Xara Photo Designer - 6.0 Instruction Manual
Manual
2 Copyright
Copyright
MAGIX and iPACE are registered trademarks of MAGIX AG.
Other mentioned product names may be registered trademarks of the
respective manufacturer.
This documentation is protected by law. All rights, especially the right
of duplication, circulation, and translation are reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in form of copies,
microfilms or other processes, or transmitted into a language used
for machines, especially data processing machines, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
All copyrights reserved.
All other product names are trademarks of the corresponding
manufacturers. Errors in and changes to the contents as well as
program modifications reserved.
This product uses MAGIX patent pending technology.
Copyright © MAGIX AG, 2002–2007. All rights reserved.
www.magix.com
Introduction 3
Introduction
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 is an image editing application,
which helps you handle all necessary photo editing tasks quickly and
easily.
Import all common file formats or scan directly. The integrated
browser enables convenient searching for image files on your PC.
Images can be discreetly improved, retouched, distorted or
transformed into an oil painting. The Task Assistant helps you with
practical step-by-step user guidance.
Specific image sections, such as people, can be removed from the
image for moving or editing with effects. If you want to add them to
the image again, they can be semi-transparent, from covering to
invisible. You can assign various modes for combining these objects
with the main image.
All effects/filters can be applied either to the main image or the object
or even selectively with the aid of a brush.
At the end, the images can be printed flexibly or saved optimized and
Internet-ready.
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4 Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Copyright 2
Introduction 3
Support 7
More about MAGIX 9
MAGIX online 9
MAGIX Premium Club 9
MAGIX News Center 10
myGOYA 10
Brief Description 12
Draw/Retouch with the brush 12
Effects 12
Mask 13
Objects 13
Tutorial 14
Program interface 14
Quick image optimization and multiple picture editing 18
Detailed image editing 21
Effects & Filters 30
Change image format 34
Working with the Browser 37
The Folder View 37
The File List 38
The Status Bar 41
Working with Images 42
Show images 42
Create, load and save pictures 43
Import Images 44
Print Images 44
Create Panorama Pictures 46
Deform pictures 47
Working with the Mask 49
Select all 49
Remove mask 49
Invert mask 49
Create mask from object 49
Mask > Expand/Reduce selection 49
Vignette 50
Loading/saving the mask 50
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Table of Contents 5
The Mask Tools 50
Working with Objects 52
Creating Objects 52
Adjust shape 52
Vignette 52
Apply Shadow 53
Include/include all 53
Object order 53
Copy objects from different images and programs 53
The Object Manager 53
Working with Text Objects 56
Text effects 56
Working with Batch Processing 58
Input 58
Actions 58
Output 58
Effects 60
Plugin Filters 61
Paint 61
Color Filters 62
Art Filters 64
Focusing Filters 65
Other Filters 65
Stylising Filters 66
Noise Filters 66
Coarsening Filters 67
Distortion Filters 68
Video Filters 69
Soften Filters 69
The Toolbars 71
Standard 71
Effect bar 71
Tools 72
Zoom 74
The tool settings 75
Object tool setting 75
The mask tools settings 76
The Gradient Tool settings 78
The brush/pen tool settings 78
Configuration 81
Monitor Gamma 81
Undo/Redo 81
Slideshow 81
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6 Table of Contents
Other 81
MAGIX services in detail 83
MAGIX Online Services 83
Catooh 85
MAGIX Online Album 85
MAGIX Community 87
MAGIX Podcast Service 88
If you still have questions... 90
Task Assistant 90
PDF manual 90
Program Help 90
Index 91
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Support 7
Support
If you experience any problems with your software, please get in
touch with our support team:
Support website: http://support.magix.net (
This website will lead you to the MAGIX user service page, which,
among other things, contains the following free offers:
• FAQs (frequently asked questions) and general tricks and tips. In
most cases you’ll find the solution to your problem here. If not, use
the Email support form:
• E-mail support form. Via the special form you inform our support
staff about your system. This information is used to solve your
problems quickly and competently. Simply fill out and send with a
mouse-click!
