Paint Shop Pro

Site Search

Paint Shop Pro (PSP) has been the choice of many digital editors for well over 10 years - my first experience with the program was a free download when it was known as Jasc Paint Shop Pro over 10 years ago.

Corel is the current publisher and their latest version is PSP Photo X5.

In terms of 'bang for your buck' PSP may be the best value on the market and it works perfectly with a Wacom Bamboo or Intuos 4. The downside of Paint Shop Pro is that the program needs a powerful computer to run properly because it's somewhat of a resource hog.

Corel has addressed this problem over the past couple of versions but it still does not run as seamlessly as the Adobe digital editors (Elements and full version Photoshop).

I find that Paint Shop will completely hang up about once per day so Alt/Ctrl/Del has become my friend.

The full version is under $100.00 and it approaches Photoshop full version in power. From what I can determine it is a much more powerful and versatile program than Elements - OK - enough comparisons to Photoshop - maybe.

Visitor Comments ...

What a great site. I have been using PSP 7, through 8, X and now X4, but without any in-depth knowledge.

Since taking an interest in layers, blending dodging and burning, I have learned more in 2 days than in about 7 years of PSP use.

Thanks heaps, you are marvellous.

Neil - New Zealand

Thanks for all your tutorials. This site kicks axx and the tuts are totally idiot proof. No more falling asleep halfway through one of another's psp tuts for me.

Like the Photoshop stuff as well, short and simple.

Andy - UK

Just want to say thanks and I appreciate the work you do on your site, you're helping me learn PaintShop Pro in a simple and logical manner... XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Stef - Canada

Thank you for making them! I think you do a really good job of educating people on the features of these programs. I am PSPX2 user and you have given me wonderful ideas and useful information. Also, I think you are funny, I find myself talking to you while I listen. Lol. Thanks again! :)

Livlloable

Did You Find The Paint Shop Pro
Answer What You Were Looking For?

If not - then you need to visit the Paint Shop Submission page and post your question. Its quick and easy and your question will be answered!

Submit Your Question Here.

When this site was started it was my intention to do as many Paint Shop Pro tutorials as possible but the version of PSP that I had was such a resource hog it was not worth the time. A simple brush stroke seemed to take forever.

The new version seems to be working faster (but not as fast as Photoshop at least on my machine) so let's take a look at how to achieve fabulous results with PSP.

Sadly, Paint Shop Pro is only available for Windows - what the heck are they thinking???

The Workspace

To me this is a fabulous looking screen and completely different from what I am used to seeing. Everything is white writing on a gray-black background which is very impressive.

The screen may look intimidating to a new user but it really is quite easy to use once you get the hang of it.

On the left of the workspace is the Learning Center and includes tabs to:

Get Photos
Adjust
Retouch and Restore
Collage
Text and Graphics
Effects
Print and Share

Clicking on one of the tabs will take you to another screen with a new list of options.
PSP Learning Center

Now this is really neat - when you select any tool from the Tool Bar then the Learning Center displays instructions on how best to use that tool and a few tips as well.

This is the Saturation Brush tool panel and it tells you what you need to know to use this tool effectively.

What a fabulous idea!

Here's what I found about this panel. I was experimenting with different tools and was annoyed that I couldn't locate the keyboard shortcut to change brush size.

I looked at the tips and what do ya know - there it was - "Press Alt and drag to resize brush."

What a quick and easy way to change brush size!

The right side of the screen is where the majority of the palettes live. You can have them visible or not and select the ones you want in the Palette drop down menu.
PSP Brush Variance

My favorite, of course, is the palette that sets the Brush Dynamics for your Bamboo or Intuos tablet and it is called Brush Variance (the same name PSP has used in previous versions).

There are nine different options for the brushes, each of them the options has twelve different settings available and the jitter of each option can be adjusted as well.

No one I have ever spoken to really seems to understand what jitter means. I'm sure it must be important to somebody, somewhere and sometime.

This is an impressive group of palettes when you have a tablet (Bamboo or Intuos) installed.

The palettes are ...

Layers	Histogram	History
Learning Center	Materials	Mixer
Organizer	Overview	Photo Tray
Tool Options	Brush Variance	Script Output

So far PSP looks pretty darn good. As I mentioned earlier it is probably the best value in the digital editing category and well worth your consideration.

The only complaint I would have is that PSP seems to be somewhat of a resource hog if your system does not meet the minimum system requirements - like my machine. The program does and impressive job! And oh - did I mention that it only works on Windows?

