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Text Effects.

In this lesson we will be learning a few text effects so you can make buttons, logos, icons, headers, backgrounds and a multitude of other things once you learn what everything does. In Paint Shop Pro the possibilities are only limited by your own imagination. Try anything and everything, the worst thing you can do is make something you might not like. So what? Delete it and try again! The best graphics techniques are often found by accident. Some of my best stuff has been just plain old dumb luck!

Warning sign. The following 3 steps are used for each of the text effects.

  1. Choose a light color for the background and a darker shade of the same color for the foreground color. On the right side of PSP you'll see the boxes in Figure 1a. Click on the top color box on the left and chose your dark color (foreground, text), then click on the right box and choose the lighter shade (background) now. Color palette tool

    Figure 1a

  2. Next open a new image 300 pixels wide and 75 pixels high making sure you use the pull down menu on the New Image box and under Image Characteristics and choose Background Color. You should now have an image in the light color.
  3. Using the text tool, that's the icon on the left or at the top (depending on how you have PSP toolbars set up) that has the capitol A on it. Click on the A and pick a font of your choice choosing a font size to properly fit the image. I used the font "Arial Black" at a font size of 36.
Text entry panel.

Next set the font color if you need to change it - click on the fill box to select the text color. Make sure you have both "Floating" and "Antialias" selected in the Text Entry Box! Now type the text - WebTechU. Click OK.

selected text.

You should now have something looking like this. You can move the floating selection around with your mouse. Make sure that the cursor looks like the move symbol before holding down the left mouse button and dragging. You can move it in small increments by holding down the Shift Key and using the Arrow keys on your keyboard to move it 1 pixel at a time. Leave the text selected.

The Drop Shadow.
  1. Follow the steps above from A to C.
  2. Leaving the text selected, go to Effects then 3D Effects - Drop Shadow .Effects menu. choosing these settings as in Figure 1b then click ok. Drop shadow tool.

    Figure 1b

  3. Now go to Selections and click on Select None. Save As a .jpg or .gif file. DONE! It should look something like Figure 1c. Drop shadow text effect example.

    Figure 1c

The Chisel Effect.
  1. Use the same colors as above following steps A-C again.
  2. Leaving the text selected, go to Effects then 3D Effects - Chisel and use the settings in Figure 2a. Click OK. Leave text selected and add the drop shadow as in the above instructions. Your last used settings will be remembered. Text chisel effect example.

    Figure 2a

  3. Now go to Select and click on Select None. Save As a .jpg or .gif file. DONE! It should look something like Figure 2b. Chisel text effect example.

    Figure 2b

The Cutout Effect.
  1. Again, follow steps A-C.
  2. Leaving the text selected, go to Effects then 3D Effects - Cutout and use the settings as in Figure 3a. Cutout tool.

    Figure 3a

  3. Click OK, leave the text selected then add the drop shadow with the settings in Figure 3b. NOTE the shadow color is white. Drop shadow tool.

    Figure 3b

  4. Now go to Select and click on Select None. Save As a .jpg or .gif file. DONE! It should look something like Figure 3c Cut out text effect example.

    Figure 3c.

The Buttonize Effect.
For the buttonize feature, take one of the images you just made. Make sure that nothing is selected. You are buttonizing the whole graphic, not the text. Go to Effects - 3D Effects - Buttonize and use the settings in Figure 4a. If the Buttonize effect is not available, go to Colors - Increase Color Depth - 16 Million Colors. Buttonize tool.

Figure 4a

Click OK. Save As a .jpg or .gif file. DONE! It should look something like Figure 4b. Buttonize example.

Figure 4b

Now that you know the basics, you can play with any of the settings to see what kind of effects you get. That's the fun of using Paint Shop Pro! These are just the basics to get you started and let you know some of what can be done with the program. Have fun and Happy Creating!

Homework

Make four graphics with the following effects.

  1. A graphic with the text as a cutout effect with drop shadow added to the text.
  2. The cutout/drop shadow effect graphic buttonized.
  3. A graphic with the text in the chiseled effect with drop shadow added to the text.
  4. The chiseled/drop shadow effect graphic buttonized.

Email your instructor when you have finished the homework and are ready to show your images.

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