• Support forum: You are not alone. Perhaps other users had a similar
problem and can help you solve yours. Our support staff are also
regular contributors.
• Download section: Updates, improvements and patches are likewise
offered free of charge via download Many problems you may
experience are well-known to us, and which can be solved by
downloading the latest patch. Besides patches, there are also
wizards for checking and optimizing your system
• Links: In the links list you will find the contact addresses of all the
most important hardware manufacturers.
You can also reach our support team by telephone:
http://support.magix.net)
UK: 0905 118 0888 (25p/min)
(open Monday to Friday 9:00 - 16:00 GMT)
Denmark: 077345695
(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)
Finland: 0942597819
(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)
Norway: 021543223
(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)
Sweden: 0852507027
(open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET)
Email: info@magix.net
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8 Support
Please have the following information at hand:
• Program version
• Configuration details (operating system, processor, memory, hard
drive...)
• Sound card configuration (type, driver)
• Information regarding other audio software installed
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More about MAGIX 9
More about MAGIX
MAGIX online
Visit us at www.magix.com. Here you will find everything you need to
know about MAGIX products and any current special offers that may
be available.
• MAGIX Digital Magazine
• MAGIX Online Services
• MAGIX Premium Club
• MAGIX Community
• MAGIX TV
• Full Support & Workshops
• Latest news & Information
and plenty more as well. It's worth looking into ...
MAGIX Premium Club
Our exclusive club for all MAGIX customers who own a registered
product. MAGIX Premium Club members have access to a wide
range of services:
• Free product updates and services
• Exclusive club events and surprises
• News and info about the club and much more...
Membership is free.
You can find more information about this topic on
www.magix.com
Hint: You can register your product either directly from the program
using the Help menu, or with your product registration number at
www.magix.com. You can find your product registration number on
your program CD. Earlier network card numbers with the example
format XY-58241-45, are, of course, still valid.
www.magix.com
10 More about MAGIX
MAGIX News Center
MAGIX supplies you with all the latest information on your software.
In the MAGIX News Center you can find out about all the links to
current online tutorials and tips & tricks on individual topics or
software application examples.
You will also be informed of the availability of brand new updates and
patches for your program as well as special offers, contests and
questionnaires.
The news is split into three color-coded sections:
• Green for practical tips & tricks for your software
• Yellow reports the availability of new patches and updates for your
product
• Red for special offers, contests and questionnaires.
• If there are no new messages, the button will be gray.
All available information is shown as soon as you click on MAGIX
News Center. If you click on one of the news items, you will be
forwarded to the corresponding website.
myGOYA
In perfect unison: MAGIX products and Online Services
Discover the possibilities offered by myGOYA, your free online
operating system!
Every MAGIX product offers a direct and easy-to-use gateway to the
world of online multimedia.
• Present your photos, videos, and music directly in your Online Album
or in worldwide Internet communities.
• Find professional templates & content for enhancing your personal
projects
• Create your own personalized website in professional Flash® design
– with photos, videos, music & impressive animations.
• Order brilliant photo prints to be sent directly to your doorstep –
quick, easy, and at the right price.
www.magix.com
More about MAGIX 11
Experience these and many more online services on
www.mygoya.com
myGOYA
At home on any computer: Available from anywhere in the world as
your own online operating system – no software installation required.
Web disk Direct online access to your very own online
hard disk for all files, 100% secure as well.
Communicator
Chat & Private
Chat with friends, send & receive private
messages, manage contacts, etc.
Manager
File Manager Manage your data quickly and easily just like
on any standard operating system.
Mail All email accounts in one.
Contacts Your complete online address book.
Calendar Every event and appointment at once and
readily available.
Quickstart Start your programs fast and access every
function of your desktop.
Share Manager For management and data access – Who sees
what?
