Whether you are a designer and create alphas for distribution, or you are just making one for your own use, there are different ways to save them. The method you will use to save your alpha might have practical reasons or just be a personal preference.
Cassel
Featured Resource – Laplacian Enhanced
As mentioned very often in the Campus, many plugins promoted or even labelled as "for Photoshop" can work just as well in PaintShop Pro. One just has to try. I have recently discovered a whole series of plugins that are totally new to me, and they might just be little gems for you, PaintShop Pro users. Today, I will present and explore the Laplacian Enhanced plugin.
How to use PNG overlays
We often have photos that are good but could use an additional layer of interest with elements that either were not available at the time the photo was taken or was impossible to photograph. Whether you are talking about snowflakes, flower petals, fog, or sparkles, you can often add them from ready-made overlays.
How to colorize black or white elements
PaintShop Pro has great tools to add colors to greyscale elements and many users take advantage of those tools. This is very useful when you have a "grey" element (or a colored one you can convert to greyscale) but if you have an element that is almost white or black, those techniques can't be used as-is.
Saving for Sharing
When you work with your PaintShop Pro to create various projects, whether they are scrapbook pages, greeting cards, posters or others, you likely want to show them off. You can post your result in online galleries, on Facebook or in the forum of the Campus. Depending on how you want to share your projects, you need to be familiar with various steps in the saving process to be most efficient.
Fixing exposure on partial photos
PaintShop Pro has some great tools to improve underexposed or overexposed photos. However, using a one-click fix over the complete image is not always the most appropriate solution as it will leave previously correct sections, now overexposed or underexposed. What can you do?
Keep your vectors editable
When you work with text, whether it is in titles or notes or journaling, you always want an option to change it, especially if you find an error after you finished your project. However, when you need to add drop shadows or bevels or other effects, you can't add them to your vectors, and keep your text editable, or can you?
Creating custom tags
Whether you are working on a scrapbook project, a sale flyer or any other type of composition, you might want a custom tag that you can customize with the color, texture and text of your choice. Let's see how you can create custom shapes that you can use and reuse again.
Creating a Subway Art Project
You might have seen those types of word art where various words are displayed in different fonts, different sizes, and sometimes, different orientations to fit inside of a frame. This type of project can be referred to as "Subway art". Let's see how you can create your own project with PaintShop Pro, whether you plan on using it for a frame to put on the wall, or a greeting card for a friend.
The Magic Wand in PaintShop Pro
This tool is called "magic" because it is powerful, but those powers can be intimidating when you don't understand all the intricacies of what can be done. The Magic Wand is probably one of the most commonly used tools by many PaintShop Pro users, are they using it in the best way possible? Let's look at the many settings that can make this tool do magic.
Featured Resource – NexusFont
If you are collecting a lot of fonts, you might face a specific challenge when it comes to choosing and using them. Font viewers can be a great help in that area. In the past, I have mentioned TheFontThing as one font viewer that had a particular advantage for PaintShop Pro users: you can use fonts without having to install them. NexusFont also has that advantage, so you get two programs for this particular need.
Importing Photoshop gradients in PSP
You might already know that PaintShop Pro allows its users to use or import several resources made for Photoshop. PaintShop Pro can open .psd files, and since version X5, it can import .abr brush files. In addition, Photoshop preset shapes can also be converted with a script. But did you know that it can also import gradients meant for Photoshop?
How to sort your fonts
If you have been collecting a lot of fonts or purchasing bundles, you are likely to have hundreds if not thousands of fonts. Going through that many fonts when you are looking only for one or two is far from efficient. In a previous article, we looked at the suggested organization for your fonts, but in the end, HOW will you do that?
Big or small photos?
If you look in galleries, you might seek a variety of sizes used for the photos in layouts. Some of them will have huge photos used as a background, some will have photos taking half the space of the layout while others will have tiny photos barely visible. What is the purpose of those different sizes?
Although scrapbooking is perceived as an artistic memory keeping some scrapbookers just want to create art and the photos are not the focus of their project. The importance of the photos and the memories might, in some cases, determine their sizes in a layout. However, other factors can determine whether the artist will use a large or small photo.
Featured Resource – Tips & Tricks for PaintShop Pro
PaintShop Pro is a very powerful program that might take a while to learn. Even though each tool and command is, in itself, fairly simple, there are many little tricks that could make your life easier when working on your project. Those tips are often not part of any user manual, or if they are, they are spread over hundreds of pages, hidden in a short sentence that can easily be missed. Over the years, I have discovered many such tips and tricks and have shared them on a weekly basis in the store newsletter, but have collated them into a single book.
