Request Tutorial for Transparent GIF

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emmry	Request Tutorial for Transparent GIF		Lead	[-]
Posts: 6 16 Sep, 2007 4:02 PM	Tags : None Hi favofoyo, I was referred here by cedar. :) I posted for help with customising my skin on the 'skins and css' board, and one of the questions I had was how to go about changing the caption that came on my skin. Cedar said I'd need a transparent gif (200 px wide by 100px high), so I was directed here. Cedar gave me instructions on how to replace the skin's pic with one of my own, and the "My Girls" caption won't be relevant. I've been looking over the forum, and I see that you will actually take requests and will create graphics, but I'd like to know if you'd please give a "how-to" tutorial, if it's not too difficult, so that I could create them in the future without having to come back here every time I'd like to change up my theme. :) Besides, I'm still working out the details of the overall scheme and haven't settled on anything yet, so I don't have a caption to give you. And if the tutorial would be too time consuming, could you please point me to someplace else that would have this info? TIA :)
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favafoyo		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 67 16 Sep, 2007 5:33 PM	Yes, I can do that - but I do need to know what image editor you are using. I can do a tutorial in either Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop but I need to know which because the methods will be different :)
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emmry		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6 17 Sep, 2007 12:57 PM	That's great, thank you! :) The only thing I presently have is ArcSoft PhotoStudio, which came installed on my computer (1 year old). I've used it a great deal, but discovered it's very basic. I'm eager for more options and have been wanting a program with all the "bells and whistles", but didn't know which one to choose. (Do you have a favorite?) Is PhotStudio okay, for now? Thanks, Em :)
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favafoyo		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 67 17 Sep, 2007 2:37 PM	I don't know my way around PhotoStudio so I won't be able to help you using that editor - but if you are willing to either download a free trial of Photoshop (made by Adobe) or PaintShop Pro (made by Corel) I can give you instructions for either of those two. I personally use Photoshop version 7.0 and version CS2 (which is basically version 12.0) and PSP 8.0. The instructions will not be exact unless you have one of those 3 versions. Photoshop and PaintShop Pro are the most commonly used image editor programs, with PS being more for professionals and PSP for hobbyists - PS is also much more expensive than PSP, but you can probably find an old copy of PS-7 on eBay for cheap. PSP is more user friendly, PS has more options for detailed work. I would suggest PSP for a newbie, although I learned Photoshop pretty quickly without much prior experience. (that is what happens when you ask my opinion on image editors. I could go on and on!) if worse comes to worse and all of that has completely confused you, I will see if I can download Photostudio and make a tutorial for that... but no guarantee that it can do what you need.
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emmry		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6 18 Sep, 2007 2:31 PM	That's good information -- just what I was wanting. I went to amazon.com to look up both, but there appears to be a lot of versions available. Just as an aside, it's been on my mind to invest in one of them, and when I first visited your forum, I saw a thread about favorite tutorial sites. I went to a few of them and they are packed with info. But it seems that PSP has declined in quality, not as good since Corel took it over? Is that correct? I want something really good, that may be too advanced for me at the outset, but will allow me to learn and do more. So I'm thinking PhotoShop?? Also, which versions of each (PS, PSP) should I be looking at, if I want to buy? I am going to download the trial version, so I can learn how to do the gifs. I'm going to do that today, and when it's installed I'll post back so we can get started. Many thanks for your assistance -- I really appreciate it! Em p.s. If you have any more info you'd like to share, please do; I'm open to all suggestions.
