Adobe 65089063 User Guide - Page 169

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 161 User Guide • Select the paint bucket tool ( ). In the options bar, set Fill to Pattern and click the inverted arrow next to the pattern sample and select a pattern from the pop-up palette. Then click to fill the selected area with the pattern. Note: You can load additional pattern libraries into the pop-up palette prior to making a selection. (See "Using pop-up palettes" on page 35.) Stroking a selection or layer with color You can use the Stroke command to paint a colored border around a selection or layer. This allows you to create a softer border than one created using the Stroke layer style. The Stroke layer style provides a resolution-independent method to stroke a shape. (See "Managing layered images" on page 173.) You can use the Stroke layer effect when you want to stroke the entire layer. If you want a quick way to create a stroke on the current layer-without necessarily following the edge of the layer-use the Stroke command. To stroke a selection or layer: 1 Specify a foreground color. (See "Choosing foreground and background colors" on page 74.) 2 Select the area or layer you want to stroke. 3 Choose Edit > Stroke. 4 In the Stroke dialog box, specify the width of the hard-edged border. Values can range from 1 to 16 pixels. 5 For Location, specify whether to place the border inside, outside, or centered over the selection or layer boundaries. 6 Specify an opacity and a blending mode. (See "Setting options for painting and editing tools" on page 147.) 7 If you're working in a layer and want to stroke only areas containing pixels, select the Preserve Transparency option. (See "Locking layers" on page 178.) 8 Click OK to stroke the selection or layer. Creating and editing patterns In addition to using the libraries of patterns provided with Photoshop Elements, you can create your own custom patterns. Once you've created patterns, you can save them in a library, then load and manage libraries of patterns using the Preset Manager. This allows you to easily use multiple patterns in an image. You can also use the pattern stamp tool to paint with a pattern. (See "Using the pattern stamp tool" on page 133). To create a custom pattern: 1 Make a rectangular selection around the part of the image you want to use as the pattern, or you can use the entire image. Note that large patterns may become hard to manage. 2 Choose Edit > Define Pattern. 3 Enter a name for the pattern in the Pattern Name dialog box. The pattern you defined is repeated as tiles within the selection. If you want to reuse patterns, you can create a library of defined patterns.