There are a variety of ways to achieve a stained glass look with digital matting techniques.  In this post, I created a graphic that might be used as a projection on a church view screen, or put up on a big screen television to suggest the stained glass effect, as well as using it in a digital picture frame.  A mosaic style effect could also be applied to an outer or inner border of a single or double matted digital photo to give it that stained glass flavor.  My digital technique would be far easier and less expensive than trying to create stained glass mattes from actual materials.  Stained glass frames could also be costly, so it might be best to incorporate digital renderings if you want to enrich your photos with that kind of effect.

Stained Glass Designs

Virtual designs can be used in a variety of ways.

My first two examples of virtual designs were made from a photo foundation.  This selection uses a simple free hand design, then is imposed on a photo in a translucent overlay to provide an effect of looking through the stained glass to the outside.  These designs can have many different variations, and could be used in any situation where you want the look of stained glass, without paying the stained glass price. 

Digital Stained Glass Design

Stained glass overlay creates this "through the window" effect.

The following variation on my virtual stained glass designs is similar to a style I have seen used in real stained glass work.  This selection is not among the most ornate variations, but I think it is interesting.  On a recent piece of work, I used one of these designs as a background matting for a portrait shot I was asked to crop, and the effect turned out quite well.  If you have an idea you want to run past us, drop us an email.  We will be happy to let you know what we can do.

Digital Stained Glass Designs

We can create nice designs from photos that simulate the stained glass look.

Do you like stained glass windows?  I like looking at the various styles of stained glass designs, so I wondered if I could use digital photos to create a virtual stained glass effect.  Since there are lots of different types of stained glass designs, there are different ways to bring these effects to the digital window.  Stained glass work is expensive to create, but a lot easier and less expensive to create with a digital design.  So, for as little as $3, you can use your digital picture frame as a stained glass window in your home.  What do you think of that?

Digital Stained Glass Design

Digital designs make sense for stained glass lovers.