In this tutorial we'll show some of the many picture frame options in PaintShop
Pro. Start with PaintShop Pro open in the Edit workspace and open a photo
you'd like to frame.
The frame options can be found under Image > Picture Frame.
Click the picture frame thumbnail to open the list of preset frames. For a
simple example choose the black torn frame. The preview window shows how the
final framed image will appear. If you choose to frame inside of the image the
frame resizes to fit within the image canvas. Or you can frame outside of the
image which means the canvas size updates to accommodate the frame. Now we
have a new layer called picture frame and because this frame was applied to
the outside and the canvas size was updated, the extra canvas appears using
the background color.
I'll use Ctrl + Z to undo this frame so I can try another one.
This time I'm using Cyanotype, which applies a thick blue hand-painted
looking frame. I can use the flip, mirror, or rotate options in order to control
which frame edge appears along which image edge. I'm applying this frame
inside the image so this time there was no extra canvas added to the original
background layer.
I can also turn off the picture frame layer,
choose another frame option like this transparent one
and use layer visibility to compare options.
Subsequent frame layers are assigned default names but of course you can
click a layer name to change it. Some PaintShop Pro frames have transparency
options. I'm undoing again to return to my unframed photo.
This time I'm choosing the Platinum frame. If I choose a frame background
color by clicking this box, that color is applied to areas defined in the frame as
transparent.
Or I can opt to keep these areas transparent, which means the canvas
background will show through. We'll look more at transparency in the next example.
In addition to the frames provided in the PSP installation there are also many
more you can download. At the top of the window click the house icon and on the
left side of the Welcome window click Get More.
Scroll down past the various collections available for purchase to find several
free downloads including this one:
Creative Content Pack. You can click Download to automatically install this
set of line styles, mask shapes and frames or click its name or thumbnail to
see more details. There's a download button here as well which also enables
you to install. After the installation is complete the list of available frames is
many times larger. You can also find more picture frames
and other PaintShop Pro add-ons in the Discovery Center store at
shop.learn.corel.com.
Now we can take a closer look at layers and transparency.
For this example I'll use 3 photos that I want to assemble into one collage image.
I'm choosing File > New, and in the Paper preset group I'm creating an 8.5 x11 new image.
I'm switching width and height for a landscape orientation,
and I'm unchecking Transparent and giving the image a solid color here.
To bring each photo onto this new canvas I'm going one by one, selecting the image
dragging its background layer onto the canvas
and using the Pick tool to move the images the way I want them arranged.
To crop the canvas to the size I need, I'm using a Selection tool to mark the
area I want to keep
and choosing Image > Crop to Selection.
To frame just the kangaroo I'm using the Pick tool to select it and its layer
becomes active.
I'll choose the picture frame called Heart 01.
If "frame canvas" is selected this frame goes around the entire collage, but I can
change this to "frame current layer" to frame just the kangaroo. The original
heart is oriented vertically but it widens to accommodate the image size. I
want this frame outside the image but it will still need some adjusting.
Without a transparent background I'll get this solid color around the
frame to fill the rectangle. But if I choose to keep the transparency, the
light blue color of the canvas will show through. Because the image and its frame
are on separate layers, I can select each and adjust sizes and placements. And if I
want to erase the parts of the kangaroo photo that fall outside the frame, I can
pick just that layer, click the Eraser tool and sweep over what I want to
remove.
I can assign a different frame around each layer making adjustments as needed
For the bird photo which is oriented vertically
I can choose a frame that has a landscape orientation, such as this blue
one with the flowers. And the frame will rotate automatically to fit.
And for the beach photo I can choose a vertical oval which rotates the other
way.
To move both the photo and frame I can select both with the shift tool and move
them as one object.
Finally, I can apply 3D effects to these frames. I'm selecting the oval frame and
choosing Effects >3D Effects >Drop Shadow.
Here's the bird frame with a chisel effect.
And the heart frame with an inner bevel effect. All of these 3D effects have
options you can adjust such as depth color and angle. If you're watching this
video on YouTube, you'll find a link in the description below that will take you
to our tutorial page on the Discovery Center. Here you can download a written
copy of this tutorial and the sample images use so you can follow along step
by step. And don't forget to visit the Discovery Center store at shop.learn.corel.com
to get more picture frames
and other add-ons for PaintShop Pro.