Player Play any media file with the player.
Bookmarks Your personal favorites with you whenever and
wherever you go.
Notes The notepad for your desktop.
Sharebase Share media, documents, appointments,
notes, etc. with chosen contacts.
Autoflow Easily save frequently used multi-step
functions as workflows and start them at any
time.
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12 Brief Description
Brief Description
This section is a brief introduction to the functions of MAGIX Xtreme
Photo Designer 6. The following paragraphs briefly describe the basic
functions, which will be described in more detail later on.
Draw/Retouch with the brush
Using the paintbrush or pencil tools you can draw or
retouch a picture.
To do this, select the corresponding tool and apply the
selected color with the left mouse key.
With the tool parameters found at the top you can either select
a preset brush or create a customised brush from the palette
by selecting a tip and other parameters.
There are various further paintbrush tools for special
retouching work such as blurring, sharpening or redeye removal.
With the fill tool you can quickly fill a selected area or a
specific color in the image with the set color.
Effects
For retouching, please select an effect from the "Effects"
menu or from the Effects browser.
The effects window with the corresponding effect settings is
displayed on the right. The effect is applied to the entire image, to a
single object or to any mask selection. You can change all effect
settings and immediately view the result. The selection mask can be
changed at any time, and you can even "paint in" all effects with a
brush.
An effect can partially affect the image if you increase its
transparency at the top of the effects dialog. This is where you can
combine the effect with the image in different ways in combine mode.
If you are satisfied with the changes, simply close the effects settings
dialog and the effect will be permanently applied to the image.
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Brief Description 13
Mask
A mask can placed over the main image, which protects non-masked
areas from changes or can be used to create objects. Five different
masking options are available: Box mask, circular mask, lasso mask,
magic wand, and mask creation using a pencil. You can use the
pencil mask to create areas with soft edges (vignettes). The magic
wand is useful for "extracting" certain image elements from the
background.
If one of the mask modes is active, the tool settings will display the
suitable configuration options for each respective mode.
Objects
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 allows you to work with objects. A
mask is used to select and create a copy of an area that you can
move freely over the image. The copy can be reshaped and edited
using different colors and effects.
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14 Tutorial
Tutorial
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 is a high-quality image processing
software package which is directly integrated into MAGIX photo and
video software:
First of all, this tutorial will introduce you to the software interface of
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 and demonstrate the practical
functions of MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 using suitable examples
on the following pages. The helpful Task Assistant will appear now
and then, imparting useful tidbits of information where it can.
You'll find all of the described functions in the Tasks menu or via the
"1-click" button which starts the Task Assistant. The layout of our
tutorial corresponds to the main points found there:
• Quick image optimization
• Detailed image editing
• Effects & filters
• Change image format
Program interface
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 is a pixel-based image processing
program that masters all basic photo operations and has a number of
directly applicable effects, filters and distorters for use as presets for
your photos.
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Tutorial 15
1. Menu bar
2. Toolbar
3. Toolbar + Option horizontal
4. Object Manager
5. Filmstrip view
6. Workspace (in the picture with the selected mask)
General usage tips
1. Most functions are usually only selectable and usable once a
picture has been loaded via the menu bar: "File" > "Open".
So that you always open the correct picture, we recommend
using the picture browser.
It searches through your folders and automatically shows each photo
in a thumbnail view including each title and filesize. Double-clicking
on a picture is enough to open it. Furthermore, you can delete, sort
or print directly from the picture browser of MAGIX Xtreme Photo
Designer 6.
2. Use the mouse wheel to increase or reduce the size of the view of
the picture you opened.
3. Via "Window" in the menu bar you can hide or show the symbol
bars and options, the Object Manager, the Effects Browser or the
filmstrip view. This way you can create the working environment that
suits you best.
4. When saving a
picture either a copy
is created or the
original is overwritten
(see screenshot): Save
picture via the menu
list: "File" > "Save" or
the Save symbol in
the toolbar.
