How to Use Balls and Bubbles in Paint Shop Pro to Make a Sphere

Sometimes you need a ball of sphere shape in a banner or other graphic you are creating. Making a sphere in Paint Shop Pro is easy with the Balls and Bubbles tool. Learn how to create a sphere for use in projects such as buttons, globes, and graphic design.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paint Shop Pro

1. 
    
   This is the background for your sphere.

   Open a new graphic file with Paint Shop Pro. It should be the same size you want the finished sphere to be. If you want, use the bucket fill tool from the left side toolbar to fill the background of the graphic with a solid color. Choose the color you want by clicking in the top right color palette.

2. 
    
   Open the Balls and Bubbles Tool

   Open the Balls and Bubbles tool by clicking on the "Effects" menu at the top of the page and then scrolling down to "Artistic Effects." The Balls and Bubbles tool can be opened by selecting it from the drop down menu.

3. Select the box that says "Single Ball of Bubble" and also the box that says "Maximum Possible Size." This will create one sphere shape that fills the entire graphic you have open. Of course, you can make a smaller sphere if you would like.

4. 
    
   Choose the color, shine, and gloss of your sphere next.

   Click the "Surface" tab at the top of the Balls and Bubbles tool. Select the material or color you want your sphere to be by left clicking on the color box on the left side. Use the three slider bars to select the opacity, shine and gloss of your sphere.

5. 
    
   Use a surface design on the maps page.

   Select the "Maps" tab right next to the "Surface" tab. Here you can choose a graphic design for your sphere if you do not want a smooth, featureless sphere. This example uses the "Bump Map" Weave pattern to make a sphere that looks like it is woven. This is helpful if you want to make a globe, marble pattern or swirl.

6. 
    
   Add illumination effect as a finishing touch.

   Click the next tab in the Balls and Bubbles screen called "Illumination." Select the ambience, light positions and color of the light until you are satisfied with the end result. If you are using the sphere in another graphic project, take into account where the natural light will be coming from. In the example, a bright red light was used.