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Contents Contents 1. Welcome .......................................................... 1 New features ........................................................................................................... 3 Existing features .................................................................................................... 5 Installation ............................................................................................................. 12 2. Getting Started ...............................
Contents 4. Painting and Drawing ..................................... 65 Choosing colors .................................................................................................. 67 Painting .................................................................................................................. 71 Stamping and spraying pictures ................................................................... 73 Erasing ..................................................................................
Contents 6. Layers and Masks ........................................ 133 Basics of using layers .......................................................................................135 Using layer groups............................................................................................141 Using adjustment layers .................................................................................143 Using filter layers.................................................................................
Contents 10. Printing and Exporting .................................. 189 Printing ................................................................................................................. 191 Publishing a PDF file ........................................................................................ 197 Exporting to another file format ................................................................. 199 Sharing documents by email ................................................................
1 Welcome
2 Welcome
Welcome 3 Welcome to PhotoPlus X3 from Serif—more than ever, the best value in image creation and editing software for any home, school, organization, or growing business. PhotoPlus is the number one choice for working with photographs and paint-type images, whether for the Web, multimedia, or the printed page. PhotoPlus has the features you’ll need...
4 Welcome Effects and Adjustments • New Effect Filters! (p. 123) Make a creative difference to your project with Shear and Kaleidoscope effects. Simulate traditional film with the Film Grain effect. Alternatively, simulate an elegant Page Curl, or whip up a storm with the cloud-like Plasma filter. • Merge Bracketed Photos (p. 127) Use HDR (High Dynamic Range) Merge to bring together same-shot photos, each taken at different exposure settings.
Welcome 5 Printing • Print Studio (p. 191) PhotoPlus's new unified Print Studio allows you to print single images, artistic and paper-saving layouts as well as contact sheets. Use the large range of built in layouts or quickly and easily create your own. Correction • Enhanced QuickFix Studio (p. 108) Enjoy the new Noise Reduction and HSL (Hue/Saturation/Lightness) adjustments; Exposure control and Black and White Film adjustments are new improvements.
6 Welcome • Histogram Support The Histogram tab dynamically responds to show the values for the currently active selection within your document. See how curves and level adjustments affect your image as they happen! • Versatile Layer Management Create standard layers of varying opacity over your Background layer. Select, link, merge, arrange, hide, duplicate one or multiple layers all at the same time. Grouping of layers offers easier "bulk" manipulation and better organization.
Welcome • Special Erase Options Need to remove that blue sky and leave the clouds? Use the Flood Eraser to fill the blue regions with transparency. Want to isolate a shape from a flat color background? The Background Eraser samples pixels under the brush, so only unwanted colors drop out. • Image cutouts The Extract feature make short work of intelligently cutting out a subject from its background (or vice versa).
8 Welcome Brushes, lines and shapes • Brushes The Paintbrush Tool lets you apply brush strokes using preset brush tips.. choose a tip from basic, calligraphic, and various media categories (watercolor, charcoal, paint, etc.). Stamp and Spray Picture Brush effects and stamps . PhotoPlus lets you create your own category and brush tips! Apply different colors, levels of transparency, blend modes, to any brush, all at varying flow rates. Built-in support for most pressure-sensitive graphics tablets.
Welcome 9 Effects • Filter Gallery The distort, blur, edge, sharpen, render and distortion effects can be applied singularly or in combination within a Filter Gallery... guaranteed to keep you up late! • Filter Layers Convert to Filter Layer creates a non-destructive layer for powerful control of applied filter effects—switch filter effects on/ off, modify or add to an existing set of filter effects at a later date. Apply to standard or Background layers.
10 Welcome Adjustments • Image Adjustments Apply professional, darkroom-style color and histogram adjustments to your images—giving you fingertip control over tones and colors. Adjust Shadow/Highlight/Midtone to calm down overexposed skies in one single operation without having to resort to manipulating curves and levels. Employ the Blur and Sharpen tools to enhance or reduce local detail... blend multiple layers more cleanly. There's even a dedicated tool for removing "red eye" from flash photos.
Welcome 11 • Macros Macros let you automate your actions by using a huge number of categorized macro presets—alternatively, record and apply your own macro to any number of photos—give all your photos the same frame, age them or make a color enhancement all at the same time! • Batch Processing Use batch processing to repeat your tasks, e.g. changing file types, all at the same time without user intervention. When used in conjunction with macros the possibilities are endless.
12 Welcome • Powerful Image Export Optimizer The Export Optimizer lets you see how your image will look (and how much space it will take up) before you save it! Its multi-window display provides side-by-side WYSIWYG previews of image quality at various output settings, so you can make the best choice every time. Installation If you need help installing Windows, or setting up peripherals, see Windows documentation and help.
Welcome 13 First-time install To install Serif PhotoPlus X3, simply insert your Program CD into your DVD/CD drive. If AutoPlay is enabled on the drive, this automatically starts the Setup Wizard. If you are installing PhotoPlus on Microsoft Windows® Vista, you may need to click on Run autorun.exe from within the Autoplay dialog. If AutoPlay is not enabled (or doesn't start the install automatically), use the Manual install method described below. 1.
14 Welcome Manual install For manual installation, use My Computer (Windows® XP), or Computer (Windows® Vista), to navigate to the DVD/CD drive in which your PhotoPlus Program CD is located. Double-click the CD's icon and then double-click setup.exe in the displayed folder. Choose Serif PhotoPlus X3 from the dialog, then follow the on-screen installation instructions as described above.
2 Getting Started
16 Getting Started
Getting Started Startup Wizard Once PhotoPlus has been installed, you're ready to start! • The Setup routine during install adds a Serif PhotoPlus X3 entry to the Windows Start menu. Use the Windows Start button to pop up the Start Menu, click on All Programs and then click the PhotoPlus item. On program launch, the Startup Wizard is displayed which offers different routes into PhotoPlus: If you don’t want to use the Startup Wizard again, check the “Don't show this wizard again” box.
18 Getting Started Starting from scratch PhotoPlus deals with two basic kinds of image files. We'll differentiate them as pictures (still images) and animations (moving images). The two types are closely related, and creating either from scratch in PhotoPlus involves the same series of steps. PhotoPlus lets you create an image based on a pre-defined canvas size (e.g., 10 x 8 in).
Getting Started 19 3. Add a Resolution for the new image file. Leave the resolution at 96.00 pixels/inch unless you're sure a different value is required. 4. Select a Color Mode, choosing to operate in RGB or Grayscale mode. 5. (Optional) Select a Bit Depth of 16 bits per channel for projects which require higher levels of color detail. Otherwise a bit depth of 8 bits/channel is used as default. 6. Select a background type in the Background drop-down list.
20 Getting Started To open a saved image file (via Startup Wizard): 1. From the Startup Wizard (at startup time or via File>New...), click Open>Saved Work. You'll see a list of recently opened files. To see a preview of any file, click its name in the list. 2. To open a selected file, click Finish. OR 1. Click Browse to locate other saved files. To narrow or expand the list of file types shown in the Open dialog, select from the lowerright drop-down list. 2.
Getting Started 21 Opening a raw image High-specification SLR digital cameras give the option of saving your photos as JPG, and more recently, as raw files. On some cameras, you may have the best of both worlds, by saving as both simultaneously. Quite why you would choose one format over the other depends on a host of factors, such as the type of workflow and the level of detail you want to work to. This is best summarized in the following table.
22 Getting Started Workflow refers to the shoot-to-print progress when working with JPG or raw files. A JPG workflow is destructive, in that your JPG file is "developed" in your camera without user intervention. Conversely, a raw workflow is nondestructive because your raw file is "undeveloped"—you can control your image's development within your photo-editing program (PhotoPlus). PhotoPlus's Raw Studio offers post-shoot adjustments to any raw file without affecting the original file.
Getting Started 23 To adjust a raw image: 1. Open on the Standard toolbar. (see Open a raw file by using Starting from scratch on p. 18). If opening multiple raw files, once you've adjusted an image, Raw Studio will load the next image automatically until all files are loaded. Open raw images previously copied to your computer, rather than directly from your camera's memory card (e.g., SD). 2. From Raw Studio, adopt the program's, camera's or a custom white balance.
24 Getting Started 6. For Noise reduction set a Strength. Noise may be evident on images captured in low light or with a high ISO camera setting. The greater the value, the more smoothing occurs to remove speckling. Too much noise reduction may produce an unwanted blurring effect. 7. Remove unwanted Chromatic Aberration (color fringing on object edges on high-contrast photos) by adjusting Red/Cyan or Blue/Yellow sliders. Each slider adjusts one color channel relative to the other channel. 8.
Getting Started 25 To import a TWAIN image: 1. (via Startup Wizard) Choose Import From Twain. OR (During your PhotoPlus session) Choose Import from the File menu, then select Acquire. 2. Complete the procedure using the acquisition dialog associated with the selected TWAIN source. If you have more than one TWAIN-compatible device installed, you may need to select which source you wish to scan with.
