Cassel

Various local radio stations tend to hold activities, games, and such. How about your local radio station? Did you ever participate in any of those activities? Share your stories.

First of all, come and say HI once you register for this Bootcamp. We want to know who else will be there, on our side to cheer everyone up. Everyone started as a beginner, so don't ever compare yourself to others. You will learn one tool at a time, one concept at a time and you will create one project at a time. Everyone will have different photos and possibly different supplies so every project will be different. Once the Bootcamp is started, on September 16th, 2024, you can post your projects in here. Remember to resize your images to about 600 pixels AND save them in jpg format, before uploading them to the gallery (check this tutorial to upload to the gallery) so it won't slow down the site when we have lots of your masterpieces. Try to follow the tutorials at least enough so that we can recognize what lesson you completed. Now, let's get ready! If you missed the registration link or if you found this thread before I announced it (some people are very observant), HERE it is. Share it around if you want. Although this Bootcamp is mostly meant to help beginners, we won't exclude anyone for "excess experience". Some participants are back for a second (or third) round. You are always welcome. Remember that it will be the exact same tutorials so don't be surprised. I am sure you will now do something slightly different than the previous time. Since anyone can follow the whole Bootcamp using the trial version of PaintShop Pro, this is a perfect opportunity for anyone to give it a try and see how they like the program, so share with your friends who MIGHT consider using PaintShop Pro. The 7 tutorials will be spaced out over almost 2 weeks. This should make it easier for participants to follow without feeling stressed (it should never be stressful!).

Are you coming to the Q&A?

I just ran it on PSP2023 and it works fine. I have to say that PSP2023 might work inconsistently with text inside scripts. Did you try with different fonts by any chance?

Make sure to adjust the kerning. It looks like it might be negative. Set it to 0 to see if it is even more ligible.

With back-to-school time of year, you might have a photo or a story related to school and you might be looking for a cursive font. Or you could use this easy-to-read font for your journaling. You can get this free font HERE. What will you write?

I think i have the explanation and the solution. The preset shape was not 100% accurate for the nodes, and on a very large image, the Magic Wand will find a "tiny gap" so it will select more than one section. Check your email for a replacement shape. If it fixes the issue, I'll change it in the zip file too.

One little oddity of older scripts using other resources is that PSP does not always "know" you added those resources: it was not added to the cache. In more recent scripts, I have a code in it to clear the cache, but not in older ones. One solution can be to use the shape on a blank image. Another solution is to restart PSP. Now, I am a little "puzzled" (no pun intended): how do you get a puzzle done if you get that error?

Just as a reminder, in case it can help some users, when downloading images from those PNG sites, it is important to use their download links and NOT right-click on the image to "save as...". It might not be the case, but I have often seen users do that, thinking it would download the PNG version, but that only downloads the jpg preview/thumbnail.

I have heard a lot of controversy with Photoshop, as they changed their Terms of Service, to use users' projects to train their AI. I don't know the ins and outs of PSP development, but MAYBE they are waiting for that issue to settle down before releasing anything new? I don't know. I just guess.

Back when those brushes were created, images were not as large as they are now. The only way you can TRY to enlarge your brushes is to re-create them, and enlarge them using the AIPowered resize. Hum... maybe a script? I'd have to look at that.

They are brushes, so save them all where you save your brushes, whether it is in the MyDocuments folder (the default) or your own custom folder. As long as it is listed in the File Location, it would be used normally. You will be using the Background 11 folder because those brushes are larger and would not be suitable for earlier versions of PSP. Does that make sense?

Are you an "adrenaline junky"? Have you done ziplining or other exciting activities? If so, where and when? If not, why not? Share your stories and pictures! Here I am, all geared up.

That is strange. I really use this script to add all kinds of png elements and I never had issues. Does it happen with all PNG?

Do you want to challenge yourself to take photos every week for a year? Maybe you want to practice your photography skills, or just try to capture "ordinary" daily occurrences. Let's just encourage each other. This is a no-pressure thread, and you can share the photos you took or the theme you are going for (if you are going with a theme). And if you don't want to share the photos yet, and only showcase them once they are in a montage or a scrapbook page, you can just say that you did it. And it is ok to start your 52 weeks at any time. It does not have to start in January!

The theme for September is SNACKS. What kind of snacks do you like? Do you have recipes? Do you like unusual food as snacks? Let's go! Post your project in the gallery.

