Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 Pixlr Photo Editing Handout What is Pixlr? Pixlr is an online image editor, which allows you to upload images and edit them in a browser. It is similar to Photoshop (but without the expensive price tag.) Note: Flash plug-in is required to get it to work. Pixlr allows you to edit images on the Web, so if you have a camera full of photos that you want to upload to Schoolwires, but need to resize them first, Pixlr can help you do the job. Even better, if you need to do color correction, add filters, insert some text, or crop the photo, Pixlr can do that as well. Pixlr also allows you to upload images directly from your system or from a URL, so if the images you'd like to edit are already on the Web, you can grab them, work with them, and save them when you're done. The service allows you to save images as either JPG or PNG images. Unfortunately, you can't save images to the Web or publish them directly to other services, but you can download them when you're finished and upload them to your Schoolwires teacher page when you are finished. Getting Started with Pixlr Open browser and type in www.pixlr.com in search engine. Select Pixlr Editor. (Note: Pixlr Express is also available for beginners and quick fixes. For Pixlr Grabber, you can extend the Pixlr experience boy downloading the extension to either Mozilla Foxfire or Google Chrome.) Getting to know the Pixlr Home Screen (1) Toolbox (2) Tool Options (3) Navigator (4) Layers (5) History 1 Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 (1) The Toolbox The toolbox contains the common used tools that used on specific areas of the image. Select a tool by clicking the icon. If you hover over the button a few seconds, you get a tool-tip with the tool name. Move tool (V) Marquee tool (M) Lasso tool (L) Crop tool (C) Wand tool (W) Clone Stamp tool (S) Pencil tool Brush tool (B) Eraser tool (E) Gradient tool Paint bucket tool (G) Color replacement tool Blur tool (R) Sharpen tool (Y) Smudge tool (U) Sponge tool (P) Dodge tool (O) Burn tool (N) Red eye reduction Drawing tool Bloat tool (A) Pinch tool (K) Color picker tool (I) Type tool (T) Hand tool (H) Zoom tool (Z) Set foreground color Set background color 2 Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 Tool Name: Definition: Bloat tool (A) The bloat tool lets you “grow” areas of the image such as an eyeball or lips. Blur tool (R) Blurs an area of the image using any brush you select. Brush tool (B) The Brush tool allows you to select a brush, choose its characteristics, including size, shape, spacing, roundness, hardness, angle, diameter, mode, opacity, and more, and then use the brush for various types of artwork. Burn tool (N) The Burn tool is used to darken areas of an image or print. Clone Stamp Lets you duplicate any area in an image and "paint" that area over any other (S) part of the image. Color picker The color picker tool lets you sample colors from the image and set it in the main or alternative color pad. By holding down <SHIFT> you set the alternative color. Color replace Select a new color in the main color pad (bottom of the toolbox). Start drawing on the color you want to replace with the new color. Crop (C) Lets you remove extraneous portions of an image by selecting a specific portion of the image and deleting the area outside of it. Dodge tool (O) Used to darken areas of an image or print. Drawing tool Used for drawing free-hand shapes. Eraser tool (E) Erases to the background layer by dragging the mouse. Gradient tool Fills a closed object with a range of colors that fade into each other. Hand tool (H) Allows you to scroll through an image that doesn't fit completely in the viewing window. It's like using the scroll bards at the bottom and right side of the window, except you do the moving with the mouse by dragging. When the Hand tool is chosen, the cursor becomes a hand. Lasso (L) Lets you draw around an object using curves and line segments. Marquee (M) Allows you to select portions of an object, file, photo, or subject for editing. Move (V) Allows you to move a selected part of an image, align layers, and distribute layers in an image. When the Move tool is selected, a box is placed around the selected part of the image. This box can be used to move the selection and edit its shape and size. Paint Bucket The Paint Bucket tool fills a closed object with a solid color. (G) Pencil tool The Pencil tool allows you to select a brush, choose its characteristics including size, shape, spacing, roundness, hardness, angle, diameter, mode, opacity, and more and then use the brush for various types of artwork. Pinch tool (K) The pinch tool lets you “shrink” areas of the image. Red eye The red eye reduction tool lets you remove the red color that appears when you are taking photos and are using flash. Set BG Color Allows you to set the background color Set FG Color Allows you to set the foreground color Sharpen (Y) Sharpens an area of the image using any brush that you choose. Smudge (U) Smudges an area of the image using any brush that you choose. Sponge (P) The sponge tool is used to saturate and desaturate parts of the image. Type tool (T) Used to add words to an image. With a type tool selected, you can set options for font, size, color, alignment, and more. Wand tool (W) The wand tool is one of the selection tools. This tool lets you select parts of the image that is in similar colors and isolate that part for editing. Zoom tool (Z) Choose the Zoom tool and click on an area of the image to zoom in or out. Offers choices to resize the window to fit on the screen and other options. 3 Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 (2) Tool options To control options of the tools available in the Toolbox there is a option-bar in the top of the application. When a tool is selected, the option-bar changes and shows the tool specific options. (3) Navigator Panel The navigator panel contains a thumbnail of the image, coordinates of the mouse location, selection size, zoom and pan controls. (4) Layers Panel The layers panel contains all the functions you need for working with layers. In the top of the panel are setting for blend-mode and layer opacity. Then you have the list of layers in your document starting with the topmost and end with the background. In each layer, you find a thumbnail of the layer, a icon for layer styles (if you have any) and at the right a check box for visibility or a hinge for transparent lock. At the bottom, there are five icons, two for moving layers up and down, one for layer styles; one for adding layer and the last one is a trash can for deleting layers. To be able to work efficient with photo editing the concept of layers is a must know. Layers are used to work on individual parts of an image while not affecting other parts. You might say that layers are like transparent papers stacked on top of one another which can be repositioned and separately drawn on without disturbing each other. 4 Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 (5) History Select history to see the list of steps taken to create the image that you are currently working on. The History palette helps you correct errors (by storing what you’ve done to a file previously) and allows you to “go back” to a point before a particular edit was made simply by clicking on the appropriate step. Settings on the Pixlr Menu Bar Note: A detailed explanation of how you can use these settings to create photographic art follows this section in "Advanced Pixlr.) File: Select File to start a new project, open a photo from your computer, or open from URL. Go to File to Save, Print, Close & Exit. 5 Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 Edit: Select Edit to Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Clear, Past, Free transform, Select all, Deselect all, Invert selection, and Define brush. Image: Select Image to choose Image size, Canvas size, Rotate a canvas, Flip a canvas, and Crop. 6 Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 Layer: Layers are like transparencies, which are clear plastic sheets of material that can be printed on. The transparencies can be printed and stacked on top of one another to form a complex picture, and single transparencies can be removed from the stack for editing or removal. For example, you can place text on one layer, background image on another, and perhaps a selection pasted from another file on another. These layers can then be edited independently of each other, making the editing process more efficient and precise. Adjustment: This tool is helpful if you want to change the brightness or contrast of a photo. Great for when you take a picture that is too dark and you want to lighten it up a bit. 7 Pixlr Handout : Jayne Salisbury August 2010 Filter: By using filters on your image, layer or selection, you can archive some cool looking effects.