5. You can also choose to save pictures for the Internet, which
results in them being compressed. Compression settings can be
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16 Tutorial
changed in the save dialog. Select "File" > "Save for Internet" from
the menu.
Object Manager
In the screenshot graphic of the program interface you can see the
Object Manager (4) to the right, which sorts the various objects or
layers of a picture. You always work with the object selected there.
Creating objects
You can create objects by opening a mask. In the toolbar (3 vertical)
you'll find two tools for this purpose: the square mask and the lasso
mask for masks that are drawn freehand.
You can transform a mask into an object simply by right-clicking on
it. In the context menu that appears you'll find the "Object from
mask" option.
Another way to do this is via the keyboard shortcut for copying and
inserting: Ctrl + C and then Ctrl + V.
Scale objects
You can scale objects proportionally by holding down the Shift key
while simultaneously stretching your picture in or out. For this to
work, the object's orange-colored handles have to be active.
Toolbar
Tip: Use the toolbar as a quick access area for all the most important
tools, as soon as you're familiar enough with them all. Otherwise
almost every option can be found under "1-click" or the "Tasks"
menu anyway. These are always ordered in the most frequently used
combinations and presets alongside the Task Assistant, which
explains everything step by step.
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Tutorial 17
Select, move, scale or rotate objects.
Clip or mask – Tool for creating objects & Lasso tool – For
selecting freehand shapes & Mask with brush – Creates a
freehand graphics layer
Magic wand – For selecting sections of a color
Cut – For cutting a picture by hand
Level horizon
Text editing with comprehensive options for text layout
Red eye removal
Soft-focus effect & Sharpen
Marking/Cloning
Fill tool – Fills masks with the selected color from the color
field
color gradient (fade out borders and design backgrounds)
Brush for applying effects onto selected areas & color pen for
drawing freehand or drawing lines
color dropper (select colors on the screen and the color
appears in the color field)
Magnifying glass – For zooming in and out and examining
each and every pixel (should you wish to do so).
color field – Here you can select a color with which to paint
Smart, practical and can be used straight away
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 has two excellent tools that really
separate it from the rest of the image processing software out there.
Even in earlier versions MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 had the
versatile "Effects Browser" and "Liquid colors" tools for freely
designing and modelling your photos. Both of these applications can
be opened from the menu bar. Both have been given extra functions
and enhanced in the latest version.
The Effects Browser mentioned can be opened via the "FX"
menu. There are a number of effects, filters and other presets
in it that can be applied to your picture with a single click.
In the Effects Browser to the bottom of the screen you have all the
picture effects at a glance and don't have to go searching for from
within various other tools. If you select one of the options, an
Assistant will open, which explains the individuals steps in detail.
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18 Tutorial
It shows you what effect applying this particular action to your photo
will have. To lock the effect, simply click on "Apply".
Use this button on the toolbar to open the "Liquid colors
tool" dialog. This is where the fun starts:
With the move, grow, shrink, dent, bump, wave & explode options
you can really make some wild distortions on your pictures. With
advanced options you can set the direction and strength of the
distortion. This can all be done using your mouse. Really fun and
very, very easy.
The following pages describe various operations in MAGIX Xtreme
Photo Designer 6, from quick image optimization to individual picture
creation – similar to the selection of options from the Task Assistant.
On the next page we start with "Quick image optimization" and
explain "Batch-processing".
So as not to be experimenting
around on the picture without
having a clue what you're doing,
you can work with a preview. The
preview can be opened by
clicking on the red button in the
picture.
Quick image optimization and multiple picture editing
Logically enough, quick picture optimization can also be explained
quickly. There are four options in the Tasks menu for "quick image
optimization":
• Removing red eyes that appear when taking photos with a flash,
regardless whether photographed in analogue or digital.
• Optimizing lighting to get the best colour value out of over and
underexposed photos.
