Did you register to for the Advanced Shadowing with PSP presentation yet? It will be held next week. You dont want to miss that!

Date: October 7th

Time: 5pm Eastern time

 

 

While you are looking at the various Master Classes in the Campus, remember that the Basic Extraction video is still available for FREE in the Campus, but that is only for a limited time as it will no longer be free after the new video is uploaded.

 

Did you see the latest tutorials in the Campus?

  

These and many others are available if you register for the Element Creation tutorials. Are you interested in joining the Campus but are still hesitant? Stay tuned for a special offer in the next few days.

 

Finally, remember that the holiday season is coming (always faster than we want). Get yourself a custom calendar to print with our FREE Calendar Making Class. Are you new to digital scrapbooking? Or new to using Paintshop Pro? Or do you just want a cool present to offer to your friends or relatives? Check out the Calendar Making Class. Everything is free. FREE instructions. FREE supplies (but you have to pay to get it printed).

Do you have photos of a trip you took and want some fun ways to indicate where you went? These custom license plates would be perfect for you. But wait, these are TOTALLY customizable so why limit yourself to only plates that look like… license plates? Add the name of your loved one, add a date, add a short phrase, you can even add designs and photos on the background, you can add stickers for dates or other details.

With only your Paintshop Pro, and no outside filter, you can get an embossed plate “number” (even if it is not a number), embossed text on top and the bottom of the “number” (or both), but you can also add some flat painted designs in different colors and in different location. Just about everything is customizable, and on separate layers so even after the end of the script, you can still personalize the plate.

You can grab this unique script in my stores: Creation Cassel and DigiScrapWarehouse.

As usual, there is a free giveaway in the Happy Place where you can add your name and tell me how you would customize your license plate. On Monday night i will draw a winner. If you already purchased the script, you can still enter the draw because if you win, then you get a coupon for a future new release. How can you loose?

Since those plates are all about customization, i struggled a little bit to bring you a FREE custom plate design that you could still use. Of course, if i was to add the name of my husband, i doubt you would find many uses for it, so i though of something a little more generic so that you can use it as is, or almost as is. This plate has some white areas so you can add some flat text to it if you want. That is where you can add the name of your spouse, or your kid or parent, or dating partner. Or you can add the date of your wedding, the birthdate of your child, etc. Yeah, there are so many options! How will YOU customize this plate? Show me and i can make a whole display of custom plates. Simply click on the freebie preview to start the direct download.

 

 

Do you have a wishlist in the store? You might want to seriously consider setting one up because April is coming soon. What about April? That is my birth month and if you were around last year, you will remember there was a BIG promotion going on in April and many of you managed GREAT deals. This year will be pretty much the same so get ready!

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Corel Shop Classes

Are you afraid of scripts?

Are you curious about scripts?

Are you wondering what scripts can do for you?

Corel has a series of Shop Classes (online workshops) on various topics and on April 2nd, the workshop is called “Introductions to scripts in Paintshop Pro” and i am totally excited to be the presenter (they even call me an EXPERT!) There will be people attending not only from the scrapbooking world, but also graphic and photography communities. We are expecting way over 100 attendees! It is in the evening so it might be a bit hard for our European friends, but don’t worry, the workshop will be recorded and uploaded to the Corel youtube channel probably the next day. Even if you dont think you can attend, just register so you can ask questions on the registration form. We will try to answer the questions from the forms so even if you are not there to hear the answer live, you will get it in the recording. If you do not type in your most pressing question, we might not answer it because maybe nobody else had the same question. That would be too bad, wouldn’t it be?

Just hit this button to register for that workshop, organised by the Corel Corporation. Remember… it is FREE

(i heard there should be a draw among the attendees… shhh!)

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News from the Campus

 

Campus workshop

Although you can join the Corel Shop Class on April 2nd, there is still our regular monthly workshop in the Campus. This month, it will be on April 1st (yes, you will be spoiled with TWO workshops in a row specially for Paintshop Pro users!) We will be looking at colorization which will be very useful for designers and scrappers too. This will allow you to increase considerably the ways you can use your current supplies. You will be able to reuse them without feeling like you are “just” copying and pasting them yet another time. The live workshop will allow you to ask questions directly and see them answered immediately. Join us and register now.

If you cannot attend, the workshop will be recorded and edited and likely reuploaded one week after the live presentation. A detailed handout will also be available for purchase.

In the mean time, the edited recording of the workshop on Vectors is still available for FREE to any registered member. When the Colorizing workshop is uploaded, the Vector one will no longer be free.