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emmry		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6 18 Sep, 2007 2:40 PM	Quick follow-up: I went to Adobe's website to download PS. Only CS3 is available, not CS2. Will this be okay? Em
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favafoyo		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 67 18 Sep, 2007 5:45 PM	word on the street is that PSP has declined in quality since Corel took over - Corel is known to be rather crappy, while Jasc (the company who made it before Corel bought them) was pretty good. But it would still do the job, and a lot of people like PSP anyway. I have CS2 for Photoshop but I can't imagine CS3 is drastically different from my version so it should be fine. if the directions are a little off I'm sure it won't be too difficult to figure out what I mean. if you plan on buying CS3, it is going to be very expensive (as in... $500+) the trial is obviously free and will work for the time being. Older versions of photoshop, if you want to buy it, will cost about $70-90 on eBay. the wonderful, wonderful thing about Photoshop is that there is soooo much stuff out there for it. you can download brushes, patterns, styles, all kinds of cool little add-ons, the list goes on and on. there are thousands of tutorials for different effects. it is not by any means difficult to find help with using Photoshop because it's very commonly used. PSP has most of the things Photoshop has but to a lesser degree. You won't find nearly as much help, brushes, etc for PSP as you will for Photoshop. however it is easier to use. Photoshop is not very user-friendly, but once you get used to it and good at it, it's a valuable skill to have. anyway... let me know when you have everything installed and ready to go and I'll start posting screenshots and directions!
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emmry		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6 18 Sep, 2007 6:26 PM	Great info! I'll be back when I've gotten one of them downloaded. :)
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favafoyo		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 67 29 Sep, 2007 11:36 AM	OK, I feel bad about saying this but I can't make you a tutorial for this in paint shop pro photo xi. I have it downloaded and everything but it will NOT open up for me. I have tried everything I can think of and it just won't work... which is a shame, because I was looking forward to trying this out. the little box that says "loading___" pops up, with the woman and the camera - but it just loads and loads and the program never opens. so I will do it in photoshop and hopefully they are close enough that it will work. my paint shop pro 8 is not working either, unfortunately. I did find some tutorials already online for PSP Photo XI however. you might like these: http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/paintshoppro/Corel_Paint_Shop_Pro_User_Resources.htm http://www.creationengine.com/html/action.lasso?-database=products.fm&-layout=w&-response=prt.html&-search&product%20ID=10745 http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1157730510030 (note the dragonfly/flower tutorial - it goes over transparency) this one shows how to do what you want in kind of a weird way, but it would still work. it was for PSP 5: http://www.grafx-design.com/22psp.html
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emmry		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6 29 Sep, 2007 9:27 PM	It's okay, I understand. :) The program was (still is) giving us difficulty, too. It kept 'hanging' and 'freezing' on installation. After going to Corel's website and searching their knowledge base I discovered it wouldn't load due to incompatibility with our current NVIDIA driver. It's just been a HUGE mess all the way around. So I don't blame ya for throwing your hands up -- it's got some problems. lol When my husband was out looking for the PSP, I don't think he noticed that it was the Photo IX edition. Thank you for the links to the other resources. I've googled "transparent gifs" to see what info I could find, but I haven't found a tutorial that goes into details (step by step) which is what I need. Also, are all transparent gifs created in relatively the same manner? I ask because I kept seeing references to "table cells"; most of these were tutorials for photo protection (to try to prevent easy theft), which I've also wondered how to do. Thanks for trying to give it a go, though....sorry the PSP Photo IX didn't work out for you. Em
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favafoyo		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 67 29 Sep, 2007 10:42 PM	I think I have NVIDIA, maybe that is the problem. whatever the case, it figures that Corel would mess up a good name like PSP. Jasc was so easy to install and use, it looks like Corel did exactly what everyone predicted they would. transparent gifs are all made basically the same way. you create a transparent workspace, in your case the size of the 'my girls' image - then add text wherever you want it - and then save. the text may show up a little fuzzy depending on a couple of things, so it is more complicated to make 100% that it won't be - but that is basically all there is to it. USUALLY when you click "file.... New" it gives you options for the size you want it, and what color background. and there should be "white, black, transparent, other_____" - you would want transparent, so that it wouldn't cover the background the "girls" text is over. I don't know what "table cells" are... I've never done a tutorial for photo protection personally. haven't had the need.
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