StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hi all, I'm beginning to feel a little more comfortable with Paint.Net (finally).. I still find it a not very 'user friendly' program like the late, great Microsoft Picture it!.. I loved Pic It!, but I can't get it to work with Vista and, as far as I know, Microsoft has no intentions of bringing an upgraded version out.. One thing I loved doing with photographs was blurring or softening the edges, making them almost invisible or kind of 'fogging' them.. It really made for a soft, romantic quality.. It was as easy to do with Picture it! as I find it difficult to do with PN.. In fact, I have not been about to get it to work in PN at all.. This is a shame for someone who loves to send lots of touched up family photos to everyone.. I'm always being asked how come I don't do that anymore.. So, I'm here begging for help.. Is there an easy way to do the same thing in PN? I've tried that Gaussian Blur but it does nothing for the edges of the photo.. In fact, I've tried everything I can think to do this, but nothing works.. Why would such a thing be so difficult to add to the program? In Pic It! It was a 2-step process, just click the button on 'soft edge' and move the slider to get whatever quality you wanted, what is so hard about adding this feature to PN? After all, you can do virtually the same thing with the overall photo itself, so why not the edges? Anyway, hope someone can tell me in plain ol' english how to accomplish this.. Thanks so much.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadeusX Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Have a look at this direction: viewforum.php?f=29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Look, I'm not looking to spend all day searching through a bunch of tutorials trying to find a quick answer to a quick question, please don't ask me to do that, I'm old and don't have forever, ok? I just want an answer to the question! Thank you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrochild Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Look, I'm not looking to spend all day searching through a bunch of tutorials trying to find a quick answer to a quick question, please don't ask me to do that, I'm old and don't have forever, ok? I just want an answer to the question! Thank you.. Wooooow... rude... ambigram signature by Kemaru [i write plugins and stuff] If you like a post, upvote it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Look, I'm not looking to spend all day searching through a bunch of tutorials trying to find a quick answer to a quick question, please don't ask me to do that, I'm old and don't have forever, ok? I just want an answer to the question! Thank you.. Wooooow... rude... Then you are misreading me entirely.. It's a request for help not a demand.. Thanks.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrochild Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I don't know if there are any plugins to do this automatically, but here's what you can do. Select the gradient tool, and set it to :AlphaChannel: transparency mode. Click from where you want the left edge to start fading and drag to where you want it to stop. Repeat for each edge, dragging the gradient toward the edge each time. Lemme know if you need pictures or more explanation and I'll do it up. "I'm old and don't have forever, ok? I just want an answer to the question!" If that's not rude, I'm a lobster. ambigram signature by Kemaru [i write plugins and stuff] If you like a post, upvote it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrochild Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I did a picture anyway. Click first, then :AllColorChannels: to switch it to :AlphaChannel: , then click from the base of each arrow to the point of it. ambigram signature by Kemaru [i write plugins and stuff] If you like a post, upvote it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 I don't know if there are any plugins to do this automatically, but here's what you can do. Select the gradient tool, and set it to :AlphaChannel: transparency mode. Click from where you want the left edge to start fading and drag to where you want it to stop. Repeat for each edge, dragging the gradient toward the edge each time.Lemme know if you need pictures or more explanation and I'll do it up. "I'm old and don't have forever, ok? I just want an answer to the question!" If that's not rude, I'm a lobster. Care to come to dinner? :twisted: Ok, I'll try that and let you know in a few.. Thanks, Hon, really.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrochild Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 My grandma is hooked on Picture It. We've tried a few times to get her to switch to something not so... obsolete, but she just refuses. It's a pain, 'cause you can't even install Picture It! on anything newer than XP Service Pack 2. She accidentally uninstalled it, and since she's running XP SP3 now, I had to do some ridiculous computer voodoo just to reinstall the thing. Not fun, but I got some moneys for it, so it was worth it ambigram signature by Kemaru [i write plugins and stuff] If you like a post, upvote it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 I do see what you saying, I think.. I managed to get the edges of my photo softened, but why do you have to do each edge at a time, save, and then repeat the process for the next edge, wouldn't it be much simpler to create a edge blur effect with a slider like they have for softening the entire photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadeusX Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I'm sure Pyrochild can come up whit a plugin like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 If you want this Try the Vignette plugin in this plugin pack : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26244 One thing I loved doing with photographs was blurring or softening the edges, making them almost invisible or kind of 'fogging' them.. Take a look at Focal Point too : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22919 edit: photo CC -> http://flickr.com/photos/monsieurlam/3192774488/ No. Way. I've just seen Bob. And... *poof!*—just like that—he disappears into the mist again. ~Helio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 There's Fade Edge too : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22881 edit: No. Way. I've just seen Bob. And... *poof!*—just like that—he disappears into the mist again. ~Helio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFC4EVER Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I think you need this: Fade Edge Hope it helped. EDIT: Bob got to it before me.. Argh.. :evil: ☆★☆★Merry Christmas★☆★☆  .::.My Gallery.::.Make Gold Text!.::. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 If you want this Try the Vignette plugin in this plugin pack : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26244 One thing I loved doing with photographs was blurring or softening the edges, making them almost invisible or kind of 'fogging' them.. Take a look at Focal Point too : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22919 edit: photo CC -> http://flickr.com/photos/monsieurlam/3192774488/ I looked at the photos that come with this plugin, but they don't seem to do what I'm asking for, they blur the whole picture or a piece of it, but I don't see where they soften the edges of the photos.. There was another plug in the did something similar but it seemed designed to blur the whole photo with the exception of a small center area.. :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I assume you're talking about Focal Point. What about the two others (which I provided examples in this thread)? No. Way. I've just seen Bob. And... *poof!*—just like that—he disappears into the mist again. ~Helio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 There's Fade Edge too : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22881edit: Yes, this is exactly what I want and I went and downloaded it, put the files in PN and now where do I find it exactly? :o (Just remember guys, you talking to a grandma here who knows little to nothing about using PN.. So have patience).. Thank you.. Lobster dinner for everyone when we're all through.. You bring the lobsters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrochild Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Yeah, there's already a plugin. Er, several. ambigram signature by Kemaru [i write plugins and stuff] If you like a post, upvote it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 where do I find it exactly? Effects Menu > Photo > Fade Edge. No. Way. I've just seen Bob. And... *poof!*—just like that—he disappears into the mist again. ~Helio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 where do I find it exactly? Effects Menu > Photo > Fade Edge. Well, I don't know why, they're in the PN folder, but they are not showing up when I open PN.. I'm now twice as confused.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Look at this thread : viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2023 No. Way. I've just seen Bob. And... *poof!*—just like that—he disappears into the mist again. ~Helio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 Look at this thread :viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2023 Yes, I already looked at this tread when the files didn't show up, thought maybe I didn't download it right.. There is no 'effects' folder in my computer under Paint.Net.. Only 3 folders are in there, file types, resources, staging.. All the other application files are just in the main folder.. I extracted these files to that and they are in there, but the apps don't come up when I open PN.. And I did close it before adding the files.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadeusX Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Are you using Windows XP or Windows Vista? Or something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarryKat Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 Are you using Windows XP or Windows Vista? Or something else vista.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadeusX Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I hope this picture will explain a little Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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