Element Creation Tutorial

Last week, our students were offered two fantastic tutorials instead of one. Look at these!

  

What will it be this week?

Writer Call

Did you notice our call last week? We are looking for a passionate scrapper who can write articles on the various elements used in scrapbooking and created in the Element Creation tutorials section. Are you that scrapper? Are you able to think of creative ways to use some ordinary elements? Just apply for this position. In exchange of your enthusiasm, you will get a FREE UNLIMITED membership to the Element Creation Tutorials section (for as long as you want to keep writing). If you are interested, just email me at admin@digiscrapcampus.com The call is open for another week, until March 31st, so get your applications in.

New course coming soon

Keep an eye on the Campus as i am very excited to bring in a brand new course. This is a course that i was asked several time to give and i always declined, but this time, i am bringing in a real expert, and SHE will be the teacher, not me. I am not yet telling you as the classroom is not yet set up, but you might hear a few bangs, smell some fresh paint, and even see some dust. It will not be long.

Last week, we saw a few basics about scripts. Let’s continue the list of common questions.

 

Can scripts work on all PSP versions?

Yes, on all versions of PSP, 8 and above. However, the compatibility of any script with your version will depend greatly on the person who coded them, the type of script and the version it is created with. For example, if someone is recording a script with her PSPX2 and uses the pick tool, that script will NOT work in PSP9, simply because that pick tool does not exist in PSP9 so the script will fail. However, if a recorded script uses only tools that are also present in PSP9, it is more likely to work, although it is not certain either. There are various particularities in just about all the versions that have to be known, understood and taken into consideration by the scripter to create a script compatible with all versions. Unfortunately, too many people have limited knowledge of the scripting language and are not able to render their script compatible with previous versions so if you want to download or buy a script, make sure it is compatible with your particular version.

 

Some scripts go in the Restricted scripts folder and some go in the Trusted scripts folder. What is the difference?

As stated before, scripts are commands that will be executed for you. Some commands might have an effect on your computer or that cannot be simply undone with a Ctrl-z. Such commands include saving files to your computer, closing a file or using some more advanced Python commands. To keep your computer safe, the only scripts allowed to perform such tasks have to be in the TRUSTED scripts folder. It is a way for the computer to know that you TRUST those scripts to not cause any damage to your computer. So, to be on the safe side of things, always save a script in the RESTRICTED scripts folder, unless specifically asked by the scripter. It is a good habit to take.

 

My PSP is not in English, will scripts work?

Yes. Scripts are written in Python language and that is English based, even if your PSP is in a different language. Although the language of the coding is English, the message window could be coded in any language the scripter chooses. In my scripts, for example, I have a special code that will give you a French message if you are using a French version of Paintshop, and an English message in all other cases. Since I only know French and English, I could not code messages for other languages.

 

Hey! Photoshop has scripts too!

Yes, Photoshop has scripts, and they are also a set of commands, but coded in Photoshop’s language so they cannot be read by PSP. The scripts made for Paintshop Pro will not work with Photoshop, simply because PSP and PS use a different language. It is like a recipe written in English cannot be followed by an Inuktitut cook. In the same way, actions written for Photoshop will not work in Paintshop and vice versa.

 

Where to find good scripts?

Well, glad you asked! Where to find scripts will likely depend on what kind of scripts you want. I have been coding scripts for a few years now. I would not do painting scripts because I have no talent to paint or draw! So, many of my scripts are tool scripts offering many options. Check them out in my store. Almost all of them are compatible with PSP8 and up and I have a few free ones so give them a try and see what they can do for you.

Here are other sources for good photo and tool scripts

http://suzsplace.com/8scripts.htm

http://pixelnook.vapho.com/index_All.html

http://www.dejudicibus.it/psl/

http://www.sheilsoft.com/psp.htm

Following the series of articles on Tubes, i got a few comments and requests about other particular features of Paintshop Pro. So, here is the first part of a 2 part series on Scripts.

 

What are scripts anyways?

Scripts are a new feature introduced to Paintshop Pro by Jasc with the version 8. Scripts are a set of commands that are pre-recorded and executed on demand. Paintshop Pro comes with several basic scripts already loaded, but you can find more on the net that you can buy or download and install on your computer.

 

What can a script do?

A script can do just about anything you would do manually with your program. It can choose a color, floodfill, write text, draw shapes, make a selection, add a shadow, apply any effect that you would do yourself.

 

Why use a script?