• Optimizing picture colour, either to remove colour faults or add
colour effects by increasing or decreasing the "colour saturation".
• Correcting picture sharpness to help you get more out of shaky
recordings by "sharpening" transitions.
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Tutorial 19
In the example...
In every one of these use-cases
there's a step-by-step explanation
which can be supplemented if
required with brushes or other
suitable tools at different strengths
and using varying painting shapes.
A small, soft brush is preset as the
red-eye removal tool, which prevents
painting over the edges, which would
smudge the white of eyes.
Sometimes the tool sizes provided
have to be adjusted to your
templates.
Note: Red-eye distortion can be fixed because the tool removes all
the red parts from the selected color spectrum. For this reason, you
can turn really bad red-eye into the deepest black, if you like.
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20 Tutorial
Editing multiple pictures at a time or "batch processing"
Do you have lots of pictures to which you want to apply the same
change, like, picture size, 90° rotation, brightness & contrast
adjustment or increase picture sharpness. These are the typical areas
of application for so-called "batch processing". In MAGIX Xtreme
Photo Designer 6 you'll find the point "Batch processing" in the "File"
menu.
The following example demonstrates the usage of batch processing
in scaling, i.e. changing the picture size. You start by selecting
pictures using the dialog window of the batch processing function
and clicking on the "Add picture" or "Add folder" buttons.
Tip: If you use the thumbnail view of your browser, it's easier to find
the pictures you want.
Select "Scale" from the "Actions" dropdown menu to change the
picture size. In "Parameters" you can fine-tune your input. In our
example, we enter the desired picture size. Make sure that the
checkbox in the "Aspect ratio" field is ticked. Then enter only one
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Tutorial 21
value, either the length or the width.
Now select the file type and the target folder where you want to store
your picture after batch processing. Click "Start". Your pictures will
then be converted at lighting speed and saved to the target folder.
Detailed image editing
With "Tasks" you'll find six practical options for editing photos in
detail in the Task Assistant:
• Create panorama picture – We show you how to make a
panorama picture from multiple source photos.
• Crop person/object – cut, move around and effectively insert
elsewhere.
• Design picture title – Text design with individual layouts. Carve
lettering into your photos!
• Brighten areas – because some pictures need a bit more light to
brighten up dark corners.
• Remove scratches and stains – give your analogue pictures a
chance: Scan them in first, then restore them in style.
• Clone – Remove annoying objects from a picture simply by moving
the mouse over the affected pixels and copying a different section
(fantastic for retouching blemishes on skin).
Panorama
It's no coincidence that panorama shots of vast uninhabited
expanses and grandeur evoke our most romantic and happiest
memories of utopian sunsets and daring climbing adventures from
previous holidays.
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 provides all the romantics and
hobby photographers with an enormously able tool for creating
personal panorama pictures. You will, of course, need several
interconnecting photos.
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22 Tutorial
Tip: You should only take photographs in landscape or portrait
format. Make sure the photos are slightly overlapping when taking the
shots. In the program you can move the pictures around horizontally
or vertically, letting you position the identical picture portions on top
of one another. Keep an eye on the lighting and adjust the exposure
time according to the direction. Stay on one spot and try to move as
little as possible when taking the other shots for your panorama
picture.
Panorama: This is how you do it!
You can open the panorama picture creation dialog either via "File >
Panorama" or by using "Tasks > Create panorama pictures".
All of the pictures that are already open in MAGIX Xtreme Photo
Designer 6 are automatically displayed in the browser of the new
dialog window. From there you can use the mouse to drag them one
after the other into the preview list.
First sort out the order, then take care of the transitions.
You can horizontally and vertically define every transition individually.
To do so, you should always select the correct current overlap, for
example, [1]<->[2], [2]<->[3], then all you have to do is move around
the faders. That's it.
Tip: If you are a user of MAGIX Photo & Videoshow deluxe, why not
just use this ideas for your slideshow: Add a camera movement to
your panorama picture in MAGIX Story Maker.