In September, our monthly theme is SNACKS. What kind of snacks do you prefer? What flavors do you like? Do you know of other snacks that you have not tried yet? Let's go!

It is a new month and new projects. Show off what you are working on in September be it a scrapbook page, a collage, a tutorial, or anything else you want. We are curious and want to see, learn, and get inspired. These threads are quickly becoming a fantastic source of inspiration, support, and friendship. Keep them coming! Remember to size down your image to about 600x600 pixels and save it in .jpg format before posting it (if you are creating a double page, you can resize it to 1000 pixels in width if you don't want to post the pages separately). Here are a few guidelines for everyone: when you post a project, give as much information on your sources or techniques used. It will help others who are curious and would like to do the same. if someone uses something that you like on their page, ask where they got it. Sometimes, you can go get it too and it will be better quality than trying to extract it (as it would have been resized to post in the forum anyway). if it is something that they did from scratch, ask how they did it. It would be so helpful to everyone! if you like a photo and would like to “play with it”, ALWAYS ask permission. Sometimes, there are some limitations and the person is not allowed to let others use it. Don’t get them in trouble. Usually, people are happy to say yes (if they can) when you ask politely. And if you get permission, you might get a better-quality image than the resized image anyway.

That is a great solution. I find that more than the drawing, the difficulty is the "visualization" of the path. Without the visualization, it is even harder to draw it. I had the same problem. I had to do it and redo it several times, so don't despair! Once you have a path, you have to adjust it to the thickness of the rope itself, but you can always keep that path. In fact, maybe even save it as a preset shape! So you won't have to redo anything from scratch!

Well, three years ago, I fell on the stairs. Over time, they became "off-level". One morning, it was raining slightly, and I was holding my grandson's hand (he was just 12 months old), and my shoe slipped on the uneven step. I had a bad fall. My grandson did too, but he only fell ON the step. I had a nasty bruise for weeks. We added a 2x4 where I could at least hold something and the stairs were leveled within days. My husband also bought that anti-slip paint and painted all the steps with it (it is like paint with sand in it).

Are you a DIY fan? What kind of things do you do as DIY? Do you recycle clothes or furniture? Do you fix things around your place on your own? Show us some pictures if you have some.

Final day of individual feedback. @Carolyn Rye Good cast shadow. And yes, with practice, it will become easier. @EukaGreat result. In the future, when you want to apply these techniques, even if they are not perfect to start, at least, it will make you "think" about the effects. @MicheleThat is a very clever way to address the issue of the light on the head of the pin. See how knowing the program led you to a creative solution! And 14 out of 15 is not bad at all! @Sheila Hogg Adding text to the paper just gives it more realism! And the shadow is good too. And yay on the quiz! @Daniel Hess 13 out of 15 is still over 85% so that is good. If you remember 85% of the whole workshop, I would say you learned quite a bit, don't you think? @Anja Pelzer Sorry about the translation for the quiz. As good as translators can be, with technical terms, it can sometimes be off. @MoniqueN. Make sure you take notes because the videos will only be available until the end of the week (except for DIAMOND members) @Rene Marker I am glad to hear that you learned something from this workshop. Since you are a seasoned scrapbooker, I am sure some of the tips were already familiar. Good on your mark. 🏆 @Gerry Landreth Although I didn't expect participants to use a cast shadow in a photo composition, the same approach would work and the shadows would be similarly "blurred". That is a good exercise. @Mary Solaas You can take all the time you want to "think" about those shadows. Post your projects when you want. And this time, I admit that I made the quiz a bit more "challenging". The goal was not to stump you, but just to make you think. Sorry for the #15 that might have been less "obvious" but as long as it makes you think about the direction, blur, size, opacity, and shape of the shadows, I would say that this workshop was a success. I know some lessons have been challenging, and I hope it won't scare you from using different shadows. Come back to your exercise files (you keep a layered version, right?) and of course, I will always be there to answer your questions if you have some.