The advantages of a script can be the speed of execution, and the precision. For example, a script can add a drop shadow to 50 separate layers in less than 30 seconds, while the same steps done manually might take a several minutes. Another advantage is the precision. If you need to create a selection very precisely or place guidelines “to the pixel”, the script can do it in the blink of an eye without any hesitation and very accurately.

 

Are all scripts the same?

Not really. There are different “types” of scripts. There are recorded scripts and coded scripts. Those are not “official” definitions, but a way for you to understand some major differences. There are element creating scripts, painting scripts, photo scripts and tool scripts.

 

What is the difference between a recorded script and a coded script?

With the arrival of scripts, in version 8, also came the ability to record them. For example, if you need to convert a photo to sepia, and then add 40% noise, you would be able to record those steps, save the sequence as a script and reuse it later in one click instead of several. Some snippets can be added to give the user the option to choose a color or such, but the user input is usually pretty limited.

On the other hand, when you use Paintshop Pro yourself, you can see what you are working on, you can see where to click to floodfill, you can see if the photo is horizontal or vertical and you can adjust your actions accordingly. A recorded script cannot do that because it just repeats the same steps over and over again. For example, if you record a script that draws a line along the edge of a 1000×1000 pixels paper, it will only work on papers of the exact same size. If you try to run it on a 3600×3600 pixels paper, the recorded script will not see the difference and will draw along the path you gave it initially. So, in order to have a script work with different images, formats, and sizes, additional commands need to be added and those commands cannot be simply recorded. Functions, loops, mathematical calculations, string manipulations and many more can be used. They require editing the code itself so a good knowledge of coding language is mandatory. Of course, coded scripts can do much more advanced tasks and mostly, can incorporate user input and work with it.

… to be continued next week

Do you have additional questions, about scripts or about PSP? just email me or post a comment. I might just address your point in the next segment.

Last week, I explained what “tubes” were and what types of tubes you can find. Now that you know what it is, you probably want to know what you can do with those.

Of course, what you do with a tube depends on what type of tube you have so let’s go back to the types we mentioned last week and we will see some specific uses for each of them.

1- Single image tubes

Although you can have just about anything converted into a single image tube, not all of them are really that useful to be converted. If you have an image that you likely will use only just a few times per layout, it might not be necessary to convert them to tubes. For those, you can just as well use a png format and it will be enough for your needs. However, among the great single image tubes you can have, let’s mention images like beads or pearls, stars that you can place all over a page, kind of randomly, flares to add to glitters.

Here is a random placement of a single flower (the grass background is another tube, but a different kind). With a single image tube, you simply have to randomly click wherever you want and get that kind of look:

You can also prefer to have the same tube repeated at regular interval. Here is a basic ribbon where i added a single eyelet. One nice thing about placing tubes  is that you can click where you want the first one, then, holding the SHIFT key, click where you want the last one to go and they will all be placed evenly.

But you do not have to use them always in a straight line. In fact, you can hand draw with them and they will go wherever you write. Here is a little doodle made using some star tubes.

And of course, you can also follow a vector path if you want using Gary Barton’s Vector Tube script. You can use any path or preset shape you want. Perfect if you want to create a frame to place a photo, or even place beads or other elements around letters, since letters are also vectors!

 

2a- Tubes as series of images placed randomly

As mentioned before, those types of tubes include various images, usually of the same type and are best used in a fairly random manner. Yup, this is the same image as above, but this time it is to illustrate the use of tubes to create the grass. This set of tube includes a total of 10 individual images that are chosen randomly as you move your mouse along your work. This is great to create a background without having to draw images one by one.

Choose the step to have your elements closer together or spread widely around. Another example of using these kinds of tubes, is using them as confetti (if you want to create your own confetti, there is a script to do that, here). Those are great to create an overlay or border, or to accent a section of your page.

2b- Tubes as series of images placed in a continuous manner

These types of tubes can give you a great deal of effects and let you follow various path, and still look like it is supposed to. Here is sample of tube that came with PSP. With freehand drawing, you can create a fun chain. Create more than one, on different layers for an intricate look. You can make it a neat look or a messy look. It all depends on your drawing.

You can use the rope tube to make strings attached to whatever you want:

 

3- Tubes as directional images

Directional tubes are also very versatile as you can use them in the same way as the previous ones, meaning, hand drawn, or along a path, but the difference i that you can use images that are not always facing the same direction, like stitching, foot steps, chain links, zipper teeth. What can you achieve with these? You can hand draw or hand write elements. Yes, you can write with those tubes just like you would write with a pen. Check this (this letter is part of a whole alphabet posted as a freebie on June 11, 2010 in this blog):

 

Just like all the other types of tubes, you can hand draw but also place along a vector path. This method is often used when you want a perfect placement of the individual images since hand drawing can be a little less precise, but again, it depends on what look you want to achieve.