Crop person or object
With the lasso you can catch runaway horses just like a cowboy or
fish out objects or people from photos. Just use the lasso tool from
MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6, it's perfectly suited to it. You can
instantly crop any mask you like and then insert them into other
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photos.
Note: A "mask" in MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 refers to the
clipping of a picture that has been selected for the original. Clippings
can be created in different ways, for example, with the mask tool that
always drags up a quadratic shape and is therefore called a
"Rectangle mask".
Object from mask
To be able to crop the "mask" as an "object", you have to right-click
on the mask and select "Object from mask" in the context menu
(alternately via "Object > Create > From mask"). The object now has
orange handles and can be moved around with the mouse. It is now
a layer on the picture. All object layers are visible and selectable in
the Object Manager.
Insert object and set edge blur
You can select an object using the mouse and insert it elsewhere.
For example: Cut using the key combination Ctrl+X and Insert into a
different picture with Ctrl+V. An inserted cropped object can be made
less obvious by using a vignette. A vignette creates blurring at the
periphery of the picture, i.e. a color gradient around the object. You
can freely specify the pixel magnitude of this gradient. You'll find the
vignette in the menu bar under "Object" > "Vignette". Your object has
to be selected in order to be able to use the vignette.
Tutorial 23
Freehand
When you select "Crop object/person" using the lasso tool via the
Task Assistant, you create a freehand mask.
Crop the object as precisely as possible by using the tool
options of the lasso. You can insert or remove sections
after selecting the freehand object.
So, if you ventured outside the desired object border, the protruding
part can be pinpointed and removed from the object mask.
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24 Tutorial
Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3
Step 1: Photo 1: Here, a photograph was taken of the room and we
see that the bright light from the window has caused the rest of the
picture to be overexposed.
Step 2: Photo 2 was taken with a small lens aperture for less light so
that the interior is in complete darkness, but the window, as
expected, is less lit and what's outside can be seen clearly.
Step 3: The photo montage in picture 3 involves the window from
photo 2 being cropped as an object using the lasso tool. Then the
object is cut out and inserted into photo 1.
Step 4: By double-clicking on the object, handles will appear to it
sides, which can then be used to scale the object, that is, you can
move it around precisely and rotate, stretch or tilt it any way you like.
Tips for transforming objects
To transform objects, you have to open the tool shown here
for selecting and manipulating objects.
If you select an object on the workspace, orange-colored handles will
appear to its side.
You can now access a large amount of tool options:
Hint: If you can't see the tool options, you will have to make them
visible by selecting "Tool options" from the "Window" menu.
If you move the mouse over the individual symbols, a "tooltip" will tell
you what the option can be used for. Why not simply try a few of
them out? You'll probably find the options for perspective distortion
quite interesting, but you shouldn't miss the mirroring and rotating
options either. You can also use the lock to scale pictures
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Tutorial 25
proportionally or block distortions being made.
You can change the order of the objects by using the last two
buttons on the option list.
Multiple objects on the workspace
Objects can also be selected by right-clicking the mouse in the
context menu. This means: if, for example, the background and two
additional objects cover one another on the workspace, then all three
layers will be shown in the context menu and can be opened from
there. This is a practical function if you're in danger of getting lost
among the jungle of objects in a photo montage.
Add name
Before starting, you should give your objects names in the Object
Manager, otherwise the individual layers cannot be differentiated from
one another. They can be renamed by right-clicking on the object in
the Object Manager.
Tip: This is how to create shadowing around objects: Select Object >
Add shadows from the menu list.
Design title of picture
Those of you who enjoy creating invitation cards will most likely also
enjoy using the text option of MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6. Start
the title design either using the Task Assistant or using the text tool.
