Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 13. Adding Fun and Useful
Effects
There's a common saying among artistic types who use software in their studios:
Tools don't
equal talent
. And it's true: No computer program is going to turn a klutz into a Klimt. But
Elements has some special tools—
filters, actions
, and
layer styles
—that can sure help you
fool a lot of people. It's amazing what a difference these features can make in the appearance
of an image with only a couple of clicks.
Filters
are a jaw-droppingly easy way to change how photos look. You can use certain filters
for enhancing and correcting images, but Elements also gives you a bunch of other filters
that are great for unleashing all your artistic impulses, as shown in
Figure 13-1
.
Most filters have settings that let you control how they change your photo. Elements comes
with more than
100
different filters, so there isn't room in this chapter to cover each one indi-
vidually, but you'll learn the basics of applying filters and get in-depth coverage of some of
the ones you're most likely to use.
Actions
, on the other hand, are like little macros or scripts designed to make elaborate
changes to your image, such as creating a three-dimensional frame around it or making it
look like a pencil sketch or an oil pastel. One of the most popular features in recent versions
of Elements is the Actions panel, which makes it easy to add and use actions. (You can find a
few actions in the Effects panel, too, which are also easy to apply—you just double-click a
button—but you can't tweak their settings as easily as you can with filters, since effects are
programmed to make specific changes.)
NOTE
Full-featured Photoshop lets you record and save your own actions and install actions cre-
ated by others. You can use certain Photoshop actions in Elements, but you can't
create
actions in Elements.
