TUTORIAL DISCUSSIONS

Post by **Horus** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:37 pm

Thank you Grandad

that is why I tend to make my tutorials a bit simplified if you will excuse the term. I too have suffered and still do suffer from instructions that are aimed at people who usually do not need the instructions in the first place.

So I try to approach my tutorials from the way I would like things to be explained to me, i.e. step by step and idiot proof if possible.

Unfortunately on occasion it can make the explaining of some aspects come across as patronising and basic, as if I am talking to children and for that I apologise. I do try to get the important information across to you all and often that means repeating myself and jogging your memory of what you have already done previously.

Hopefully as everyone gets to grips with the basics we can start to dispense with some of that and I can start using terms like: “Create a new layer” “Hide layer 2” “Create a duplicate Layer” “Merge Down all open Layer” and everyone will know what I mean and have no problems following the instructions without the need for additional pointers.

I am working on a Stained Glass ‘Exercise’ that I will be posting soon, so that should give us all a bit of interest.

Post by **Horus** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:07 pm

I have just added you all a 'Making Some Stained Glass' exercise in the Tutorials section

I await your questions and eventually your finished results, but take your time, it isn't a race.

Post by **Grandad** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:11 am

Just had a quick look H, looks good and it will answer many of my questions (to myself) from yesterday afternoons efforts.

Out all day today but will catch up shortly...........

Post by **Kiya** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 1:42 pm

I might be off for the weekend " Sir " will catch up next week hopefully, in the mean time I have printed the tutorial out, look forward to seeing everyones finished work hopefully with no problems

Post by **Horus** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 1:47 pm

Enjoy your weekend Kiya,

like I said there is no rush. You may find this adds a bit more to your knowledge Kiya as I have used a more complex method of creating the glass than the one I did with you earlier. Once everyone has got to grips with this method, I will add the other method for everyone elses benefit.

Post by **Grandad** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 6:35 pm

HELP! Why is it I cannot 'copy' or 'save as' the iris picture??? It has a php file type which seems to be alien to my computer.....

Post by **Horus** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 7:24 pm

I will have a look Grandad

Post by **Horus** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 7:38 pm

Just had a look Grandad and its seems to be OK

I have just copied the one from the Tutorial to my Desktop and that was alright and then the one from my own album which is pasted here:

I assume that you are right clicking your mouse on the actual picture and then selecting the "Save Picture As" option ?

Post by **Grandad** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 8:12 pm

I have got it now but had to go via IE. I find that in Chrome I cannot copy any images, they all come up with a php file type?????

Anyhow, I am OK now

Post by **Grandad** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 2:28 pm

Anyone watching the open will know what the weather is like down here today.

So, an opportunity to follow the latest tutorial. Well all was going well until I found that I had the Iris on the leaded layer so I scrapped that and started again with a butterfly.

Didn't work out as well as I hoped but at least it was an opportunity to try all the techniques. Problem now is remembering them.

The main thing I found was that the LAYER STYLE is not available in PSE7.

One query H, where you say The Layer 'Leaded' will be highlighted as your current layer, Go to Edit and choose> PASTE.......should you not switch to the Iris layer?????? That seems to be where I ended up with the Iris on the leaded layer.

Anyhow here is what I did as a first attempt, accepting the limitations of PSE7.

Post by **Horus** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 3:47 pm

As they say up North "Nowt wrong wi that" Grandad

First things first, I thought that you had the same programme as KIYA? if so then you should have it

To access this you MUST double left click your mouse on the 'thumbnail' picture in your Layers Pallet alongside the LEADED name, it is not available elsewhere. After you have done so another menu called the LAYER STYLE should pop up.

In answer to the IRIS layer question, I seem to have made a bit of an arse of that bit

The problem is that I have to create the finished picture then work backwards while typing up the instructions as I go forwards again to see it is correct.

In fact you did not need to create the original IRIS Layer as in my instructions. Provided you had the LEADED layer selected as per my instructions, when you made the PASTE command, a new layer should appear above the LEADED layer and you would then re-name it IRIS

Sorry for the confusion.

Post by **Grandad** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:18 pm

First, in between watching the golf I did the exercise again with the iris, vis:

I think Kiya has a different program now, I am using PSE7. The double click thing brings up the layer name only. However I am not worried because I find that there are other ways to achieve near enough the same result.

That is a very good tutorial Horus and it has answered previous problems that I have had when trying to use layers in PSE7. I have always opted for PSP x2 which, up to now, I have found more user friendly. So thanks for all your effort on our behalf, I now feel more confident to move on.

I can already see the knock-on of lessons learned here in other work with image manipulation.

Post by **Horus** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 7:32 pm

: Grandad it is almost perfect other than the lack of contour to the LEADED layer, but this is only because you cannot access it.

