Image Manipulation Seminar

1
Image Manipulation Seminar

• Easy to follow notes

2
Resizing and Optimising an Image Using Paint Shop
Pro 8
3

• 1.Open up the image you wish to use

4

• 2.Resize the image to the required width

5

• 3.Ensure you select a suitable resolution (72
  90 for web pages) do this BEFORE selecting a
  width

6

• 4.This will be how your image will appear at its
  normal size.

7

• 5.We often tweak the brightness (Adjust gt
  Brightness Contrast) a touch after resizing as
  sometimes the images get a little dull.

8

• 6.Also, sharpening after brightening will give it
  a little extra zing (the sharpening process
  enhances any white pixels a little).

9

• 7.Now you need to save the image this is not
  the save process, but the export process. A
  rule of thumb is if its a photo, export as a
  jpeg. if its a graphic with a few flat coloured
  areas, or just text, or with transparent areas,
  then export it as a gif.

10

• 8.You can play with the compression value in
  order to get the desired clarity balanced with
  the required image size for an image this size
  you want to be aiming for under 15 Kb, for
  something nearer 3 or 400 pixels wide, then try
  to aim under 30 or 40 Kb.

11

• 9.Remember to rename the image, or you will
  overwrite the original.

12

• Cutting Out Images And Creating a Montage Using
  Paint Shop Pro 8

13

• 1.Open up your image and select the Freehand Tool

14

• 2.If the tool settings are not visible, hit F4.
  Now select the desired Selection Type here we
  used Smart Edge, but you may find other
  techniques are more appropriate to a specific
  job. Note the other settings here and maybe see
  how different settings affect the task.

15

• 3.The Smart Edge allows you to click, then
  click onwards at different corners, or small
  stages, around the edge of the area you want to
  cut-out.

16

• 4.At the end, double-clicking will make the final
  join, and give you a dotted line around your
  subject.

17

• 5.If you havent done so already, make sure the
  background color has been set to one you want.

18

• 6.Hit delete to lose the old background, and you
  will be left with the new flat colored
  background. Unselect the subject.

19

• 7.Now use the Magic Wand to cut out the screen.

20

• 8.The screen may look like a flat colour, but in
  pixel terms, there will be many shades of dark
  grey. This means you need to set the Tolerance
  level to something high, to allow the wand to
  grab a range of similar colors. Now hit delete,
  and you are left with a flat colored background.

21

• 9.Now select an image to put onto the monitor
  screen. By selecting all, we can

22

• 10.copy the whole image

23

• 11.and Paste Into Selection. There are different
  options to pasting here, so select the right one
  for the job.

24

• 12.We can now set a background color to be a
  graded one there are many ready-made ones, but
  you could experiment with a custom-made one.

25

• 13.We can now cut out the areas around the keys

26

• 14.Then selecting the Flood Fill tool

27

• 15.We can now right-click the background into a
  selected areas.

28

• 16.We now need to reduce the overall size of the
  image, using the resize tool as before, then we
  want to add area above the current image by
  increasing the canvas size, so we can stick some
  text up there

29

• 17.The Placement arrows allow us to anchor our
  current image when the extra canvas area is
  added. Also, set the background color here to
  match the one we already have.

30

• 18.Now, after setting the background color, use
  the Pen tool to draw a freehand shape.

31

• 19.Set a drop shadow effect (or another of your
  choice).

32

• 20.Add some appropriate text

33

• 21.Et Voila!

34
It is very likely that when you attempt these
techniques yourself that you discover a quicker
or better technique than the ones we have
described here. There are many ways to achieve a
goal, but depending upon the version of Paint
Shop Pro you use, or whether you use a completely
different photo/graphics package altogether, you
should soon find that with a little practice you
will be able to achieve your desired effects
easily. The Help notes (F1) for any package will
outline any feature/technique you require. Please
remember that Intergage did not write Paint Shop
Pro, and therefore we cannot support any issues
you come across during your image
optimisation/graphic creation. Good Luck.