Three black rectangles are transformed with nothing
but layer effects in Paint Shop Pro.
Layers are similar to stacking sheets of acetate,
like overhead projector sheets. See the basic layers description
in my previous article on Photoshop
layers.
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Layer are not exactly a subject to make your heart beat fast, but
they are essential to working efficiently with almost any graphic
program, especially raster programs. Before layers were introduced,
adding new objects to a document was very high on the stress meter.
Once you clicked off the selection boundaries, that was it –
the new object melted into the background.
Now we not only have the ability to keep raster items separate, we
also have powerful layer-based effects in our toolbox. Understanding
how layers work not only gives us the power to organize, but also
to add artistic appeal to our images. Simply adjusting opacity, or
adding an effect can take simple objects and create a visual treat.
The image at the left was created in Paint Shop Pro with three black
rectangles on three layers. Each layer received a different effect
... nothing more.
I have grouped Paint Shop Pro and Fireworks together since both offer
vector and raster format for objects. If you are not certain what
a vector or raster format is, or how they work, I recommend that you
start with Graphic Underworld: Behind
the Pretty Pictures. When you understand the difference between
the two, this tutorial will be much easier to understand.
So, if you are ready to tackle one of the most important basic subjects,
take a quick trip to the introduction from my previous article on
Photoshop layers. Make sure you
understand the concept of layers, and then fire up your software and
choose your section. We will start with Paint Shop Pro. If you are
a Fireworks user, you can click through to the Fireworks menu. You
may want to take a wander through the Paint Shop Pro pages as well
though, since there are always ideas that can be gleaned from the
way a different program operates.
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