Book Image

Getting Started with Paint.NET

Book Image

Getting Started with Paint.NET

Overview of this book

Paint.NET is a free, reliable program that rivals the most expensive photo editing programs currently on the market.Paint.NET supports plugins, which add image adjustments, effects, and support for additional file types. They can be programmed using any .NET programming language, though they are most commonly written in C#. This book will teach you everything you need to know to edit and manipulate images. Written with very clear walkthroughs, hands-on tutorials,and amazing resources, this book will turn you into a photo wizard with Paint.NET. The book starts with simple tool-based tasks, introduces you to the workpane and then builds up to more complex areas taking a deep dive into the commonly-used features of Paint.NET. With this book, you will learn how to do everything from making simple adjustments to full artistic rendering with tools not available in any other program. Starting with the very basics of photo editing, you will gain an understanding of the basic principles of manipulating images. From layering to special effects, this book will give you all the knowledge you need to create images that leave a lasting impression. This book has everything you need to make amazing, artistic photos using completely free software. Filled with fun exercises and valuable information, you will learn how to master every tool and every effect in Paint.NET. Within minutes, you will be able to resize images, make adjustments to brightness and contrast, and apply color correction. By the end of this book, you will be working with layers and effects to create images that rival some of the most advised and expensive pieces of software. With simple exercises and information, this book will take you from absolute novice to an accomplished photo editor quickly and easily.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Getting Started with Paint.NET
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Photo effects


Photo effects are grouped together as the effects you will probably use most to enhance your photos. The grouping makes sense as you will see later. You may find yourself going here more than to any other grouping to make adjustments to your photo:

There are four photo effects: Glow, Red Eye Removal, Sharpen, and Soften Portrait.

Glow

Glow is a real great way to give any photo a dream-like quality. What it does is make the bright areas of the photo glow with a golden aura. It has Radius, Brightness, and Contrast as controls. The higher you adjust these levels, the more glow you will give your image:

Red Eye Removal

There isn't much to say about Red Eye Removal except that it removes red eyes in flash photos. It detects the reddest parts of a photo and removes it. As it says in the controls of this effect, it works best to isolate the eyes using selection tools. If you don't, it can create interesting results sometimes.

Sharpen

Sharpen only has one control and only does one thing...