26 Getting Started To save your PhotoPlus Picture: • Click the Save button on the Standard toolbar. OR To save under a different path or base name, choose Save As... from the File menu. The window title bar is updated accordingly. If the current window is untitled or non-native, the Save As dialog opens, and prompts for a .SPP file name based on the base name shown in the title bar.
Getting Started 27 Closing files and exiting To close a single image window (file): • Choose Close from the File menu. OR • Click the Close button on the window's title bar. You'll be prompted to save changes made since the last save. To close all image windows (files): • Choose Close All from the File menu. You'll be prompted to save changes made to any open image since the last save. To close PhotoPlus: • Choose Exit from the File menu.
28 Getting Started PhotoPlus also lets you manually choose modes: Choose.. Then pick... when creating a new image Start New Picture (Startup Wizard) or File>New Color Mode: RGB or Grayscale Bit Depth: 8 or 16 bits per channel at any time Image>Color Mode Color 8-Bits/channel mode Color 16-Bits/channel mode Grayscale 8-Bits/channel mode Grayscale 16-Bits/channel mode when outputting the results of an HDR Merge File>HDR Merge...
3 Manipulating Images
30 Manipulating Images
Manipulating Images 31 Making a selection In any photo editing program, the selection tools and techniques are as significant as any of the basic brush tools or commands. The basic principle is simple: quite often you'll want to perform an operation on just a portion of the image. To do this you must define an active selection area. The wide range of selection options in PhotoPlus lets you: • Define just about any selection shape • Modify the extent or properties of the selection (see p.
32 Manipulating Images For example, when there's a selection, the brush tools only work inside the selection; the color simply doesn't affect outside pixels. The example opposite uses a freehand selection under the eye to keep the brush stroke within the selection area. You can also apply an adjustment or special effect, affecting only the selected region. You may occasionally (especially if the marquee is hidden) find yourself using a tool or command that seems to have no effect...
Manipulating Images 33 Selection tool options PhotoPlus offers a very wide range of other selection methods, and a variety of commands for modifying the extent or properties of the selected pixels—all available from the Tools toolbar. Note that the selection tools work on Background and standard layers, but not on text layers or shape layers. The Standard Selection Tools flyout includes various tools which can be used to drag on the image to define a selection region.
34 Manipulating Images Here’s how the adjustable selection tools work. We’ll use the regular polygon selection shape as an example. Choose a tool from the flyout and drag out a shape on the image. You can hold down the Ctrl key to constrain the shape. The regular polygon appears as an outline with two slider tracks bounding it. Each of the slider tracks has a square handle, and when you move the cursor on to the handle it will change to a + sign.
Manipulating Images 35 New Add = Subtract = Intersect = For Rectangle and Ellipse Selection tools, the Context toolbar additionally lets you set a Fixed Size or Fixed Aspect, or number of Rows or Columns (Rectangle Selection Tool only) in advance of creating your selection—great if you have a clear idea of the selection area required! The Text Selection Tool lets you create a selection in the form of text. Click with the tool to display the Text cursor. Type your text, format as needed, and click OK.
36 Manipulating Images Using the Magnetic Selection Tool The Magnetic Selection Tool makes it easy to isolate part of an image where there's already a bit of an edge showing. You simply trace around the edge, and PhotoPlus snaps the selection marquee to the nearest dramatic color change. To use the Magnetic Selection tool: 1. Click once on the image to place a starting node along an edge. 2. With the mouse button, trace along the edge; the marquee line follows the nearest edge.
Manipulating Images 37 Color Range As an intelligent color selection method, i.e. where selection is based on “tagging” a specific range of colors or tones in the image, choose the Color Range command. To select a color range: 1. Choose Color Range... from the Select menu. The Color Range dialog appears, with the image visible in the Preview window. 2.
38 Manipulating Images Meanwhile, the dialog provides visual feedback. 1. If Show Selection is checked, the grayscale Selection window on the right shows tagged values as brighter, with untagged pixels darker. To customize what’s displayed in the Preview window on the left, choose an option from the Preview list: "None" shows the original image, "White Matte" shows tagged pixels through a white background, and so on. 2. Click OK to confirm the selection, or Cancel to abandon changes.
Manipulating Images 39 Modifying a selection Once you've used a selection tool to select a region on the active layer, you can carry out a number of additional steps to fine-tune the selection before you actually apply an effect or manipulation to the selected pixels.
40 Manipulating Images To add or subtract to/from the existing selection with a selection tool: • Select the tool and drag while holding down the Shift or Alt key, respectively. The newly selected pixels don't have to adjoin the current selection—it's possible to select two or more separate regions on the active layer.
Manipulating Images 41 Soft-edged and hard-edged selections Antialiasing and feathering are different ways of controlling what happens at the edges of a selection. Both produce softer edges that result in smoother blending of elements that are being combined in the image. You can control either option for the Standard and Adjustable Selection tools, using the Feather input box (or slider) and Antialias check box on the Context toolbar.
42 Manipulating Images Paint to Select mode You can use Paint to Select mode (Select menu) to create a selection from scratch, or to modify an existing selection using standard painting and editing tools. In concept, it's similar to masking but in this case you're only adjusting what is selected on the layer, rather than the layer's bitmap (image) content. In the illustration below, (A) depicts the incomplete selection on a white flower when using the Color Selection Tool.
Manipulating Images 43 Manipulating a selection Moving the selection marquee Sometimes, you need to adjust the position of the marquee without affecting the underlying pixels. Any time you're using one of the selection tools, the cursor over a selected region changes to the Move Marquee cursor, which lets you drag the marquee outline to reposition it. You can also use the keyboard arrows to "nudge" the selection marquee.
44 Manipulating Images • If nothing is selected, dragging with the Move Tool moves the entire active layer. (Or, if the Move Tool's Automatically select layer property is selected on its context toolbar, the tool moves the first visible item's layer beneath the move cursor when you click to move.) • When the Move Tool is chosen, you can also use the keyboard arrows to "nudge" the selection or active layer.
Manipulating Images • 45 If nothing is selected, a cut or copy operation affects the whole active layer, as if Select All were in effect. When pasting from the Clipboard, PhotoPlus offers several options. • To paste as a new image in an untitled window, press Ctrl+V or click the Paste as New image button on the Standard toolbar. (Or select from the Edit>Paste menu.) • To paste as a new layer above the active layer, press Ctrl+L or choose Paste> As New Layer from the Edit menu.
46 Manipulating Images Changing image and canvas size You probably know that image dimensions are given in pixels (think of pixels as the "dots of paint" that comprise a screen image)—say, 1024 wide by 768 high. If you want to change these dimensions, there are two ways to go about it, and that's where image and canvas come into play. Changing the image size (top example opposite) means scaling the whole image (or just a selected region) up or down.
Manipulating Images 47 • Select a preferred scale (either "Pixels" or "Percent") in the dropdown list. • Select a resampling method. As a rule, use Nearest Pixel for hardedge images, Bilinear Interpolation when shrinking photos, Bicubic Interpolation when enlarging photos, and Lanczos3 Window when best quality results are expected. 5. If adjusting printed dimensions, select your preferred units of measurement and resolution. The pixel size will automatically alter with print size adjustment. 6.
48 Manipulating Images If the canvas size is increased, the new canvas area is filled (on the Background layer) with the current background color and (on standard layers) with transparency.
Manipulating Images 3. 49 To crop to the designated size, double-click inside the crop area. The Shading check box and Opacity option on the Context toolbar sets the shade color and transparency of the unwanted region outside the rectangle, respectively. Uncheck Shading to view only the rectangle, with no shading and full transparency. Cropping with the Crop Tool affects all image layers. Everything outside the designated region is eliminated.
50 Manipulating Images Moving and resizing the grid allows the main subject of your photo (in this case a big wheel) to be offset and balanced against a foreground or background feature within the photo (e.g., the sky as background). Position a main item of interest in the photo where any two lines intersect within the crop grid (four intersections are possible). This is known as the "rule of thirds" which will help you find the most balanced composition where your eyes are drawn to the main subject.
Manipulating Images 51 To crop the image to the selection: • Choose Crop to Selection from the Image menu. If the selection region is non-rectangular, the left-over surrounding region will be either transparent (on a standard layer) or the current background color (e.g., white). Cropping to the selection affects all image layers. Everything outside the selected region is eliminated.
52 Manipulating Images To flip: • Choose either Flip Horizontally or Flip Vertically from the Image menu, then select Image, Layer, Selection or Path from the submenu. To rotate: 1. Choose Rotate from the Image menu. 2. From the flyout menu, select an option based on the object (Image, Layer, or Selection), rotation angle (90º or 180º), and the direction (Clockwise or Counter-clockwise) required. 3. You can also select Custom...
