How to use PhotoVim

Create a Color Echo Effect with Duplicate Layers

Level · Beginner Updated 2026-09-28

Duplicate a portrait into orange, magenta and cyan echoes, then add editable type. Follow the actual editing workflow with shortcut captions.

Watch on YouTube

English editor and subtitles · 89 seconds

Pause at each step and follow the shortcuts on screen. The practice files contain separate source layers; the video is a recorded UI demonstration.

Watch the vertical Shorts tutorial English subtitles (SRT)

Steps

Tap a step picture to see it full size

  1. Place the background and the dancer

    Press Ctrl+Alt+N (or File > New…). Type 1920 in Width and 1080 in Height, then click Create. Choose File > Place Embedded… and pick 01_BACKGROUND.png. Drag inside the box to move it and drag a corner handle to resize it. Press Enter (or double-click the image) to finish. Place 00_DANCER_ORIGINAL_ALPHA.png the same way.

    Where to click — Place the background and the dancer
    Place the background and the dancer — Create a Color Echo Effect with Duplicate Layers

  2. Make the first echo

    Press Ctrl+J to copy the dancer, then Ctrl+[ (Layer > Arrange > Send Backward) to put the copy behind her. Press V and drag the copy to the left.

    Where to click — Make the first echo
    Make the first echo — Create a Color Echo Effect with Duplicate Layers

  3. Color the echo orange

    Press Ctrl+U (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation…). Turn on Colorize, set Hue to 28 and click OK. Type 90 in the Opacity box at the top right of the Layers panel and press Enter.

    Where to click — Color the echo orange
    Where to click — Color the echo orange
    Color the echo orange — Create a Color Echo Effect with Duplicate Layers

  4. Add magenta and cyan echoes

    Repeat step 2 and 3 twice: Hue 315 for magenta at 80% opacity, and Hue 190 for cyan at 70%. Move each new copy a little further left.

    Add magenta and cyan echoes — Create a Color Echo Effect with Duplicate Layers

  5. Add the title

    Press D, then X so white is the foreground color. Press T for the Type tool, click on the canvas and type COLOR ECHO. Press Ctrl+Enter to finish.

    Add the title — Create a Color Echo Effect with Duplicate Layers

  6. Save

    Press Ctrl+Alt+S (File > Save a Copy…) and choose PSD to keep an editable layered copy.

    Where to click — Save
    Save — Create a Color Echo Effect with Duplicate Layers
Worth knowing

If a browser shortcut takes over, use the matching editor menu command. Keep the source files and practice on a copy.

Try it in the editor

Questions

Do I need Photoshop for this tutorial?

No. Every step is done in PhotoVim in your browser, with nothing to install. Menu names and shortcuts follow Photoshop, so the steps look familiar if you already use it.

How do I change an echo color later?

Select that echo layer, open Hue/Saturation (Ctrl+U) with Colorize on and pick a new Hue.