Paint Shop Pro X4 Review

Over the past year Terry, who lives in the UK, has been a very active participant of the Corel forums, specifically the Paint Shop Pro discussions.

Because of his dedication to and knowledge of the product, Terry was asked to be one of the beta testers of the newest version of Paint Shop Pro - X4.

Click the thumbnail to learn more about Terry's impression of the latest version of Paint Shop Pro.

Essential Skills

Basic Layers

There are a few essential skills for successful work with Paint Shop Pro and one of them is working with layers.

Raster layers allow for non-destructive editing of your image in a variety of different ways. Once you master them you will wonder why the heck you weren't using them all along.

Click the thumbnail to learn more about how to use Raster Layers.

Mask Layers

Mask Layers are one of those things that may seem intimidating at first but they really are quite simple.

What they do is mask off part of an underlying layer and this means you can show or hide part of an adjustment you have made.

Once mastered they will become an important part of your Paint Shop Pro digital editing routine. Click the thumbnail to get started.

Blend Modes

Now that you have an understanding of Layers, let's move on to Layer Blend Modes. The blend modes in Paint Shop Pro determine how one layer interacts with the layer below it - and they interact in neat and useful ways.

The blend modes are the same in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro so the tutorial is done with Photoshop and the steps will work perfectly with Paint Shop Pro.

Click the thumbnail to learn more about how to use the layer blend modes with your digital imaging.

NOTE: There are three Blend Mode Videos created just for my Paint Shop Pro friends. You will find them here ... Paint Shop Blend Modes ====>

Levels

The levels command in Paint Shop Pro is one adjustment that should be checked and modified as soon as you open an image.

What it does is stretch the histogram so that the image covers the full range of lightness from black to white.

Click the thumbail of Libby to learn more about this fabulous adjustment.

Selecting and Extracting

Selecting and extracting is one of the essential skills in any digital project with Paint Shop Pro.

Probably the most popular methods include the Marquee Tools, The Lasso Tools and the Magic Wand.

Perhaps the most effective method is to use the Paint Brush Tool which is very easy and very effective.

Click the little thumbnail of Libby to learn more about selecting and exacting objects.

Exposure Problems

The Paintshop Darkroom is an easy place to work - for sure it's far easier than it was way back when real chemicals and photographic papers were the norm.

The tutorial demonstrates how to use a couple of the Blend Modes to darken an over-exposed image or lighten an under-exposed image.

Once the overall image is modified, it may be necessary to do some local adjustments with a Dodge and Burn layer.

Terry's Tutorials

A few months ago this fellow in England (Terry) made some interesting and positive comments on my Paint Shop Pro YouTube videos.

His interest seemed to be in old photo processes and he thoroughly enjoys experimenting with the capabilities of Paint Shop Pro.

He has written some amazing tutorials that simulate those amazing old processes.

Click the thumbnail to visit Terry's very own piece of real estate on the site ...

Scrapbooking

Are you into scrapbooking and use Paint Shop Pro to edit your photos?

Did you know you can create amazing scrapbook pages with Paint Shop Pro?

You can make outstanding scrapbook pages with PSP!

Click on the thumbnail to visit the Paint Shop Scrapbooking page ...

Tutorials

Brush Variance

The Brush Variance Palette is how you change your brushes to react to pressure when you are using a Wacom tablet.

The pressure sensitivity and resolution of the Wacom tablet with Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 will help you create amazing results.

Click the Brush Variance thumbnail to learn how to use this palette.

More Brush Variance - aka Brushes II

If you happen to be an artistic soul and love to color then this is for you and can you imagine how much fun the kids will have with digital coloring using a tablet?

The Jitter settings in the Brush Variance palette will do some really cool things with a coloring project.

Click the little fish thumbnail to learn how to use the different dynamic and Jitter settings.

PSP Clone Tool

The Clone Tool is versatile and will produce excellent results if you know how to use it correctly.

Click the image to learn more about the PSP Clone Tool and the two other removal tools - the Scratch Remover and the Object Remover.

Makeover

Paint Shop Pro has a group of very powerful and easy to use Makeover Tools. They are all located in one place so it makes it really easy to apply them to an image.

After the makeover is applied you can continue with Skin Smoothing and some final tuning to create a fabulous portrait.

Click the thumbnail to go to the Makeover page.

Do You have A Paint Shop Pro Tutorial
You Would Like To Share With - Well - Everyone?

I really appreciate all the great comments received about these tutorials but know there are many, many Paint Shop users out there who know a heck of a lot more than me - and we would love to hear from you!

If you have a tutorial or technique that you know other Paint Shop Pro enthusiasts will love then why not share it with them?

