How to Make a Stained Glass Sun Catcher in Photoshop Elements

Here's how to turn this:

Original photo

into this:

Stained Glass Sun Catcher

Open the original photo.

Draw outlines of "lead" above the photo.

• Create in a new Layer (Outline Layer).
• Use a grey colour and a hard brush.
• Make sure not to leave any gaps between the glass sections and also take the "lead" all the way to the edge of the photo.

Colour each "glass piece" one at a time.

• Create a new Layer (Colour Layer) below the Outline Layer.
• Click on one of the glass pieces using the Magic Wand Tool.
• Expand the selection by Select>Modify>Expand 2 pixels OK. Note: This is done so that the glass extends all the way to the lead.
• Click on Eyedropper Tool.
• Click on a colour from the photo.
• Click on the Paint Bucket Tool and fill the glass piece.
• Make sure that you do all your colouring in the Colour Layer.
• Colour in the pupil with a black oval shape in a new layer.

To make it look like the sun is shining through the glass:

• Create a new layer between the Outline and Colour Layers.
• Select Blend Mode: Overlay (try the other modes too and choose the one you like best).
• Set foreground-background colours back to the default black to white by depressing "D".
• Select Filter>Render>Clouds. Note: The darker the foreground colour, the darker the clouds, so feel free to experiment with cloud colour by changing foreground colour from black to grey.
• Select Filter>Distort>Glass, Smoothness 3, Distortion 5.

Add the chrome to the lead:

• Activate the Outline Layer.
• Select all the gray lines you painted on by using the magic wand and unchecking the contiguous box.
• From the Layer Styles tab select the Wow—Chrome Bevelled Edge and Apply it.
• Change the bevel size to 6 px by clicking on the layer style icon (within the Outline Layer).