Start wherever you like, the text can always be moved around as a
separate object later on. (Want to find object? – Always via the Object
Manager – see red marking)
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26 Tutorial
Tip: When you open the text option using the text tool from the
toolbar, you can experiment around with shadow as well. Use
shadow with a similar colour to get smooth, unfrayed borders. Try out
the different settings for letter shadowing, e.g. edge blur, distance
and transparency.
Once you've
confirmed the text
object (see figure
below), the text will
become a mask and
can be moved
around like an object.
After double-clicking you can scale, rotate or tilt. When masked, the
text objects can also be deleted: simply press the Del key.
Reshape texts
Among the new feature is an option for distorting the perspective of
the text. After creating and confirming a text object, it is masked on
top of the picture background. Double-clicking or using the object
transformation tool creates an object frame with orange-colored
handles that surround the text object.
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Tutorial 27
Select the symbol shown here from the tool options for
perspective distortion. Then grab one of the small orange
handles in the corner of the object frame using your mouse
and drag it in or out, the result can be seen in the picture.
Selectively brighten areas
Brightening things up is all well and good, but what do you do when
only specific areas on the picture are in the dark, picture borders in
particular.
The solution is simple: You can selectively brighten an area. In the
example below, the photographer wanted to catch the dusky
atmosphere of the beach, but the back border portion of the photo
turned out too dark. The light ratios weren't precise enough, so more
targeted help was needed. All in all, the picture was brightened up a
little, however, a bit too strongly on the buildings and trees in the
background.
This is how it was done:
Select "Detailed image editing > Brighten areas".
Step 1: Choose the appropriate tool size.
Step 2: Move the brightness, contrast or gamma faders to get the
look you want.
Step 3: Now mark the areas that you wish to brighten using the tool.
The effect can be noticed immediately.
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28 Tutorial
Step 4: Do some fine-tuning using the brightness, contrast and
gamma faders until you have the desired result. If the changes are
not precise enough, change the size of the tool.
This way you'll be able to see the interior much more clearly. Here we
see the outside of a tavern. You can't see any of the inside of the
tavern in the photo. Just select the windows and brighten up the
scene as described previously.
Isn't it amazing how much image information that could still be
retrieved?! In the example, brightness and contrast were first applied
to the entire motif and then the windows and doors were polished
with the paintbrush and "brightness" effect.
Removing scratches and stains
The Task Assistant provides you with a tool for retouching and
applying soft-focus to picture errors. We also recommend three tools
from the preset toolbar which can be used to restore: the brush,
color-picker and color gradient.
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Tutorial 29
With the color picker you can select a color from anywhere on the
screen. If you now use the brush to paint, it will apply this exact color.
This way you can skilfully paint over stains, spots, blisters and other
sources of irritation.
Tip: Use the magnifying glass for detailed tasks like this and use a
high zoom factor to catch exactly the color you want and paint over
single pixels that you want to get rid of.
Cloning
To match our previous topic, "Remove scratches and stains", we'll
now have a look at an alternative editing option for retouching
pictures – this can be found in your Task Assistant under "Detailed
editing" > "Cloning".
Here you can also get rid of larger distortions. If you want to clone
something, you'll need the stamp tool. A usable reference point is
required for cloning. In the example below, the problem is that it
looks like there's a palm tree balancing on top of the guy's head. This
needs to be erased. The sky in the background is perfectly suited as
a reference point. In the end, there'll be two pieces of sky: the original
and the clone covering the palm tree. And the best thing about it is
that you'd never know there was one there in the first place.
Tip: You can use this to retouch really small defects, for example,
blemishes on skin. Select a reference point from the immediate
surroundings of the defect. Zoom into the picture and precisely paint
over the distorted points.
This is how it works:
• Select "Effects" > "Clone"
• Select a reference point with the mouse for cloning
• Then click on the object you wish to retouch. You should now have
two points selected at a specific distance from one another.
• You can now move the mouse over the object you wish to remove
while holding down the mouse button. Here, the pixels from your first
reference point are applied to where your mouse goes.
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