Adobe 65089063 User Guide - Page 201

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 193 User Guide Apply edge effects You can use various techniques to treat the edges of a filter effect applied to only part of an image. To leave a distinct edge, simply apply the filter. For a soft edge, feather the edge, and then apply the filter. Apply filters to layers You can apply filters to individual layers or to several layers in succession to build up an effect. For a filter to affect a layer, the layer must be visible and must contain pixels- for example, a neutral fill color. (See "Filling a new layer with a neutral color" on page 180.) Apply backgrounds By applying filter effects to solid-color or grayscale images, you can generate a variety of backgrounds and textures. You might then blur these textures. Although some filters have little or no visible effect when applied to solid colors (for example, Glass), others produce interesting effects. You might try Add Noise, Chalk & Charcoal, Clouds, Conté Crayon, Craquelure, Difference Clouds, Glass, Grain, Graphic Pen, Halftone Pattern, Mezzotint, Mosaic Tiles, Note Paper, Patchwork, Pointillize, Reticulation, Rough Pastels, Sponge, Stained Glass, Texture Fill, Texturizer, and Underpainting. Improve image quality and consistency You can disguise faults, alter or enhance, or make a series of images look related by applying the same effect to each. Improving performance with filters Some filter effects can be memory intensive, especially when applied to a high-resolution image. You can use these techniques to improve performance: • Try out filters and settings on a small portion of an image. • Free up memory before running the filter by using the Purge command. (See "Correcting mistakes" on page 32.) • Allocate more RAM to Photoshop Elements. If necessary, exit from other applications to make more memory available to Photoshop Elements. • Try changing settings to improve the speed of memory-intensive filters, such as Lighting Effects, Cutout, Stained Glass, Chrome, Ripple, Spatter, Sprayed Strokes, and Glass filters. (For example, with the Stained Glass filter, increase cell size. With the Cutout filter, increase Edge Simplicity, or decrease Edge Fidelity, or both.) Choosing a filter effect The built-in filters are grouped into sets. In addition, any third-party filters installed appear at the bottom of the Filter menu. Artistic filters Achieve a painterly or special effect for a fine arts or commercial project. For example, use the Cutout filter for collages or type treatment. These filters replicate natural or traditional media effects. (See "Artistic filters" on page 195.)