Manipulating Images 53 To straighten: 1. Choose the Straighten Tool from the Crop Tools flyout on the Tools Toolbar. 2. On the Context toolbar, choose an option from the Canvas dropdown list. This lets you decide how your straightened image will be displayed: • Crop - Crops and adjusts the straightened image so that it displays on the largest possible canvas size, without displaying any border. • Expand to Fit - Increases the canvas size to display the entire straightened image.
54 Manipulating Images Deforming The Deform Tool is a "Jack of all trades" that lets you move, scale, rotate, or skew a selection or layer. Start by making a selection if desired, then choose the Deform Tool. A rectangle appears with handles at its corners and edges, and a fixed point (initially in the center of the region). If there's no selection, the rectangle includes the whole active layer. The image opposite has been skewed from a rectangular selection.
Manipulating Images 55 To move the region without any deformation, drag from its neutral midsection. This action works just like the Move Tool. To reshape the region, drag from an edge or corner handle. A variety of options are available (watch the Hintline for tips). Over a corner handle: • Drag to scale region in two dimensions (height and width). • To maintain constant proportions, drag with the Shift key down. • To scale the region relative to the fixed point, drag with the Alt key down.
56 Manipulating Images To rotate the region about the fixed point, drag from just outside a corner. To constrain rotation in 15-degree steps, press the Shift key after you've begun rotation, and hold it down until after you release the mouse button. You can change the location of the fixed point (see below). To reposition the fixed point, move the cursor to the exact center until a small target appears, then drag. The fixed point can be moved anywhere—even outside the deformation region.
Manipulating Images 57 The straight line segments are actually bendable curves. When you alter the contours of the mesh and distort the initial rectangular grid, the underlying image deforms accordingly. To change the mesh, you simply move nodes, node attractor handles, or connecting lines; add or subtract nodes as needed; and/or edit nodes to change the curvature of adjoining lines. To select a mesh node: • Click it. (Shift-click or drag a marquee to select multiple nodes.
58 Manipulating Images To deform the mesh systematically: 1. Shift-click or drag a marquee to select multiple nodes. 2. Deform Mesh button on the Mesh Warp Tool's Click the Context toolbar. A selection rectangle appears around the designated nodes (you may need to zoom out to see this), with a fixed point in the center and handles at its corners, sides, and center. 3. Click to use the Deform Mesh Tool to move, scale, or rotate a portion of the region (as defined by nodes) about a fixed point.
Manipulating Images 59 To delete one or more nodes: 1. Select the node(s). 2. Press Delete. OR Click the toolbar. Delete node(s) button on the displayed Context Deleting a node also deletes lines and nodes connected to it. If you delete a corner or edge node, the overall mesh area will decrease. To delete a specific grid line and its nodes, click to place a marker on the line, then press Delete. The bendability of line segments depends on the type of nodes at either end.
60 Manipulating Images Sharp means that the slope and depth of the curves on either side of the node are completely independent of each other. The contours can be adjusted separately, and the intersection can be pointed. Smooth means that the slope of the curve is the same on both sides of the node, but the depth of the contours on either side can differ. Symmetric nodes join curves with the same slope and depth on both sides of the node.
Manipulating Images 61 Extracting part of an image The button on the Photo Studio toolbar makes light work of isolating a subject from its background (or vice versa). You simply brush an outline around the edges of a region you want to extract from the rest of the image, then mark a "foreground" area to be retained— usually inside the outline.
62 Manipulating Images PhotoPlus lets you show, hide, and select composite or specific channels of any photo from a single point, called the Channels tab. This tab lists the composite RGB and each individual Red, Green and Blue channel in turn. By default, all channels are selected and visible (see opposite). Why do we want to select channels anyway? This is because you can apply an edit to an individual channel in isolation.
Manipulating Images 63 To select specific channels for edit: 1. Select the Channels tab. All channels are switched on and are shown by default. 2. Click on the channel you want to select—the other channels will be deselected and hidden automatically. Use Shift-click to include additional channels if necessary. 3. Apply the adjustment, special effect, painting operation, etc. to the selected channel(s). When you switch on a channel it is made visible in isolation by default.
64 Manipulating Images A crosshair cursor lets you move around the histogram, displaying the pixel count for the color level that your cursor is currently placed at. For example, the tab above shows the cursor at color level 18 (see the first peak), which has a count of 829 pixels. You can choose to view the histogram for an individual Red, Green or Blue channel, or the composite of the three, the RGB channel. Luminance (or lightness) can also be shown.
4 Painting and Drawing
66 Painting and Drawing
Painting and Drawing 67 Choosing colors Foreground and background colors At any given time, PhotoPlus allows you to work with just two colors—a foreground color and a background color. These are always visible as two swatches on the Color tab indicated opposite (ringed). The foreground color is set to green (RGB 63:173:73) and the background color to black.
68 Painting and Drawing Electronic artists expend much of their creative energy deciding which of the millions of available colors should fill those two slots. The actual steps involved, however, can be quite simple. To define foreground and background color: Color Pickup Tool on the Tools toolbar. 1. Select the 2. Left-click with the tool anywhere on an image to "pick up" the color at that point as the new foreground color. Right-click to define a new background color. 3.
Painting and Drawing 1. On the Color tab, click either the foreground or the background swatch. 2. Use the slider(s) or enter numeric values in the boxes to define a specific color. The selected swatch updates instantly. 69 To swap foreground and background colors, click the double arrow button next to the swatches. To reset the colors to black and white, click the black and white mini-swatch at the bottom left of the swatch.
70 Painting and Drawing The Swatches tab also lets you choose pre-defined colors from a range of “themed” categories (e.g., Earth, Fruits, Pastel, and Web browser safe). To add, edit or delete a Gallery category: • Click Add Category... from the Swatches tab's Tab Menu button and enter a name in the dialog. You can also Edit Category... or Delete Category from the same location. To choose a Gallery category: • Select a category name from the drop-down list.
Painting and Drawing 71 Painting The Paintbrush Tool and Pencil Tool on the Tools toolbar are the basic tools for painting and drawing freehand lines on the active layer. They work on Background and standard layers, but not on text layers or shape layers. The tools work by changing pixels on the layer's bitmap plane. Successful freehand drawing requires practice and a steady hand! You might find it easier if you use a graphics tablet if available, rather than a mouse.
72 Painting and Drawing The Brush Tip tab hosts a comprehensive collection of brush presets grouped into various categories; each category can be switched to via a drop-down list (the “Basic” category is shown opposite) and displays a gallery. Note that each sample clearly shows the brush tip and stroke; the number indicates the brush diameter. The brush tip determines the thickness and many other properties of the painted line.
Painting and Drawing 73 To use the Paintbrush or Pencil tool: 1. Paintbrush Tool or Pencil Tool from the Tools Select the toolbar's Brush flyout. When you move the tool over the image the cursor will change. 2. Choose a brush tip preset on the Brush Tip tab. If you've picked a Basic brush, set a brush color (i.e. the foreground color) from the Color tab before painting. You can also create your own brush from within the tab. 3. Change brush tip's attributes, if necessary, on the Context toolbar.
74 Painting and Drawing To draw with the Picture Brush: 1. Picture Brush Tool and (on the Brush Tip tab) pick a Choose the brush tip from one of the categories. 2. To "stamp" single images at specific points, click in various places on your canvas. To spray a continuous line of images, drag a path across the page.
Painting and Drawing 75 Erasing Sometimes the rubber end of the pencil can be just as important to an artist as the pointed one. The Eraser Tools flyout on the Tools toolbar provides ways of enhancing an image by "painting" with transparency rather than with color: The Standard Eraser Tool for replacing colors in an image either with the background color or with transparency (on Background or other standard layers, respectively).
76 Painting and Drawing To erase with the Standard Eraser: Standard Eraser Tool from the Tools toolbar's Eraser 1. Select the Tools flyout. 2. (Optional) Change properties, especially brush Size and Opacity, on the Context toolbar. For erasing with an airbrush effect or hard-edged brush, check the Airbrush or Hard Edge option. 3. Drag with the tool on the active layer. On the Background layer, erased pixels expose the current background color. On other layers, they expose transparency.
Painting and Drawing • • 77 With "Continual" sampling (the default), the reference color is repeatedly updated as you move the cursor. Sampling "Once" means erasure is based on the color under the crosshair when you first click. Use the "Background Swatch" setting to use the current background color (Color tab) as the reference. You also have the option of protecting the current foreground color from erasure (Protect foreground).
78 Painting and Drawing Using patterns The Pattern Tool lets you paint a pattern directly onto your canvas. In effect, it "clones" any pattern bitmap you’ve selected while providing the flexibility to paint wherever you wish, and control opacity, blend mode, and so on. Like the Clone Tool, the Pattern brush picks up pixels from a source—in this case, the bitmap pattern—and deposits them where you’re drawing.
