tools palette and in the Tool Options bar above the image, select the Radial setting. The next step is a little experimental and it is easier if you zoom out a little, either by going to View > Zoom Out or clicking on the magnifying glass icon with the negative sign in the tool bar below the Menu bar.
Next go to Layers > Add New Layer. Now place your cursor in the center of the image and click and drag outwards, not releasing till the cursor is quite a long way outside of the image. You may need to wait a few seconds to see the result. If you're not happy with it, you can click on the outer nub and drag the nub to a new position – if necessary, you may zoom out a little further.
5. Conclusion
© Ian Pullen
The Sepia effect in Paint.NET makes this a very straightforward technique to use, even for absolute beginners, and this also demonstrates how there is usually more than one way to achieve any effect, such as adding a bit of a lens vignetting style effect.
