Create A Collage With Fireworks

3. Create the Collage

Position the images on your canvas as I have below, with the feathered edges overlapping each other. The amount of overlap is really up to you.

Next, you need to colorize the images. So, select all your images, click Effects > Adjust Color > Hue/Saturation, and check "Colourize". Adjust the Hue, Saturation and Lightness to produce your desired color. Keep in mind that dark and dull colors work best.

Next, adjust your image's opacity. In the collage below, I've selected 80% so that the dark green square that I laid over my canvas won't show through too much. If your images are light, use a low opacity percentage, to allow that coloured square to show through more strongly.

Why is the use of that colored square so important? Well, if one of your images is dark, and another is light, this solid coloured square will help the images 'melt' together more completely.

4. Finishing Touches

Now, place another square of your desired color over the top of the collage image, and set its opacity -- I've used 30% here. Use the opacity of this square to adjust the overall image's darkness.

Next, fill the square with your desired texture: either lines, squares, or the textures packaged with Fireworks. In this case, I've chosen squares. Make the texture transparent, and set the texture amount to 50% as shown below. Yet again, adjust this to your particular liking.

You can adjust any of the values or colors to get the exact look you desire.

For instance, colorizing the images and the two squares will change the collage's color completely. Try various fill textures also with different levels of fill amount and object opacity, and see what you like. Play around with the values, and you'll be able to produce varying effects to suit a range of different purposes. You can also lay other images over the originals to produce different results.

5. A Few Variations

The final result should look similar to this:

To add some more detail and depth, simply place more images over your originals, under that final textured square.

As you can see, these types of images are well applied as backgrounds on header graphics etc. Changing the texture is just as easy:

Have a play around with this technique to see what you can come up with. Trial and error is the best way to come up with the specific look you desire.

I hope you enjoy using this effect!