Lesson plans, Making Original Stuff pt. 1

First, use the PSP image browser to read your disk. Then...

1. Crop a graphic

1. Open file "children_reading.jpg"
2. Use the cropping tool to select desired area. When selected, double-click.
3. Voila! - If you save the photo, use Save As and use a different name.

2. Resize a large graphic (make a thumbnail)

1. Open "children_reading.jpg"
2. Go to Image/Resize (or Shift-S)
3. Set Pixel width to 100; keep "aspect ratio" checked
4. Voila! - If you save the photo, use Save As and use a different name.

3. Resize the canvas

1. Open "headstand.jpg" What are its dimensions? _____ x ______ pixels
2. Go to menu Image/Canvas Size. Change canvas size to something 40 or more pixels wider on each side. Don't add exactly 40; it doesn't matter - just slap on some extra space (you can crop it when you're done)
3. Color the extra size white, if it's not already. Save the file with a new name.

4. Add a shadow to a photo

1. Open the photo from #3.
2. Go to menu Colors/Increase color depth/16 million colors
3. Use the regular selection tool to draw around the edges of the photo
4. Go to menu Image/Effects/Drop Shadow
5. Experiment with the shadow color and offsets - smaller (less than 5 pixels) offsets seem to work best for small and medium sized web-page pics.

5. Make a text banner

1. Press Ctrl-N or go to menu File/New.
2. You'll be prompted to enter a file size. Choose 580 x 100 (or anything else)
3. Set the foreground color to white. Use the Fill tool to color your background to white
4. Select another foreground color for your text. Use the text tool to write your name in the box. Try using a heavy font like Rockwell or Swiss, set to 36 points or higher. Experiment to find the right font and size.
5. While your name is still selected (use Ctrl-Z if you deselected it), you can add a drop shadow.

A word about text: Fonts are painstakingly crafted, rhythmic works of art. Applied typography basics work wonders on a page.

6. A light introduction to layers

Unlike Photoshop, which uses layers all of the time, PaintShop Pro allows users to pretty much edit and save directly into web formats or open up the Layers palette and enjoy the benefits of layers. Remember that current web formats (GIF and JPG) don't have layers, so you'll need to save your layered originals in PSP format, and save a copy in your favorite web format.

It's instructive that this one layers section took me about as long to write as the five earlier sections above - as much for design reasons (I can't even design in two dimensions, let alone three!) as for technical ones. Don't worry if you don't follow everything - you will get the idea of how layers work, and that's enough.

1. Open the file "come_join.psp" It opens up blank - this is intentional.
2. Be sure the layers palette is open. You should see four layers -
   
   
   1. Computer guy
   2. Smiling girl
   3. text
   4. Bisdorf
      
      
3. Turn each layer on. Then put them in this order:
   
   
   1. text
   2. Smiling girl
   3. Bisdorf
   4. Computer guy
      
      
4. Select the Smiling girl layer. Select the Smiling girl's photo, then press Del.
5. Leave "come_join.psp" open. Open the file "male_student.psp"
6. Press Ctrl-A to select All. Then click on "come_join.psp." Go to menu Edit/Paste/As New Selection"
7. Move the male student around as needed. Add a drop shadow if you like.