Unfortunately I cannot trouble shoot this as I don't have this particular version, however I have done a few read-ups on the web and most do refer to it having a LAYERS STYLE option in the programme.

Now at the risk of labouring the point, are you clicking on the ACTUAL THUMBNAIL PICTURE ? and not just on the Layer bar that contains the layer name? as if you do it will only bring up the option of typing in another name, whereas clicking on the Thumbnail Picture for the Leaded layer should bring up the Layer Style menu.

I am not saying you are wrong, but it would be a shame if you did not have this option somewhere and I cannot see them leaving it out, even on a cut down version. Maybe someone else who has this version can help?

Post by **Grandad** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:29 pm

I have two books on PSE7 Horus and should have referred to them.

What confused me was an option under Layers> Layers Style but all the options were greyed out? I now find that there is a button in the layers panel for Effects and this opens a range of Style Options. Doesn't work quite the same as your program but I think I will find my way around it. After clicking one of the 'options', the drop down under Layers>Layers Styles becomes available.....

Post by **Horus** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:29 pm

That's great Grandad and it shows that this questions section can be very useful in solving a problem.

You will now need to find yourself some reference to Bevelling & Embossing when you are on the LEADED layer and have a play around.

Post by **Kiya** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:42 pm

Geezzzz I'm stuck already!!! following the "Practice Excercise One " I've got as far as duplicating the layers & renaming them, when I open Iris pic my renamed layers disappear, I do Magic Wand then when I go to Edit choose Copy nothing happens

Which top bar on larger NEW picture to make that into the new active one & my layers will appear again ?????? are you referring to????????

Post by **Grandad** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 3:57 pm

Kiya, I had the same problem at first. After you have opened your iris picture and selected the outline with the magic wand (and don't forget to shift>click in the two spaces so everything is selected) do your Edit> Copy thing then click the minimise box top right of your picture.

This will reduce your iris picture so you can now see the layer hiding underneath.

Click on the top of that layer and your layers panel will open. Activate your iris layer and Edit>Paste the saved image on to that layer.

I am talking PSE7 here.

Post by **Kiya** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 4:14 pm

Thanks Grandad, think I'll have to come back to this in a few days when I have full concentration

Post by **Horus** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 5:23 pm

Kiya, what you have to remember is this:

The first part of the tutorial is telling you how to set up all the Layers that you will need to complete our STAINED GLASS exercise. Everything that you are doing is being kept all together, like having all your bits in one cardboard box.

When you opened the IRIS picture that I posted for you to copy, it was like opening another cardboard box with other things in it, the two boxes are not the same.
To tell which box we have open at any one time, the bar at the top of your picture window will be BLUE. Simply by clicking on the top of any picture, it will turn the bar BLUE and that will always be the one you are currently using.

Have a close look at these two pictures:

Select 1

Select 2

The first picture 'Select 1' is showing my Stained Glass picture BEHIND a picture of some Planets and alongside the Planet picture is a LAYERS pallet. That particular LAYERS pallet is the one for the Planets picture and NOT for the Stained Glass picture.

When you click on any picture it will always bring up the LAYERS pallet associated with that particular picture, any previous LAYERS pallet will close down.
Note how the picture and the associated Layers Pallet both have a BLUE top, whereas my Stained Glass picture is 'Greyed out' which tells me it is inactive.

Now look at the lower picture 'Select 2'
Note that because I have clicked the top it now has a BLUE top and also has a LAYERS pallet alongside, also with a BLUE top and the Planets picture is now behind it and 'Greyed out'.
Also if you look closely at the 'Eye' icons of the Layers Pallet in both of the pictures you will see that they are different to each other.

When you want to add something from one picture (cardboard box

) and place it in another picture (another cardboard box). You do this by copying the thing you want to use from one box (picture) and then opening another box (picture) and putting it in there with the rest of the items, or in other words, we put it on another 'Layer' in that box.

So in the exercise you are working between your Stained Glass picture and then 'Borrowing' things from somewhere else, in this case we borrowed the IRIS picture by copying it.

It can be a bit confusing to start with and that is why lots of people get lost using Layers, just try and remember that every picture has its own Layers and that we can use things from other pictures and add them into our pictures by copying and pasting them as new layers in another picture.

Hope this helps, but get back if you are still not clear about anything.

Post by **Grandad** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:21 pm

Horus, I don't know if Kiya is using PSE7 like me but with that you do not get the blue top. When the second picture is opened it completely covers and hides the first. That is why I suggested that she minimises the top picture so that some of the hidden picture is visible to click on to open that picture and its associated layers panel.

Normally, if they didn't completely fill the frame you could click and drag the top one to one side to expose the lower one. but in this case you need to reduce the top one to get at the lower window.