Submit Your Tutorial or Technique Here.

PSP Lineart

This is a neat technique that's a lot of fun. It's also versatile as you can make changes to the settings and create a completely different look.

Amaze your friends and family by creating a line art image from a photograph!

Click the thumbnail to learn how to use this technique.

PSP Airbrushing

This is a technique adapted from a Photoshop tutorial. Airbrushing differs from the Makeover Tools technique because it tends to provide a more natural outcome.

Click the thumbnail to learn about this technique.

Creating a Reflection

This tutorial will lead you through the steps required to create a reflection under a simple object. It's a fun technique and you can create some outstanding results.

Click on the thumbnail to visit the Paint Shop Pro
reflection page.

Eliminating Shine

One of the biggest challenges for photographers is the annoying shine that magically appears on noses and foreheads and chins.

It is relatively easy to eliminate shine using the tools in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2.

Click on the thumbnail to find out how easy it is to get rid of those shiny spots.

Hikey Conversion

Creating one of those really neat hikey images with Paint Shop Pro is not particularly difficult once you know the steps.

The neat thing about this type of conversion is that there is no wrong end result. You keep working at it until you are satisfied and then you will amaze your friends and family.

Click the thumbnail to find out how to create your own hikey image with Paint Shop Pro.

Soft Light Layer Dodge and Burn

Most PSP users know about the normal dodge and burn tools and probably fancy themselves as quite adept with them.

This tutorial will demonstrate a different and very effective method to dodge and burn using a soft light layer.

A soft light layer can be used in a wide variety of situations to make local adjustments. This means you can lighten or darken a small area of an image without affecting the overall image.

Click the thumbnail to discover how to use a soft light layer to dodge and burn.

Black and White Conversion

1. Greyscale, Black and White Film and Channel Mixer

Converting a colour image to black and white images, also known as greyscale images, can be achieved in a variety of different ways with Paint Shop Pro.

Some methods are quite simple and produce OK results while other, more involved techniques can produce dramatic, outstanding black and white images.

Click on the little greyscale image to learn more about color to black and white conversions.

2. Dual Hue and Saturation Adjustment Layers

The dual Hue/Saturation/Lightness Adjustment Layer technique is adapted from a Photoshop technique written by Russel Brown.

One of the adjustment layer simulates the black and white film and the other simulates the full range of filters normally used with black and white film. There are an enormous number of modifications one can make to a color image to create stunning black and white images.

The first half of the video demonstrates how to use the two adjustment layers and the last half uses the new image to make additional modifications with a Mask Layer.

Correcting Color

We have all had one of those images with a weird color cast that seems to defy all of the built in

functions that are desigend to eliminate it, right?

At this point it is necessary to have a manual technique that will work quickly, effectively and easily to fix the color.

This manual technique makes use of the Average dialogue as well as a Levels and Curves adjustment to set the color right.

Click the thumbnail to learn this really neat and effective method of color correction.

Blend Range

The Blend Range in Paint Shop Pro is a powerful yet mis-understood and under used adjustment.

It allows you to make subtle adjustems between layers and works will in conjunction with the Paint Shop Pro Blend Modes.

Click on the thumbnail to learn how to use this adjustment.

Autochrome Conversion

This tutorial comes to us courtesy of Terry in England. He seems to be a student of photography and enjoys creating really nice old time images.

At first I was simply curious about this conversion but after converting a number of images I must admit that the end product is really pleasing.

Grab youself a nice image, click on the thumbnail and learn something about the early roots of photography.

The good thing is that Terry seems to have some other interesting tutorials so get this one down before the next one is created!

Creating Scripts

Paint Shop Pro comes with over 50 built in scripts that will perform an interesting variety of tasks.

Writing a script may seem to be a difficult taks but in reality they are easy and straignt forward to create.

Click on the thumbnail to learn more about writing your own script.

Hair Tinting

Hair tinting aka changing hair color is guaranteed to make a major change in someones appearance - and it is quite easy to complete with Paint Shop Pro.

The most important aspect of is the quality of the selection you make so great care must be taken.

Click the thumbnail to learn how to change hair color.

Photo Restoration

PSP Photo Restoration

Restoring priceless old family photographs can be a real challenge.

Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 makes the job much easier with a couple of really unique tools.

Click on the thumbnail to learn how to use these tools to restore your old photographs.

PSP Curves

Using curves and channel mixer adjustment layers can make a dramatic improvement in your old, discolored images.

Click the thumbnail to follow along with the text or watch the video to learn how to use these powerful techniques with your images.