Painting and Drawing 79 Creating your own patterns The built-in selection of patterns in the Patterns dialog provides a useful starting point, but you can also create your own patterns from any selection, or even the whole image. And take a look at the Tile Maker effect if you have a relatively small sample region (like a patch of grass) and want to produce a pattern from it that can be tiled seamlessly over a broader area. To create a new pattern: 1.
80 Painting and Drawing Flood and pattern fills The Flood Fill Tool works on Background and standard layers, replacing an existing color region with the foreground color. How large a region is "flooded" with the fill color depends on the difference between the color of the pixel you initially click and the color of surrounding pixels. You can use the Context toolbar to set a tolerance value—how much of a color difference the tool looks for.
Painting and Drawing 81 To use the Fill command: • Choose Fill... from the Edit menu. The Fill dialog appears. • For a flood fill, set the Type to Color. • Choose whether the fill color is to be the current Foreground color, Background color or a Custom color. • Specify the blend mode and opacity of the fill. If you check Preserve Transparency, transparent areas will resist the flood color; otherwise, everything in the selection or layer will be equally washed with the fill.
82 Painting and Drawing Gradient Fill Tool Whereas solid fills use a single color, all gradient fills in PhotoPlus utilize at least two "key" colors, with a spread of hues in between each key color, creating a "spectrum" effect. You can fine-tune the actual spread of color between pairs of key colors.
Painting and Drawing 83 Transparency works in a comparable way, affecting how much the paint you apply is "thinned." At full opacity, the fill completely obscures pixels underneath. On text and shape layers, the Gradient Fill Tool is even more powerful—the fill’s color and transparency properties remain editable. Technically, the fill is a property of the layer, and the shape(s) act as a "window" enabling you to see the fill.
84 Painting and Drawing Either option lets you choose a fill type, and/or click the color (or gradient) sample to edit the fill. On text or shape layers, the fill path (the line in the illustration above) remains visible even after you’ve applied the fill, and you can adjust the fill’s placement after the fact by dragging the fill path’s end nodes with the Gradient Fill Tool. Cloning a region The Clone Tool is like two magic brushes locked together.
Painting and Drawing 85 To clone a region: Clone Tool on the Tools toolbar's Clone flyout. 1. Select the 2. Change properties, if necessary, on the Context toolbar. For example: • Reducing the tool's Opacity setting results in a "ghosted" copy of the original pixels. • For additional brush strokes, to always reuse the original pickup point, keep Aligned unchecked.
86 Painting and Drawing Creating and editing text PhotoPlus makes use of two text tools, i.e. • The • The Text Selection Tool, for creating a selection in the shape of text (for filling with unusual fills). Text Tool, for entering solid, colorful text on a new layer. symbol. Like shapes, solid text The Layers tab designates text layers with a in PhotoPlus is editable: as long as it remains on a separate text layer, you can retype it or change its properties at a later date.
Painting and Drawing 87 To change text's solid color: 1. Select all or part of any text. 2. Click the color swatch on the Context toolbar and use the Adjust Color dialog. (See Choosing colors on p. 67) . 3. Select your new color and click OK. To swap to a gradient color: 1. On the Layers tab, right-click the Text layer and choose Edit Fill.... 2. Change the Fill Type from Solid to one of Linear, Radial, Conical, or Square. 3.
88 Painting and Drawing To create a text selection: 1. Click the Text Tools flyout (Tools toolbar) and choose the Selection Tool. 2. Click at the location on the image where you want to begin the selection. OR Text Drag across the page to size your text selection according to requirements. Release the mouse button to set the point size. 3. (Optional) On the Text Context toolbar, set the selection text attributes to be adopted by the new selection (e.g., the font and point size). 4.
Painting and Drawing 89 Overview Each of the drawing tools has its own creation and editing rules, as detailed below. Before continuing, let's cover some things that all shape objects have in common: • Shapes have outlines known as paths. In a nutshell, shapes as discussed here are filled outlines (i.e., they’re closed, with color inside). Later, we’ll cover unfilled outlines (paths) separately, and consider their special properties.
90 Painting and Drawing or outline tool is selected. The toolbar displays a series of combination buttons which determine the layer on which the shape will be placed and the relationship the new shape will have on any existing shapes on the same layer. New—Adds the shape to a new shape layer. Add—Adds the shape to the currently selected layer. Subtract—removes overlap region when a new shape is added over existing shapes on the currently selected layer. The new shape itself is not included.
Painting and Drawing 91 Creating and editing QuickShapes QuickShapes in PhotoPlus are pre-designed, filled contours that let you instantly add all kinds of shapes to your page, then adjust and vary them using control handles—for innumerable possibilities! The QuickShape Tools flyout lets you choose from a wide variety of commonly used shapes, including boxes, ovals, arrows, polygons, stars, and more. Each shape has its own built-in “intelligent” properties, which you can use to customize the basic shape.
92 Painting and Drawing To create a filled bitmap from your QuickShape instead, choose the Fill Bitmaps button instead of the Shape Layers button. Each QuickShape is adjustable, so you can experiment before committing to a particular figure and edit it later—with innumerable possibilities! If you switch to the Node Edit Tool, you can adjust the shape.
Painting and Drawing 2. 93 Use either: • The Node Edit Tool (Tools toolbar) to click on the shape and readjust any of the shape's handles. OR • The Shape Edit Tool (see below for editing outline shapes) to select, move, resize, and deform individual shapes. (If you only have one shape on a layer, you can use the Move Tool and Deform Tool.) To resize without constraint, you can drag any shape's handle; to constrain the shape's proportions, hold down the Shift key while dragging.
94 Painting and Drawing path), and can also be used to control how the new shape interacts with existing shapes on the layer. Besides being useful with QuickShapes, the Node Edit and Shape Edit tools really come into their own to edit outline shapes. To edit an outline shape: 1. Click its layer name to select the layer. 2. To move, resize, scale, skew, or rotate the outline, choose the Shape Edit Tool .
Painting and Drawing 95 Sharp Corner means that the segments either side of the node are completely independent so that the corner can be quite pointed. Smooth Corner means that the slope of the outline is the same on both sides of the node, but the depth of the two joined segments can be different. Symmetric Corner nodes join outline segments with the same slope and depth on both sides of the node. To edit a node: 1. Select it with the Node Edit Tool. 2.
96 Painting and Drawing Creating outlines Two approaches to creating outlines are available within PhotoPlus—creating an outline from any current selection and creating outlines around layer objects, especially text and shapes (as a layer effect). You'll primarily create outlines around text and other objects so the latter method is predominantly used (but we'll cover both!).
Painting and Drawing 97 4. Select an outline color from the drop-down list. The Foreground option sets the currently set foreground color; Background sets the current background color. (See Choosing colors on p. 67). For a Custom color, click the Color swatch, and select a color from the displayed Adjust Color dialog. 5. (Optional) From the Mode drop-down menu, pick a blend mode, which controls how the outline color and underlying pixels blend to make a combined resulting color.
98 Painting and Drawing 6. Click OK. The outline appears around any layer object. You may notice the icon appear next to the layer with your outline applied. Remember that you'll be able to apply a combination of 2D layer effects along with your outline, by checking other options in the Layer Effects dialog. See Overview:Applying special effects on p. 113 for more details.
Painting and Drawing 99 There are two methods for creating a path. You can create: • a path outline directly from drawn QuickShapes (see Path 2's Quick Star above) or outlines. • a selection on your image from which the path outline can be created (see Path 3). Either way, once you've got a path outline, you can reshape it (using the Outline tools), convert it to a selection, create a filled bitmap, or stroke a path—that is, draw the path onto a bitmap layer using the current brush.
100 Painting and Drawing To edit a path outline: • Use the Node Edit Tool to modify a path's shape by moving nodes or adjust outline curves by moving node handles. • Use the Shape Edit Tool to move, resize, reshape, rotate, and skew the path by dragging the displayed bounding box handles in any direction. For both methods, see Creating and editing outline shapes on p. 93 for more details. You can also flip a path outline either horizontally or vertically.
Painting and Drawing 101 To draw (stroke) a path onto a bitmap layer: 1. Select the Background or standard layer where you want to add the bitmap. 2. Choose a brush tool (such as the Paintbrush or Picture Brush) and set Color, Brush Tip, and other properties from the Context toolbar. 3. On the Paths tab, select the path you want to stroke. Make sure the path is positioned where you want it. 4. Click the Stroke Path button. To create a filled bitmap from a path: 1.
102 Painting and Drawing
5 Image Adjustments and Effects
104 Image Adjustments and Effects
Image Adjustments and Effects 105 Introduction to image adjustments A major part of photo-editing is making corrections (i.e., adjustments) to your own near-perfect images. Whether you’ve been snapping with your digital camera or you've just scanned a photograph, at some point you may need to call on PhotoPlus’s powerful photo-correction tools to fix some unforeseen problems. For photo-correction, several methods can be adopted.
