How to Make Ice Water in Fireworks

You don't often see pictures of ice water. That's because it's so tough to photograph. By the time they get the lighting right, the lights have melted the ice. If you have Fireworks and some third party filters you can come to the photographer's rescue.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Take a photograph of a glass of water. If you can find a professional stock image, even better. Open the file in Fireworks.

2. Make a selection in the shape of a partially melted ice cube (imagine three visible sides.) Feather the selection 5 to 10 pixels. Copy the selection and paste it to a new layer.

3. Paint highlights and shadows with the dodge and burn tools. Add the highlights into what would be the center of each cube side, and shadows to define the edges. Don't overdo it; all you need is a slight variation of shade and tone. The whiter the highlights and darker the shadows, the less realistic your ice will look.

4. Apply filter effects to your ice cube. Begin with Gaussian Blur of 3 to 4 pixels. Next apply the "Convert to Alpha" filter in the Other submenu. Finally apply an "Unsharp Mask" filter with a high sharpen amount and a low threshold. Repeat the "Unsharp Mask."

5. Add a third party or Photoshop filter if you have them. Glass or plastic wrap filters will produce the most realistic effects.

6. Change the layer blend mode from "Normal" to "Overaly" or "Soft Light" (depending on which gives you the best results.) Lower the opacity to 50 percent

7. Duplicate the ice. Rotate and scale the copy to vary its appearance. Make as many copies as you want. Vary the layer transparency settings to create an illusion of depth.

Tips & Warnings

• You can load external plug-ins with Firework's preferences settings. Click on the "Folders" tab to access those options.