 

Now, what will YOU do with tubes? Show us what you do. Add a comment and link us to a layout or a kit you created using tubes in a creative way.

If you have questions about PSP, about the tools and effects, just drop me a note and i will look into writing a little article on my blog.

The word “tube” is pretty specific to Paintshop Pro. We can hear PSPers use this word and even some derivatives, like “tubing”, which has nothing to do with going down the river on an inflated tube! All in all a tube is a bit like a sticker that you place with a click of the mouse. That is an ‘”easy” description and does not cover the full potential of this tool.

Tubes can be used in three main ways: 1- as single image to place as often as you want  2- as a series of images that can be placed in randomly  3- a series of images placed directionally. Let’s see them all in a bit more detail.

1- Tubes that are single images

These kinds of images are doing exactly the same thing as if you had a png image, with a transparent background and you placed various copies of it on your work. It can be a star, an angel, a handprint, a toy locomotive, a flower, etc. There is no limit to what can be used as a single image. If you can extract it, you can use it as a tube. Here is an example of several repetitions of a single image tube.500

One thing you can do with tubes that is a bit different than with regular single images is that you can set the step and have the single image repeated and placed evenly along the way, either in a straight line, or when you draw freehand, like this:

and you can also overlap them if you set a smaller step:

 

2a- Tubes as series of images placed randomly

Another characteristic of tubes is the possibility of having several of them together. Some of them can have all different images and get placed, one by one, randomly on each click. Jasc and Corel have included several such tubes with the program. They are often grouped by types, since it makes more sense to have several autumn leaves, or pink buttons, or grass blades when you place them. Here is an example of randomly picked images (each item is placed where i click but they are randomly picked):

The randomness of this type of tube, combined with the adjustable step lets you create elements like this garland (available in my store):

 

2b- Tubes as series of images placed in a continuous manner

The previous uses of tubes are pretty simple and could be done with any set of png images, however, the “tube” tool has more potential when the images are created to be used in a continuous manner. In this case, they tend to create something very different. The individual images are often just part of something and their continuous placement will create something. As an example, here is a rope tube (very versatile tool!). Each of the

The top rope is the “finished” product with the default settings of a step of 1. On the bottom, i changed the step to 35 so you can see how each individual image is slightly different from the previous one so their sequential placement will create something else. Isn’t that neat? That is one of the most powerful characteristics of the PSP tubes.

 

3- Tubes as directional images

Well, this type of tube is my favorite and is, in my opinion, THE most powerful feature of the tubes. How good they will look depends on how many different pictures you have. The tool will place the images according to the angle of movement of the mouse. And the tube file will include many different images, oriented differently. One image will be oriented straight up, the next one will be angled at 5 degree, and the next one at 10 degree and so on. This will allow the pictures to seemingly follow the expected direction for it. Here is an example of a directional tube used:

And that is how all my directional tubes are created to make ropes, chains, tire tracks and zipper teeth!

So, if you didn’t know what tubes were all about, this must help you a bit. If you are a PSP user, play with them. As you can see, tubes are much much more than just transparent png images with a different name! Tubes are fun to use, and so versatile, especially since the tool comes directly with your PSP, and no need to purchase an outside plugin or such.

Have fun with them!!!

Since March, we have opened the DigiScrap Campus to give classes to scrappers and designers. Right now, only the classes for scrappers is available. The whole program will be of 12 units covering all the bases for using Paintshop Pro and scrapping pages.

This program can be good for new scrappers, now to PSP scrappers, or even for some who are already using PSP to scrap but feel they would like a refresher in addition to great new tips.

Each unit has 3 lessons so each set has 9 lessons. The lessons are in video format with a pdf handout. The first set of lessons addressed (1) layers and shadows, (2) alphas and fasteners (3) color tools and selection tools. Then, this second set covers (1) brush tool (2) text tool (3) ribbon/papers/shadow tricks.

Set 1 (Units 1-2-3) is available here.

Set 2 (Units 4-5-6) is available here.

You can also purchase the bundle (Units 1 to 6) for a saving of 20% off the cost of the two sets purchased separately.

Also, if you are CTing for a store or a designer, you might want to consider this course to help get the most out of your PSP. Designers, if your CT members are using PSP, you might want to encourage them to take this program too!