106 Image Adjustments and Effects Overview: Adjusting image colors PhotoPlus provides a number of different adjustment filters that you can apply to a selection or to an active standard layer. Typically, these adjustments are used to correct deficiencies in the original image. You can apply them either directly, via the Image>Adjust menu, or as an adjustment layer (see p. 143). Each of the adjustment options works in a similar way.
Image Adjustments and Effects 107 • Hue/Saturation/Lightness: Hue refers to the color’s tint—what most of us think of as rainbow or spectrum colors with name associations, like “blue” or “magenta.” Saturation describes the color’s purity—a totally unsaturated image has only grays. Lightness is what we intuitively understand as relative darkness or lightness—ranging from full black at one end to full white at the other.
108 Image Adjustments and Effects Besides the Brightness/Contrast adjustment, the PhotoPlus Image menu affords a number of functions you can apply to correct shadow/highlight values in an image. Adjust>AutoLevels or Adjust>AutoContrast may do the job in one go; if not, you can use Adjust>Levels... or Adjust>Shadow/Highlight/Midtone.... Use the Histogram tab to display statistics and image color values, helping you to evaluate the kinds of image adjustments that may be needed.
Image Adjustments and Effects 109 Adjustments are made available to the right of the main window (Lens Distortion is currently selected). To launch QuickFix Studio: • Click on the Photo Studio toolbar. Adjustments overview Here's a quick overview of all the adjustments hosted in QuickFix Studio: • White Balance "Cool down" or "warm up" your photo by adjusting white balance either by selecting presets or customizing temperature/tint combinations.
110 Image Adjustments and Effects • Blemish Removal Removes simple skin blemishes and other flaws. • Lens Distortion Fixes barrelling and pincushion distortion encountered when photographing straight-edged objects at close range. • Chromatic Aberration Reduces red/cyan or blue/yellow fringing on object edges. • Lens Vignette Removes darkening in photo corners. • Noise Reduction Removes unwanted speckling in your photo.
Image Adjustments and Effects 111 When increasing the Exposure value, use the histogram to check that your highlights aren't clipped (i.e., when the graph disappears abruptly off the right-hand edge of the histogram). Retouching The Tools toolbar includes an assortment of comparatively simple brush-based tools that come in handy at various stages of photo editing.
112 Image Adjustments and Effects Dodge Tool - for lightening an area Burn Tool - for darkening an area Sponge Tool- - for increasing or decreasing the color saturation under the brush Replace Color Tool - for swapping one color for another On the Repair Tool flyout: Blemish Remover - for intelligently painting out skin blemishes Scratch Remover - for filling in small gaps or dropouts in an image Patch Tool - for painting out selected areas
Image Adjustments and Effects 113 Overview: Applying special effects Creative effects are grouped into different categories, i.e. distortion, blur, sharpen, edge, noise, render, and stylistic. Individual effects can be applied to the active layer or selection either individually or cumulatively via a Filter Gallery. As with image adjustments (see Overview: adjusting image colors on p.
114 Image Adjustments and Effects To launch Instant Artist: 1. Click the button on the Photo Studio toolbar (or select the option from the Effects menu). 2. Select an effect's thumbnail from the thumbnail pane. You'll see your image update to reflect the new effect. 3. To see a different part of the image, drag it with the hand cursor. Click the Zoom buttons to zoom in or out. 4. Adjust the sliders (or enter specific values) to vary the effect.
Image Adjustments and Effects 115 Warp tool effects The entries on the Warp Tools flyout work as a group. Most of them shift pixels that the brush passes over, while the last one undoes the cumulative effects of the others. The actual amount of pixel displacement depends on the direction of brush movement, the brush tip, and the Context toolbar's Opacity, Brush Size, and Quality settings. The Elastic Warp Tool shifts pixels in the direction of brush motion, hence the appearance of pulling or elasticity.
116 Image Adjustments and Effects Applying 2D layer effects Layer effects can be applied to the contents of standard (transparent) layers, text layers, or shape layers. Standard or "2D" layer effects like shadow, glow, bevel, and emboss are particularly well adapted to text, while 3D layer effects (covered elsewhere; p. 118) create the impression of a textured surface.
Image Adjustments and Effects 117 • Inner Glow filter adds a color border inside the edge of an object. • Bevel and Emboss/Inner Bevel adds a rounded-edge effect inside an object. • Bevel and Emboss/Outer Bevel adds a rounded-edge effect (resembling a drop shadow) outside an object. • Bevel and Emboss/Emboss adds a convex rounded edge and shadow effect to an object. • Bevel and Emboss/Pillow Emboss adds a concave rounded edge and shadow effect to an object.
118 Image Adjustments and Effects 4. Click OK to apply the effect or Cancel to abandon changes. Applying 3D layer effects 3D layer effects are just as easy to apply, but they’re a bit more complex than their 2D cousins (see p. 116). Actually, there’s an easy way to get started with them: simply display the Instant Effects tab and preview its gallery thumbnails. In the tab you’ll see a variety of remarkable 3D surface and texture presets grouped into wide-ranging “themed” categories (e.g.
Image Adjustments and Effects 119 To apply an Instant Effects tab preset to the active layer: : • Display the Instant Effects tab and select a category, then click a gallery thumbnail. • To make the effect appear smaller or larger in relation to the image, drag the Scale slider or type a value in the tab.
120 Image Adjustments and Effects • 3D Lighting provides a "light source" without which any depth information in the effect wouldn’t be visible. The lighting settings let you illuminate your 3D landscape and vary its reflective properties. Another thing you’ll probably wonder about is that all the 3D effects seem to have "map" in their name.
Image Adjustments and Effects 121 based maps include data about the interior of the "space," while the bitmapbased maps describe only surface characteristics. You’ll see this distinction more clearly if you experiment with depth maps, as covered in Using depth maps (see p. 152). Depth maps create extra depth to your image, by adding an extra channel (storing Z-axis or depth information). As a result, contoured surfaces are possible which are exposed by applied 3D layer effects.
122 Image Adjustments and Effects 3D Reflection Map The 3D Reflection Map effect is used to simulate mirrored surfaces by selection of a pattern (i.e., a bitmap which possesses a shiny surface) which "wraps around" a selected object. Patterns which simulate various realistic indoor and outdoor environments can be adopted, with optional use of 3D lighting to further reflect off object edges.
Image Adjustments and Effects 123 Using the Filter Gallery The Filter Gallery offers a one-stop shop for applying single or multiple filter effects. The gallery hosts sets of filter thumbnails which are categorized into different effect categories (e.g., Distort, Blur, Sharpen, Edge, Noise, Render, etc.) . Thumbnails are shown in expandable categories (see Distort filter effects below); each thumbnail is a sample of your currently active image with the relevant filter effect applied.
124 Image Adjustments and Effects To view the Filter Gallery: • Click the effect filter loaded. OR • To make a Filter Layer, right-click a standard or Background layer in the Layers tab, and choose Convert to Filter Layer.... (See Using filter layers on p. 146.) button on the Photo Studio toolbar. No You can add to any effect by creating a stack where additional effects can be added and built up. Any effect can then be switched on/off, deleted or reordered in this list.
Image Adjustments and Effects 125 Clicking a thumbnail will replace any currently selected filter in your filter stack. To switch a filter on or off: • To switch a selected filter effect off, click the icon next to its name in the Filter Stack. The icon changes to a closed eye. Click again to switch on. As an example, a click on the Diffuse Glow filter (below) will hide the effect, but clicking the Paper Cutout's closed eye icon will make the filter visible.
126 Image Adjustments and Effects To replace a filter: 1. Select the filter you wish to replace by clicking its name. 2. Pick an effect gallery, then click a filter effect's thumbnail as a replacement (or right-click then choose Replace Filter). Your selected filter is replaced in the stack with no change made to the existing stack order. The order in which effects appear in the effect list may produce very different results.
Image Adjustments and Effects 127 To check or change the plug-in filter folder: 1. Choose Preferences... from the File menu and select the Plugins tab. Initially the dialog shows the path you selected during installation. 2. To change the designated folder, click the Browse... button and use the dialog to locate the correct folder. OR Create Windows shortcuts within the folder, pointing to the plug-ins stored outside the PhotoPlus Plugins folder.
128 Image Adjustments and Effects For good results, it's important to bear the following points in mind: • Many modern cameras offer auto-bracketing which automatically takes several shots at different exposure levels. A two-EV spacing is considered to be optimum for most occasions. Alternatively, shoot with manual exposure set. • Always shoot the same scene! Your output is based on a composite of the same scene. • Take as many shots as is needed to cover your required dynamic range.
Image Adjustments and Effects 129 Click the Add button to add more photos or the Remove button to exclude a selected photo. For scanned images (from camera film) which won't possess EXIFderived Exposure values, you can click the Edit Exposure button to add your own exposure values if you've kept a record (or you could just add +2.0, 0, and -2 then experiment with the results). 4.
