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Updated: 11/28/2004 07:32:22 PM (Broken Link? Report It Here) |
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Welcome to the Hints and Tips are for Giz's Easel! My intent for this area is to post various items that will help you create better images and save you time during your artistic endeavors. The hints and tips you find here will come from various sources; from magazines to newsletters to visitors such as yourself. Visitors who contribute ideas, hints and tips are the best source of information to any website because that's when a website truly becomes an interactive community. Membership requirements for Giz's Easel! This interactive area within Giz's Easel does not require an active Giz-Net Network membership in order to participate.
Resizing an image can result in poor image quality. When you enlarge an image, the image loses detail and sharpness. Don't enlarge or reduce an image more than about 25 percent. If your image needs more than a 25 percent change, re-scan or create the image at different resolution.
Use the Deform Tool to resize photos when you're working on a collage or a digital scrapbook layout. To resize the photo: 1. Select the Deform Tool 2. Right-click one of the corner boxes that surround the photo 3. Drag the photo to the size desired. By the way, right-clicking the corner box will allow you to resize the photo proportionately.
Let's say there's a certain color being used in another program and you want to use it. Paint Shop Pro lets you sample colors that are outside the Paint Shop Pro Window. Just follow the steps below: 1. Position your cursor over a Color box (in the Material palette or in dialogs that have a Color box) 2. Press and hold the Ctrl Key to activate the dropper 3. The dropper will remain activated as long as you keep the Ctrl key pressed 4. Move the cursor over the area that has the color you want to sample 5. Left click to sample the color Now you can use the color for whatever project you are working on.
Do you hate having to always select your favorite file format in the Save As dialog? Set Paint Shop Pro to remember your preference! 1. Go to File -> Preferences -> General Program Preferences. 2. In the Preferences dialog box, click the Display and Caching tab. 3. Place a check in the Re-use last type in the file save-as dialog checkbox. 4. Lastly, click OK. 5. Now when you choose File -> Save As, your favorite file format will be the default.
When designing graphics, try to remember that a good majority of your visitors will have a 56k connection speed or lower. So keeping your webpage load times as low as possible is a must. Try not to use images over 12 KB in size. If you find you must absolutely use images over 12 KB, consider breaking the image into sections to help keep your load time down. This way your visitor can see parts of the image while the page is loading and not just a huge white space. Also try not to use Bitmaps (BMP), but instead stick with the GIF or JPG image files for greater compression.
Sometimes when you take photos they come out slanted. With Paint Shop Pro 8’s Straighten Tool, you can fix these slanted photos. The Straighten Tool also allows you to crop the photo to the new position. 1. Start your Paint Shop Pro 8 program. 2. Choose File -> Browse and use the Image Browser to find the photo you want to straighten on your computer. 3. Double click the thumbnail to open the file. 4. Select the Straighten Tool from the Deform Tool menu (the second icon down on the left menu below the arrow). 5. In the Tool Options palette set at the top of the screen: set the Mode to Auto, set the Angle to 0, check the Crop image box, and uncheck the Rotate all layers box. 6. Determine a level point of reference in the photo; i.e. a line, rope, wall, ceiling, etc. 7. Position the Straightening Bar by moving it so the left handle is even with your point of reference in the photo. 8. Drag the right handle to align the bar with your point of reference in the photo. 9. You can also place the straightening bar on a line in the image that you know should be vertical, choose "Make vertical" and click Apply to straighten. 10. You can also place the straightening bar on a line in the image that you know should be horizontal and choose "Make horizontal" and click Apply. 11. If you want to reposition the straightening line, press Reset in the Tool Options palette (the curved arrow) to return the straightening line to its default length and position. 12. Click Apply (the checkmark) in the Tool Options palette, to straighten and crop the photo. 13. If you want to change the results of the straightening correction, choose Edit -> Undo to return to the original image. Then repeat the steps above to apply the correction again. 14. Choose Adjust -> Sharpen to compensate for any blurriness that may have resulted from straightening your photo.
There’s a new feature in Paint Shop Pro 8 that’s called Swatches. Now you can save any Materials palette settings as a swatch. Choose any color, gradient, texture or pattern combination as a swatch that you can instantly access. All you have to do is create your desired settings on the Material palette. Then click the “Swatches” tab and click the “Create New Swatch” button. To recall your settings, just click on the desired swatch. Contributions for Giz's Easel. If you have a great graphics source you would like to share, please let me know! I give credit for all sources of contributions; links, tutorials, downloads, hints, tips, etc. If you would like to see other pages added to this area, please let me know either through email or through the Forum. |
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