Good observation. In the blog post, it was done before I experimented further. I agree that it should be edited in the blog post 🙂

@Jeni Simpson You did very well with those curly ribbons! @Carolyn RyeGreat work. Hopefully, next time you try it (if you do), it will take you less time. @Anja PelzerThe cast shadows are good for both pins. @EukaAlthough you might not use clusters often, remember that occasionally, you could simply have two elements overlapping each other and it will make you think of this shadow trick. @Michele You know, having an easier time drawing downward makes sense. In caligraphy, it is always downward. When you draw with a pencil, it is also easier downward mainly based on the angle of the pencil. There is actually science behind that! @Ann SeeberI think the shadows for your pins need to have a "less blurred" section close to the contact point. @Daniel Hess Your cast shadows look good. On the blue thumbtack, it seems like the light is a little lower on the left side. If you want to determine the light source, draw an imaginary line from the tip of the shadow to the matching tip on the element. That should give you the position of the light source. @Rene MarkerVarious elements COULD be sticking out, whether they are pins, maybe little wooden signs, thumbtacks, and in some situations, maybe a twig could be very lifted from the page. It is not that common, but when you encounter one, you will know how the shadow will be different that the "flat" shadow. @Susan Ewart It is fun to see you practice with 3 different sizes. In fact, the smaller one COULD be meant to be leaning toward us (away from the paper) and if so, the shadow could have been angled toward the bottom. In that case, only the shadow would tell us that the pin is angled. @Donna SilliaYou managed those shadow quite well. You should be proud! @Corrie KinkelThat is a great observation. I guess I included the "wrong" pins in the practice file because in the video, it was in the correct direction. And yes, finding out how the element is lit can make the whole shadowing more consistent. I think that the balloon you used has a perfect shadow, and it could look good on a birthday card! @Linda J WalkerIf you see a pattern in the Eraser, check if there is a texture in the background swatch. That is a well hidden "feature". Remember that all those tricks and techniques are meant to inform you and let you observe and analyze shadows (and elements to shadow) in a critical way. It might mean that you will rotate an element that has a shading that does not match the other elements. It might mean that you will take the opportunity to warp shadows to give more dynamism or use multiple shadows if it overlaps more than one element (especially thicker ones). Don't worry, I won't be "correcting" every single shadow you will apply in your projects and I will probably take shortcuts myself too! Keep it up. I will give feedback tomorrow too, to those who will post their projects during the day.

@Linda J WalkerYour shadows on the curly ribbons are very good! And I would say that the cluster is also a success. @Anja PelzerWhen you have trouble with curly ribbons, you can choose some that are not too curly and you will do just great. But it is a matter of practice. For your extra practice, the "added" effect looks good. The only thing seems that in some places, where the ribbon is flat or touching the paper, the offset is too much. But the curly parts look good. The shadows on the clusters look great. @Susan Ewart I think your shadows on the curly ribbons are fairly good, even if not to your taste. And yes, when working on those multiple layers in a cluster, you have to avoid distractions. It is not hard to do, but easy to lose your "train of thought" so to speak. I also see a difference in the shadows for your cluster. It looks great. @Carolyn Rye Yes, I also find that using a mouse is harder. Making a smooth line or curve is difficult. @Jen Brown The shadows on the set of flowers are ok. I think that the flowers on the right could probably have more offset and more blur too. @Sheila HoggYou managed to make very good shadows on those curly ribbons! And for the cluster, you also did very well. @Rene MarkerYou are right. In most cases, those details are not going to be very obvious. It will likely show more if the elements are thicker (like a shadow over a button). I am sure that in most clusters, scrappers will use "regular" shadows and it will be ok. Now, knowing that in reality, it MIGHT be important, one just has to consider how much of an importance it has and if it is, then we'd know what to do. And thanks for the tip on odd number of elements. You are also correct in mentioning the multiple lightings in anything that surrounds us: a window, a ceiling light, and light bouncing off a white wall. The only thing to remember is consistency: if you happen to have double shadows on one element, it would have to apply to all; if the shadows are mostly in one direction, it should apply to all. Different light sources won't shine only on some elements. I think that is where some scrappers can make a mistake: trying to simulate multiple light sources, they end up with shadows that are random. @Daniel HessI would say that your shadows on the cluster are a bit too "strong", however, it makes the difference very obvious when the shadows overlap an edge so it shows well that difference between the surfaces. @Gerry Landreth Those additional clusters you shadowed are great! @Corrie KinkelShadowing existing clusters can be very tricky because you have to use settings consistent with the "inside shadows" that the designer already put. Occasionally, it does not fit your current project. I know that a lot of the tutorials might seem "picky" and the result might not look obvious, but the important thing is that now, you know how to do it, and hopefully, it will also give you something to THINK about and you might observe real shadows around you too. It will be up to you to decide when and where to apply those techniques. Tomorrow, we will look at cast shadows, which is something different again! That will be the last lesson. Then, you can start breathing again!