This week we started working with the Corel KnockOut filter. This cuts an image out of another image and is particularly effective with those images that have fur or hair. It's a stand alone program and the file formats are not always compatible with PSP. I was, however, able to complete the lesson after many trials and errors and re-starts! Yes, it was frustrating, but I don't know as I'd reject this program until I've used it more than the one time. There's a 30-day trial period so I'll plan on working with it some more before the time expires. The assignment was to knockout the bear image and place it on a background or image of our choice. This is not the best choice of backgrounds, but once I got it placed, I wasn't going to try to retrace my steps! :o)

The next part of the lesson included the use of another Extensis tool, but that meant having Adobe Photoshop. So, I did not do that but moved right on to the really fun part - PSP7 Virtual Painter! Now this was a lot of fun and I've done more images than requested. So, I'm going to post them and explain what they are. The first image, the Marblehead Lighthouse in Marblehead, Ohio, is the original which I've used in the first set.

The image of the lighthouse on the left used the Oil Paint and the one on the right is my version of the Gouache application. And, the settings have been saved! That was a great tip - thank you!

For the next image I first used the Oil Paint image and then applied the Gouache effect. Notice how the grain and strokes go in both directions on this version. :o) OK, so I was just having some fun!

The next two images of the Marblehead Lighthouse demonstrate the Impasto and the Pointillism effects.

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