130 Image Adjustments and Effects To adjust your intermediate image: 1. From the HDR Merge dialog, an image preview is displayed, along with a merge file list and merge settings. Optionally, uncheck an image from the upper-right list to exclude it from the merge. 2. Drag the Compression slider to a new value—use your eye to judge the best merge results, but also the supporting Histogram to ensure that the tonal range fits into the visible graph without clipping.
Image Adjustments and Effects • 131 Click No if you don't need to preserve the HDR image (you'll have to select, align, and merge again). Your merge results will be the basis for an Untitled project. If you've created an intermediate HDR image, it can be opened as for any other file (see p. 19).
132 Image Adjustments and Effects
6 Layers and Masks
134 Layers and Masks
Layers and Masks 135 Basics of using layers If you're accustomed to thinking of pictures as flat illustrations in books, or as photographic prints, the concept of image layers may take some getting used to. In fact, layers are hardly unique to electronic images. The emulsion of photographic film has separate layers, each sensitive to a different color—and we've all noticed multiple-image depth effects like shop window reflections or mirrored interiors.
136 Layers and Masks You can create any number of new layers in your image. Each new one appears on top of the currently active layer, comprising a stack that you can view and manipulate with the Layers tab. We call these additional layers standard layers to differentiate them from the Background layer. Standard layers such as "Surfer Girl" and "Beach" opposite behave like transparent sheets through which the underlying layers are visible.
Layers and Masks 137 A key distinction is that pixels on the Background layer are always opaque, while those on standard layers can vary in opacity (or transparency—another way of expressing the same property). That’s because standard layers have a “master” Opacity setting that you can change at any time (with on-screen real-time preview), while the Background layer does not. A couple of examples will show how this rule is applied in PhotoPlus: • Suppose you are creating a new image.
138 Layers and Masks Operations involving layers Many standard operations, such as painting, selecting and moving, Clipboard actions, adjusting colors, applying effects, and so on, are possible on both the Background layer and standard layers.
Layers and Masks 139 • Select New Layer Group to create a group in which you can store layers which have some relationship to each other—some layers may only be related to a specific photo feature such that any changes to those layers will be restricted to the group’s scope only. This gives greater control to enable changes to opacity, blend modes and hide/show layer settings for the group rather than for individual layers.
140 Layers and Masks • Use different thumbnail sizes in the Layers tab by clicking the Menu button, then choosing Small Thumbnails or Large Thumbnails. • To convert the Background layer to a standard (transparent) layer, right-click "Background" on the Layers tab and choose Promote to Layer. The layer's name changes from "Background" to "Layer ." To convert a standard layer to a Background layer, rightclick the layer and choose Layer to Background.
Layers and Masks 141 • To clone one or more active layers and their contents as new standard layers, right-click the selected layers then choose Duplicate... (or Altdrag in the editing window with Move Tool selected) . The process also lets you copy the layer to a new or currently opened image. • To link layers, select multiple layers and choose Link Layers from the Layers menu (or right-click in the Layers tab). • To rearrange layers, select the layer(s) in the Layers tab and drag up or down.
142 Layers and Masks • To make a mask or blend apply to only specific layers, i.e. those that contained within a group. • To apply changes to a group that you would otherwise have to apply to each layer in turn—thus improving efficiency. In reality a group is really just another layer but one which can store layers within itself. It’s not surprising then that a group can have its own blend mode, opacity and blend ranges just like a layer.
Layers and Masks 143 Using adjustment layers Adjustment layers let you insert any number of image adjustments experimentally. Unlike the other layer types, adjustment layers don't store content in the form of bitmap images, text, or shapes. Rather, an adjustment layer applies the adjustment to content on all layers below it (you can restrict the effects of the adjustment to one underlying layer by adding both to a group; see p. 141).
144 Layers and Masks • Gradient Map: Remap grayscale (lightness) information in the image to a selected gradient. • Lens Filter: Apply a color filter to warm up (or cool down) your image. • Black & White Film: Convert your color image to black and white intelligently. • Threshold: Create a monochromatic (black and white) representation. • Negative Image: Invert each color, replacing it with an "opposite" value. • Posterize: Apply the Posterize effect by limiting the number of lightness levels.
Layers and Masks 145 To create an adjustment layer: New Adjustment Layer button on the Layers tab. 1. Click the 2. Select the name of the adjustment from the flyout menu. 3. Use the displayed dialog to pick the settings to be applied, then click OK. A new adjustment layer, with adjustment name and identifying thumbnail, is inserted above the active layer. The adjustment is applied to all underlying layers.
146 Layers and Masks As with other layers, you can change the adjustment layer’s name, hide the adjustment, set its Opacity, Blend Mode and/or Blend Ranges. You can also drag an adjustment layer up or down within the Layers tab to determine exactly which other layers are below and therefore affected by it. Using filter layers If you apply a filter effect to a standard or background layer, the layer is permanently altered.
Layers and Masks 147 To convert to a filter layer: 1. In the Layers tab, right-click a standard or Background layer and choose Convert to Filter Layer.... 2. From the displayed Filter Gallery, open a filter category (e.g. Distort, Blur, etc.) by clicking the button, then choose a filter thumbnail (showing a preview of your image with the filter applied). See Using the Filter Gallery on p. 123 for more details. 3. Click OK to close the Filter Gallery.
148 Layers and Masks • As a property of individual layers, a layer's blend mode determines how each pixel on that layer visibly combines with those on layers below. (Because there are no layers below the Background layer, it can't have a blend mode.) Note that changing a layer's blend mode property doesn't actually alter the pixels on the layer—so you can create different blend mode effects after creating the image content, then merge layers when you've achieved the result you want.
Layers and Masks 149 Using blend ranges A Blend Mode can be associated with a tool or layer to produce different color effects when pixels from each layer are painted on top of each other. Blend ranges, a more advanced blending feature, differ in that they specify the range of colors on a current layer that is to be blended with the underlying layer—this is a simple include or exclude of tones or colors in the blending process.
150 Layers and Masks are not included in the blend. This means that the color of the underlying layers pixels is used instead (as there is no blending taking place). To apply a blend range: 1. Open an image that possesses more than one layer. 2. Go to the Layers tab. Decide which two layers you want to apply a blend range between. 3. Double-click the upper layer. 4. In the Blend Ranges box, specify a channel to work on in the Channel drop-down menu – choose Gray, Red, Green or Blue. 5.
Layers and Masks 151 Varying opacity is rather like lighting a gauze backdrop in a theater: depending on how light falls on it, it can be rendered either visible or invisible, or in between. Fully opaque pixels contribute their full color value to the image. Fully transparent pixels are invisible: they contribute nothing to the image. Inbetween pixels are called semi-transparent.
152 Layers and Masks 2. Read the value shown for "O" (Opacity) on the HintLine (e.g., O:80%). The readout updates constantly, showing the opacity value of each pixel under the cursor. For more useful hints and tips about using opacity, see PhotoPlus help. Using depth maps Depth maps let you add remarkable 3D realism to ordinary images. A standard "flat" image, of course, has only two dimensions: X and Y, or width and height.
Layers and Masks 153 To create a depth map: 1. Add Layer Select the layer (or group) in the Layers tab and click Depth Map. You'll see a thumbnail of the depth map appear to the right of the bitmap thumbnail. The Depth Map is initially selected. 2. Paint directly on your page (you're actually painting or erasing directly on the map).
154 Layers and Masks Importing a depth map Another way of incorporating a depth map is to create a suitable bitmap image separately (or borrow one from somewhere else) and then paste it via the Clipboard to an existing PhotoPlus depth map. Using masks Masking in a program like PhotoPlus is a bit more complicated than applying masking tape to the screen! But fundamentally the concept is the same: you can hide certain parts of an image—in this case by rendering them transparent, hence invisible.
Layers and Masks 155 information, like layer information, can only be preserved by saving the image in the native PhotoPlus (.SPP) format. Creating the mask Before you can use a mask, you have to create it on a particular layer. The mask can start out as transparent (revealing the whole layer), opaque (hiding the whole layer), a transparency gradient (opposite) or—if you create it from a selection—a bit of both (with only the selected region hidden or revealed). The mask shows as a mask thumbnail.
156 Layers and Masks • Reveal All for a transparent mask over the whole layer • Hide All for an opaque mask over the whole layer • Reveal Selection for an opaque mask with transparent "holes" over the selected region(s) • Hide Selection for a transparent mask with opaque "blocks" over the selected region(s) On the Layers tab, a mask preview thumbnail appears, confirming that a mask exists.
Layers and Masks 157 To edit the active layer's mask: • Click the mask thumbnail, or check Edit Mask on the Layers menu. In Edit Mask mode, you're normally viewing not the mask, but rather the effects of changes "as if" you were making them on the layer below. Adding a Reveal All mask can be a bit confusing, because there's initially no evidence the mask is there at all (i.e.
