I
decided to write this simple tutorial after seeing so many folk
scale down large tubes and then not sharpen them. The resulting
blurry image leaves the viewer thinking that it is time to go
for an eye examination. :-))
This
is not really a tutorial as such, but more of a hint/tip for
all folk out there in PSP-land.
You
will find the vast majority of tubes on this website are in
a large format. We have made them that way for good reason.
Large tubes can always be scaled down, and with minimum manipulation
the downsized tube (image) can be clarified. Conversely, one
can never upsize a tube over 100% and expect it to be clear
and crisp.
Here
are some of the methods that I use to clarify tubes that I have
scaled down.
Open
a new image, any size, with a transparent layer. I always start
off with an image size of 800x600 as that is what my screen
resolution is set at. You can always crop accordingly at a later
stage. As you can see from the picture below that this tube
is very large (shown at 100%).
I
hit CTRL+Z to undo. I then scaled the tube down to 40% of its
original size, as shown below. It is a little blurry now and
not as crisp as if it were tubed at 100%.
I
then went to Effect / Sharpen / Sharpen. As you can see, the
image below is slightly clearer than the image above - but not
by much. If you take a closer look below you will also see that
the edges of the image have started to "glow" in certain
areas. This is not a problem as it can be fixed at a later stage.
I
once again clicked Effect / Sharpen / Sharpen. Now it is a lot
clearer, but also the "glowing edge" effect has worsened.
I
then clicked on the Magic Wand Tool. Set the feather to 2 and
the tolerance to 40. Click anywhere in the transparent area
surrounding the tube. You will see that the "marching ants"
have surrounded the tube, with the "glowing edges"
on the outside of the selection. You can always set the feather
and tolerance factor higher if need be.
Hit
the delete key on the keyboard, I hit it about 10 times. I then
clicked on Selections / Select None. (Shortcut Key = CTRL+D).
As you can see, the "glowing edge" has disappeared.
The tube is now crisp and clear, pleasing to the eye.
HINT
- 1
The
above method does not always work to get rid of "glowing
edges".
Another
method to get rid of these ugly edges is to use the Retouch
Tool 
.
From the drop down menu. Select Darken RGB, lessen the Opacity,
Hardness and Size and run the tool over the "glowing edges"
to darken them. You have to play with the settings to get the
right effect. As you can see below, I just darkened the edges
- but the effect is not really satisfactory.
HINT
- 2
Here
I simply just used a background that "matched" the
colour of the glowing edges. I did not use the Magic Wand or
Retouch Tool at all and the "glowing edges" are barely
visible.
I
hope you found these techniques useful.
Do
you have a friend who may benefit from this tutorial ?
Why not send it to them :-)
