Corel Paint Shop Pro 11 Tutorial

Paint Shop's tool options are located in a toolbar above the canvas.

Corel Paint Shop Pro 11 is an application for enhancing photos and creating original artworks. Its features include tools for correcting a photo's orientation, color balance and other image elements. It also includes drawing and measuring tools, which you can use to retouch photos or create new ones. Learning Paint Shop effectively involves a lot of hands-on time with the program, though reading or viewing tutorials can also help. Learning Paint Shop promotes skills like image composition, which you can apply to enhancing graphics in nondigital environments, such as paper or canvas.

Instructions

1. Click Paint Shop's "File" menu, then click "Open." Navigate to any image on your hard drive, then double-click it to open it in Paint Shop.

2. Click the "Adjust" link in the screen's left pane. This action opens a window with tools for fixing problems like excessive brightness.

3. Click the "Express Lab" link in the left pane. A new window appears with buttons for changing the image's brightness and other elements.

4. Click the "Suggest Settings" button in the right pane. Paint Shop will analyze your image and suggest settings to improve image quality.

5. Click the "Reset" button to restore the original image. Or, click the bottom toolbar's disk icon to save the changes.

6. Click the "Exit Express" button in the lower right corner to return to the Home menu.

7. Click the "Retouch" button in the left pane. Paint Shop will display function for removing red eye, scratches and other blemishes.

8. Click the "Fix Red Eye" tool, then click the red eyes of your photo (if it has this problem). Paint Shop will change the redness to a more natural color.

9. Click the "Home" icon in the left pane, then click the left pane's "Text and Graphics" link.

10. Click the "Add Text" button in the left pane, then click any area of your image. An insertion caret will appear. Type some text, then click the green check mark button in the top toolbar to apply the text to the image. Press "Escape" to exit the "Add Text" mode.

11. Click the left pane's "Add Shapes" button, then click the left toolbar's "Pen" tool (whose icon is an old-fashioned nib pen).

12. Click the squiggly icon in the upper toolbar, then click and drag across your image to draw on it. Release the mouse to complete the scribble and let Paint Shop fill it with color.

13. Click the "Home" icon in the left pane to return to the main toolset, then click the "Effects" link in the left toolbar. This set of tools lets you apply simulations like aging to your image.

14. Click the "Time Machine" link in the left toolbar. Paint Shop will display a "Before and After" dialog box that includes a preview of your image after Paint Shop has applied a style from previous historical period (e.g., Civil War daguerreotype) to it. Click "OK" to complete the simulated aging.

References

• "Paint Shop Pro Photo XI for Photographers"; Ken McMahon; 2007