158 Layers and Masks If you want to fine-tune a mask or layer's position independently of each other it’s possible to unlink them. You may have noticed a small link button between the layer and mask thumbnails on the Layers tab, i.e. A click on this button will unlink the layer and mask, changing the button to display a red cross through it ( ). By selecting the layer or mask thumbnail, you can then drag the layer or mask on the page, respectively.
7 Creating Animations
160 Creating Animations
Creating Animations 161 Getting started with animation Animation creates an illusion of motion or change by displaying a series of still pictures, rapidly enough to fool the eye—or more accurately, the brain. With PhotoPlus, it's easy to create and edit images with multiple frames, then export them as animated GIFs that a Web browser can play back, or AVI movies for multimedia applications.
162 Creating Animations In this file (as in any imported .GIF animation) the individual frames can each occupy one layer in the PhotoPlus image. This is controlled with the Add Layer to Each New Frame check box, available by right-clicking the Animation tab. Each new frame can therefore be edited independently as it occupies its own layer. On the Layers tab, the layer stack for this animation corresponds with the frame sequence, with default names—in this case, the default "Layer 1" through to "Layer 5".
Creating Animations 163 Key point: A so-called "frame" is really just a particular state or snapshot of the various layers in the image, in terms of three layer properties: • Shown/Hidden: Which layers are shown and which are hidden • Position: The position of the contents of each "shown" layer • Opacity: The opacity setting of each "shown" layer As you switch between frames, you switch between states.
164 Creating Animations Working with animation frames Let's cover the "nuts and bolts" of creating and arranging animation frames using the Animation tab. You'll use the tab in conjunction with the Layers tab to varying extents, but we'll focus on the Animation tab for the moment. Here are some general guidelines to help you produce memorable animations: 1. Decide if you want layers to be created with each frame.
Creating Animations 165 • Click the Next Frame button to select the next frame of the sequence. If the last frame of the sequence was selected, you'll cycle forward to the first frame. • Click the sequence. Last Frame button to select the last frame of the To select more than one frame: • To select multiple non-adjacent frames, hold down the Ctrl key when selecting each one. • To select a range of adjacent frames, hold down the Shift key and click the first and last thumbnail in the range.
166 Creating Animations cloned frames while selected. You may need to remove the first of the cloned frames because of duplication. To mirror a frame layer's attributes: • To mirror the attributes of a frames' layers with respect to Position, Opacity, Blend Mode, Visibility and Effects, select specific or all frames (see above) ensuring that the "target" frame which possesses the attribute(s) to be copied is selected first, then choose Unify Layer Across Frames.
Creating Animations • 167 If the playback of certain frames (or all frames) seems too fast, you can select any frame and enter a value greater than 0 in the Frame Delay field. The frame's delay factor (in milliseconds) will be exported along with the .GIF. Sometimes all frames may require a delay factor in order to achieve proper pacing. You can select multiple (or all) frames and enter a common value in the Frame Delay field. To stop the animation: • Click the Stop button.
168 Creating Animations You can either have PhotoPlus create a sequence of new frames for the effect (check Create as new frames) or you can create some empty frames yourself and then generate the effect with the Create as new frames option unchecked. This will integrate the new layers into the existing blank frames, beginning with the designated Start frame.
Creating Animations 169 7. To set a delay factor (to be applied to each frame in the sequence), enter a value in the Frame Delay box. 8. Check Ping Pong to build a "two-way" sequence that morphs to the end state and back again. This works for .GIFs, but not .AVIs. (If you choose this option, remember to increase the number of frames or cut the frame delay to maintain visual pacing.) 9. Play and Stop buttons. To preview the animation, click the The sequence appears in the End preview window.
170 Creating Animations
8 Making Images for the web
172 Making Images for the web
Making Images for the web 173 Slicing images Image slicing and image maps are two convenient ways to create navbars (navigation bars) and clickable graphics for Web pages. With image slicing, a graphic is carved up into smaller graphics—each of which can have its own link, like any Web graphic—and PhotoPlus saves the sections as separate files when you export the image.
174 Making Images for the web To specify the alternate text and/or link: • Right-click an image slice (any area enclosed by horizontal and vertical slice guides) and enter the alternate Text and URL (link) information in the dialog. Once you've sliced up your image you have to export it to make the image slices understandable to a Web visitor's browser. To export a sliced image: • When exporting with File>Export Optimizer, ensure the Create Image Slices box is checked on the second Export dialog.
Making Images for the web 175 You assign each hotspot its own target—for example, the URL of a Web page. Hotspots aren't attached to a particular image, but become part of a larger "map" that gets exported along with an image and turns into HTML code. It's then up to the Web developer to embed the image map code properly into the Web page. Image Map Tools flyout on the Standard toolbar displays a flyout The menu of tools for creating and editing image maps.
176 Making Images for the web To edit a hotspot: Image Map 1. Click the Image Map Tools flyout and choose the Selection tool. 2. To resize the hotspot, drag from an edge. 3. To move the hotspot, drag from the center. 4. Right-click the hotspot to set hotspot Properties.... Enter hover-over Text and add an associated target URL. Previously used URLs are saved and can be selected from the drop-down list by clicking on the arrow at the end of the box.
9 Macros and Batch Processing
178 Macros and Batch Processing
Macros and Batch Processing 179 Understanding macros If there are operations that you want to repeatedly perform in PhotoPlus, you can apply a macro. Put simply, a macro is a saved sequence of commands that can be stored and then recalled at a later date. Macros can be used for: • Downsampling • Reformatting • Applying effects • Image adjustments There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of macros that could be recorded for PhotoPlus.
180 Macros and Batch Processing You can cut, copy, paste or even duplicate any macro. This allows you to modify pre-defined macros once pasted into your own user-defined categories. Recording Macros Of course at some point you may want to record your own macro. It’s probably a good idea to create a new category into which you can save your newly recorded macros—this keeps them separate from the pre-recorded macros supplied with PhotoPlus.
Macros and Batch Processing 181 macro name appears at the bottom of the list of macros in the currently displayed category. 3. Select the Start Recording button. Any command that can be saved in a macro will be stored while recording is in progress. 4. Carry out the command sequence you want to record, following the instructions when necessary. 5.
182 Macros and Batch Processing Modifying Macros Once you’ve recorded and played back your macro it's possible to modify the macro’s saved sequence of commands. These are listed in the order they were recorded and may be enabled, disabled, reordered or made interactive "on the fly". Macro commands are enabled by default. It is also possible to perform a right-click to delete, rename or duplicate a command from the flyout menu.
Macros and Batch Processing 183 To switch a command off: 1. Go to the Macros tab. 2. Choose a category from the drop-down menu. 3. Decide which macro you want to modify. 4. icon next to the macro name to reveal the macro’s Click the command list in the drop-down menu. 5. Each list entry begins with a check box which switches on or off the relevant command. Uncheck the box to switch the command off.
184 Macros and Batch Processing To switch off command interactivity, simply click the icon again. Did you spot that some commands have no "interactive" boxes? This is because some commands by their nature have no dialogs associated with them! To add manual instructions to your command list: Another example of interactivity is the inclusion of a pause into your macro. This allows you to pop up manual instructions (or important notes) in a dialog at pre-defined points as your macro runs.
Macros and Batch Processing 185 Copying, duplicating and deleting Macros With the vast collection of macros and commands at your disposal, it’s useful to know that you can copy preset or user-defined macros to any user-defined category for modification—simply right-click on the macro to be copied and select Copy. You can paste the macro by right-click then selecting Paste (the macro will be added to the end of the category list).
186 Macros and Batch Processing The Batch dialog, available from the File menu, is used to perform all of the above operations. As a pre-requisite, you have to define a specific Source Folder for any batch processing operation, whether using a macro or not, or if converting photos to a different file format. A Destination folder can optionally be defined, creating new files in that new location (otherwise the source folder is used, overwriting original images).
Macros and Batch Processing 187 Changing file type It is possible to convert your photos into one of many different file types available in PhotoPlus. In addition, conversion options such as bit depth, palette, dithering, compression/quality, and matte can be selected depending on the file type. Changing image size As well as changing file formats, PhotoPlus can use batch processing to alter image sizes in bulk (using a choice of resampling methods).
188 Macros and Batch Processing Enter a DPI value to alter the original resolution of the images. Pick a method from the drop-down list. Use Nearest Pixel for hard-edge images, Bilinear Interpolation when shrinking photos, Bicubic Interpolation when enlarging photos, and Lanczos3 Window when best quality results are expected. The list is ordered according to processing times (fastest to slowest).
10 Printing and Exporting
190 Printing and Exporting
Printing and Exporting 191 Printing For basic printing primarily to desktop printers, PhotoPlus offers an exciting, comprehensive, and versatile printing solution for your photos. The easy-to-use Print Studio lets you easily jump between different print modes, each mode designed for single- or multi-image printing of differing print layouts.
