Let There Be Lines pg 6: Production Graphics with Wendy Peck at webreference.com

Let There Be Lines 6: Line Effects in PaintShop Pro

You can create most of the same effects described in the previous pages with PaintShop Pro, although the methods are different. I will go through the methods, but to conserve space, see the PhotoShop pages for variation ideas.

The blue lines are 1 px thick, created with anti-aliasing turned off.

Drop shadows added with the Drop Shadow effect. Top: Opacity 30%, Blur 2, Vertical Offset 2, Horizontal Offset 2. Bottom: Opacity 30%, Blur 3.3, Vertical Offset 3, Horizontal Offset 1.

Create Lines and Shadows
If you would like to create custom shadows, refer to page 2. The method is the same for PaintShop Pro. However, the built-in drop shadow in PaintShop Pro does a nice job of shadows on fine lines.

Draw a 1 px line with anti-aliasing turned off. Select the Magic Wand and click on the line to select. Choose Image>Effects>Drop Shadow from the main menu to open the Drop Shadow window. Choose the opacity, which will usually need to be lowered for fine objects. I have used 30% for the samples at the left. Choose the blur amount, again using a small value. The first line here has a blur of 2, with the second one at 3.3. You will want a small offset. Here I have used 2 and 2 for the first line and 3 and 1 for the second. Experiment until you get the appearance you desire.

1 px lines with graduated fill.

2 px lines with graduated fill.

Graduated Lines
Graduated lines are quick and easy, but you need accurate selection. You can use the selection method in the next section of this article, but it is more efficient to make your selection using the status bar information. Choose the Selection tool with the Rectangle Option. Turn anti-alias off. Click and drag to create the correct size for your line. The line represented here by the status bar information is 190 px by 1 px.

If you are making many lines, you may wish to save your line selection. When your selection is correct, choose Selections>Save to Alpha Channel to open the Save to Alpha window. Double click on New Channel and give the selection a name you will recognize. Click OK. To use the selection again, create a new layer and choose Selections>Load from Alpha Channel. The selection will appear exactly as the one you saved.

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Let There Be Lines Tutorial Index

Let There Be Lines Start
PhotoShop Lines
PhotoShop Lines (part 2)
PhotoShop Quick Grids
PhotoShop Scan Lines
PaintShop Pro Lines
PaintShop Pro Grid/Scan/Dots
CorelDraw and Freehand Lines
CorelDraw Grid Tool
Gallery and Resources