Text Tricks-

I posted a request to the PSP beta test newsgroup asking which of several tutorials the users there would like to see first, and when the results were tallied up, text effects were at the top of the list.  In this section we'll do some simple, and some not so simple, text manipulations.

• Ya Want Fries With That?
• Absolutely Fabulous, Darling!
• To Ted Geisel, with Love
• New! Postcards from the Edge
• Go Fish

Painting Techniques  ON Line Now!!!!

With a powerful new paint engine PSP has V8 power to create!

• Marigolds and Daisies (Using presets shipped with PSP8)
• Lilacs (Creating your own brushes, variances and presets)
• Brush Variances Primer

Masks Unmasked

I've been using graphics software of one sort or another for nearly a decade, but until recently I've managed to stay out of the Usenet graphics newsgroups.  What an eye opener! In each of the 6 groups I've been monitoring over the last few months, at least three or 4 times a week someone writes in to ask "How do I blend 2 photos together?"

That's not an easy question to answer, because there are at least 10 different ways to do this, and pros know that you "choose your weapons" on a case by case basis. But a skill at the core of successful and flexible image compositing is understanding the power of the Mask.

Masks have changed a bit in PSP 8, so I invite you to join me in the Masks Unmasked series of tutorials- lessons designed to help you understand the how, the why  and the fun of masks.

New! Introduction to Layers and Masks
New! Born to be Wild

PSP8 Has Balls....and Bubbles

When I first saw this new effect, I dismissed it as a parlor trick. I might still be ignoring it if Jasc's Kris Zaklika hadn't grabbed me by the virtual hand and dragged me over and dared me to play with it. Two days later, the potential of this powerful 3-D spherical object generator had finally "clicked" for me and I became obsessed with it for a couple of weeks. A number of the presets that shipped with the final version were inspired by things that I and the other private beta testers came up with in the early months of 2003. I'm sure there will be a 1000 tutorials and presets for this new toy out there rather quickly, so rather than do all the typical things (snowglobes, buttons and doorknobs) I've got 5 off-the-wall uses for this nifty new feature to teach you.

Just Like Grandma Used to Make
Coming Face to Face with the Pentagon
Operation Market Garden
Going Nuts
Let there be Peas on Earth

Digital Plastic Surgery (Part 1 up NOW!)

Turn your Aunt Mabel into a supermodel! Well, not quite, but ways to banish wrinkles, creases and splotches, scars and zits. Get rid of love handles, turn that sneer into a smile, get rid of bifocal lines, hide a tattoo or eyebrow ring from grandma.... you get the point

Fast Fixes

• Digital Face Lift
• Digital Dermatologist
• Digital Hair Club for Men
• Digital Liposuction
• Improving Family Relations with PSP

"Stupid Pet Tricks"-

a collection of fun and/or useful things that PSP can do. None of them are complicated enough to merit their own full length tutorial, but I wanted someplace to tell you about them

Going Retro-

Using PSP8's new Halftone's filter and a healthy dose of threshold adjustment , create things that are both nostalgic and very, very fresh looking. If you like the look of Cheaptickets ads or Brian Setzer CD covers, you're gonna love this one.

Woodgrains From Scratch

This is Warp Tools at heir best. I actually first learned to do this in a Photoshop class taught by Bert Monroy, but PSP's warp tools are so much more responsive than Photoshop's Liquefy that now Paint Shop Pro users can do this with ease and grace. The addition of monochrome noise and warp brushes mean that your trees can look amazingly real and you aren't constrained to "canned" textures.

Digital Watercolor Masterclass

Madras Madness

Oil Portaits from Snapshots

Pencil Sketches from Photos

Rescuing Dark Photos

Banish a Color Cast with the Histogram