192 Printing and Exporting • Single Image Use for basic desktop printing of an individual image, with supporting Layout options (image scaling, positioning, and tiling) and template choices. • Print Layout Adopt a pre-defined layout template for standard print sizes (in portrait/landscape orientation), passport sizes, and mixed print sizes.
Printing and Exporting 193 • Choose a category which matches your current print mode, e.g. in Print Layout mode, pick a Print Layout category. • To insert a particular template into the central page layout region, simply click its gallery thumbnail. A print layout’s cells need to be manually populated; other modes will autopopulate cells. 5. Depending on print mode, decide on which images are to be used for printing, i.e.
194 Printing and Exporting • Check Rotate for best fit to make portrait images fit cells of landscape orientation (and vice versa) to make maximum use of cell space. 7. (Optional) Check Border to add a border of a configurable width (use input box) and Color (click the swatch to select color from a dialog). 8. (Optional) To caption your images, check Label to add a Date, image Filename, or Sequence number under each image; select from the dropdown menu. For a combination of label formats, click Modify...
Printing and Exporting 195 Here's a visual breakdown of the different options. Fit image to cell/Fill cell with image These options toggle respectively between fitting the image to cell dimensions (it will scale the image width to cell width or image height to cell height) or making the image completely fill the cell, losing portions of the image from view.
196 Printing and Exporting To crop an image: . 1. Select an image from the lower gallery and click 2. From the Crop Image dialog, choose an Aspect Ratio from the dropdown menu which dictates the proportions of your crop area grid: Unconstrained creates a grid which can be proportioned in any way; Cell matches to cell dimensions; Image maintains image dimensions; Custom uses a custom constrained ratio (e.g., a square) that you define yourself in the adjacent input boxes.
Printing and Exporting 197 Custom (e.g., 1.00 x 1.00 in) 3. Drag a crop area's corner to size your crop according to requirements, then move the grid around the image to choose the preferred image area to be cropped. To revert, click Clear to reset your crop grid. 4. Click OK. If your image is already present in your layout then it will update automatically to reflect the new cropping applied. If it hasn't yet been used, the crop is still applied to the image in the image gallery.
198 Printing and Exporting PDF works well as a medium for distributing standalone files. By letting people download an online PDF file, you can save yourself the trouble and expense of printing multiple copies! PDF is also used extensively for delivering files to professional printers. For the most part, print shops have adopted PDF artwork using PDF/X formats—more reliable than PostScript and expressly targeted for graphic arts and high quality reproduction.
Printing and Exporting 199 • In the Color Management section, the Output color space setting should always be "CMYK" for professional printing; otherwise "RGB" is fine. Select the Destination profile recommended by your print partner. • The Prepress Marks section lets you include printer marks in your PDF output (check an option to switch on). Use for professional printing. 3. Set security options (if any) on the Security tab.
200 Printing and Exporting The Export process itself can be carried out by using either a standard file dialog where you can specify the path, name and format of the image file, or by using an Export Optimizer where you can additionally compare export previews for multiple file formats before export. To export an image: 1. Choose Export... from the File menu. 2. The Export dialog appears, with the file's current base name shown. Change the base name if desired. 3.
Printing and Exporting 201 To open the Export Optimizer: Export Optimizer on the Standard toolbar. 1. Click 2. From the Export Optimizer dialog, use the Options section to specify the file Format, and format-specific options such as bit depth, dithering, palette, and compression. The Size section lets you scale, stretch, or squash the image, while setting an export Quality setting (e.g., a resampling method such as Bicubic). 3. Review your optimized image, and click happy with it.
202 Printing and Exporting 4. From the Export dialog, enter a file name, and choose a file format from the "Save as type" drop-down list. The export format and custom settings will be remembered for future exports. Click OK. To adjust the preview display: • To change the display scale, click the dialog's Zoom Tool and then left-click (to zoom in), right-click (to zoom out) on the preview, or choose a zoom percentage in the lower left in the drop-down list.
Printing and Exporting 203 To proceed with exporting: 1. Make sure the active preview pane is using the settings you want to apply to the image. 2. Click the dialog's Export or OK button to display the Export dialog. The Export Optimizer saves settings for particular formats according to the most recent update in the Options section.
204 Printing and Exporting document attached. If already loaded, your email program automatically attaches your document to a new email message. To complete the process, press the Send button (or equivalent) on your email program as for any other email message. Setting the file type To take advantage of better file compression you may want to convert your image to JPEG if not already in this format.
Printing and Exporting 205 11 Index
Index
Index .AVI format, 161 .HDR format, 127 .PSD format, 19 .
Index Channels tab, 62 Character tab, 87 Chromatic Aberration Remover, 110 circle drawing, 91 placing hotspot, 175 selecting, 33 clipboard operations, 44, 138, 140 Clone Tool, 84 cloning, 84 closing files, 27 CMYK separations, 197 color adjusting, 105, 106 choosing, 67 defining custom, 68 foreground and background, 68 modes, 27 changing, 28 replacing, 107, 112 saving, 69 selecting, 68 separations, 197 storing, 69 swatches, 69 Color Fill (layer effect), 116 Color Pickup Tool, 68, 151 Color Range, 37 Color S
Index in animation, 167 Instant Artist, 113 layer (2D), 97, 116 layer (3D), 118 reflection maps in, 122 transparency in, 121 noise, 123 render, 123 sharpen, 123 special, 113 stylistic, 123 Warp tool, 115 effects lighting (3D), 119 Elastic Warp Tool, 115 ellipse drawing, 91 placing hotspot, 175 selecting, 33 Ellipse Selection Tool, 33 email (sharing via), 203 Emboss (layer effect), 116 Eraser tools, 75 erasing, 75 background, 76 flood, 77 standard, 76 Export Optimizer, 200 exporting an image, 199 Extract, 6
Index HSL (adjustment), 109 HTML for image maps, 174 for image slices, 173 hyperlinks for image maps, 174 for image slices, 173 image acquiring TWAIN, 24 creating new, 18 exporting, 199 fixing, 108 opening, 19 saving, 25 sharing by email, 203 Image Browser, 17, 20 Image Map tools, 175 image size, 46 changing, 46 changing, by batch processing, 187 Image Slice Tool, 173 images creating new, 18 Import from Twain, 17, 25 Inner Bevel (layer effect), 116 Inner Glow (layer effect), 116 Inner Shadow (layer effect)
Index locking (layer properties), 139 macros, 179 copying, duplicating and deleting, 185 modifying, 182 playing, 181 recording, 180 Magnetic Selection Tool, 33, 36 masks, 154 creating, 155 editing, 156 from selections, 158 selections for, 158 Mesh Warp Tool, 56 mesh warping, 56 modes color, 27 changing, 28 montage, 154 Move Tool, 43 movies (AVI), 161 multi-image printing, 191 New Adjustment Layer, 145 New Animation, 17 New Image, 17 New Layer, 138 New Layer Group, 141 New Layer Group, 139 Node Edit Tool, 9
Index Preview in Browser, 167, 203 Print Layout mode (printing), 192 print layouts (printing), 191 Print Studio, 191 printing, 191 as PDF, 197 cropping to print sizes, 48 professional, 197 with Print Studio, 191 Promote to Layer, 44, 140 Publish as PDF, 197 QuickFix Studio, 108 QuickShape tools, 88, 91 Radial (gradient fill), 82 raster layers, 89 Rasterize, 87, 139 raw images, 19, 21 adjustments, 23 color modes for, 27 vs JPG, 21 Raw Studio, 21 rectangle drawing, 91 placing hotspot, 175 selecting, 33 Recta
Index Send, 203 separations CMYK color, 197 Shape Edit Tool, 93, 94 shape layers, 89 rasterizing, 139 sharing documents (by email), 203 Sharpen (adjustment), 110 Sharpen Tool, 111 Single Image mode (printing), 192 single-image printing, 191 size canvas, 18, 46 image, 46 image (at export), 201 skewing, 54 slicing images, 173 Smudge Tool, 111 Solid fill, 82 special effects, 113 in animation, 167 Sponge Tool, 112 square drawing, 91 placing hotspot, 175 selecting, 33 Square (gradient fill), 82 stamping picture
Index Dodge, 112 Elastic Warp, 115 Flood Eraser, 75 Flood Fill, 80 Freehand Outline, 93 Gradient Fill, 82 Image Slice, 173 Magnetic Selection, 36 Mesh Warp, 56 Move, 43 Node Edit, 92 Paintbrush, 71 Patch, 112 Pattern, 78 Pencil, 71 Picture Brush, 73 Pinch/Punch, 115 QuickShape, 88, 91 Red Eye, 111 Replace Color, 112 Scratch Remover, 112 Selection Deform, 39 Shape Edit, 93, 94 Sharpen, 111 Smudge, 111 Sponge, 112 Standard Eraser, 75 Straight Outline, 93 Straighten, 53 Text, 86 Text Selection, 35, 86 Thick/
Notes
Notes
