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What are Tubes? Tubes
allow you to paint objects without having to drawn them.
A tube can contain a single object or a collection of objects in a variety of
settings.
With a single click of the mouse you have an instant picture
or drag the mouse around and you have multiple pictures.
How Do You Use Tubes? When
you click on the Picture Tube Tool the available pictures are shown in the Tool
Options Palette. The size of the tube can be changed from 10% to 200% of the
original size
of the object without affecting the resolution or clarity of the picture.
Picture Tube Dialog Box
The Options available are split
into two separate windows in the Tool Options palette.
On the first tab you can choose the object you wish to use, select the desired scale and the step size.
The step size is the space between images placed on the page -
larger numbers have more space and there is less space if you use a smaller
number.
On the second tab you have access
to the placement, selection and options
relating to the particular tube you have chosen.
Placement Mode Random
- images are placed at random intervals
Continuous - images are placed at equal intervals Selection
Mode Random -
Selects random cells from the tube.
Incremental - starts with the first image in the tube and cycles through all the
cells. The first two of
these settings are probably the only ones you will use.
Click on the Context Help Arrow for information on the Angular, Pressure &
Velocity settings. Options Box
 The
dialog box which opens when you click on the Option tab
displays information about the chosen tube.
The butterflies tube is a multiple cell tube, with a total of 12 different images available from the tube selection. In
this example the placement and selection modes are both set to Random.
These selections can be changed, however, you shouldn't change
anything in the Cell Arrangement properties. Practice
Session Before we move on
and create our own tubes let's take some time out to experiment with the information we've explored so far. Open
a new image transparent image 500 x 300 pixels.
Click on the Picture Tube Tool and select the 3D Gold tube
or another single cell tube from the drop down box.
Exercise 1 Left
click on your transparent image - hey presto, a picture!
Move the slider bar to the left and left click again.
Now move the slider bar to the right past 100% and left click again.
You will have noticed how changing the scale slider affects the size of the
image.
You can also highlight the scale amount and just type in the percentage you
want. Hit Delete to clear
your work image Exercise
2 Using the same tube
hold down the left mouse button and
drag the cursor around your transparent image.
Hit the Delete Key again. Exercise
3 Repeat the above
exercise using different tubes and see what effect you get.
Hit the Delete Key when you are finished. Exercise
4 Select a multiple cell
tube and experiment using the
different values for the placement and selection options.
Hit the Delete Key when you are finished. Making
Your Own Tubes Now you
have a better appreciation of how tubes work
I'll show you how easy it is to create your own. Things
to Remember
-
A tube can only be created from
a single layer image with a transparent background. Note: it may be
necessary to Merge, Visible to change the image to a single layer.
-
Tubes created in earlier
versions of PSP can be read & used in later versions. However, tubes
created in Version 7 (and now the new Version 8) cannot be used in earlier
versions unless they are saved in the format specific to that version. We
will look at this later.
-
Cleaned images must be EXPORTED
as a tube, not just saved with a .tub extension.
-
It is advisable to save your own
tubes or those you obtain from other people in a separate folder to the main
Jasc Tube folder. That way, if you have a system crash and have to re-load
Windows for some reason, you won't lose all your tubes. You will need to
set the File Locations in Preferences to your alternative Tubes location and
check the Save to Path box.
-
If you only want a single copy
of a tube image you can open the file in the PSP Browser and double click on
the desired image. This will put a copy of the image in the PSP workspace.
You can then use the Deformation Tool to resize as required.
Step
One Open the transparent
image we cleaned up in Lesson 5 or another image of your choice.
(You did remember to save the image in .psp format to preserve
the transparent background,
didn't you?)
 Step
Two Click on File,
Export, Picture Tube
 In
the Export Tube Properties box you will notice details in the Cell Arrangement
indicating this is a single cell tube and also gives the dimensions of the tube.
 In
the Step size (which will be blank) enter the cell width figure and give your
tube a name.
When you click on OK this will save your tube into your Tubes folder.
 That's
it! It's that simple!!! Sharing
Tubes for Earlier Versions of PSP If
you wish to share an image to be used in earlier versions of PSP you will need to save them in the format for that particular version. Click
on Save As and you will notice an Options button at the bottom.
In the Versions section, select the desired version you wish to be able to use
the image in.
 As
an alternative to creating a tube some people prefer to save their image in the
.psp format and use the  Deformation
Tool to change the size or shape of the image. When
you use this tool you will notice a box around the image with a series of
"handles".
To resize an image proportionately, click on one of the corner handles.
The side, top and bottom handles will drag the image out in that direction.
The handle to the right of the centre point allows you to rotate the image.
Click Apply in the Tool Options window to accept the changes.
Action Plan Scan
some of your favourite wrapping paper, cards or other images.
Clean the image using the instructions from Lesson Five.
Create and save the tube using the above guidelines. Send
a JPEG of the tube to the group so we can see what you have been working with.
If you would like to share the tube with the group send
it to me personally not to the group
as .tub files can be very large. I will upload them to the web site for all to
use.
[ Lesson Home Page ] [ PSP Tools & Workspace ] [ Workspace & Tools-V9 ] [ Lesson 1 ] [ Lesson 2 ] [ Lesson 3 ] [ Lesson 4 ] [ Lesson 5 ] [ Lesson 6 ] [ Lesson 7 ] [ Lesson 8 ] [ Lesson 9 ] |
Picture Tube Tool, 
