Apollo702

I need to start watching more of these contests for inspiration! The things that you all are creating are 😮!

Thank you! For many years I had no idea how much fun this could be!

Here is my first attempt.

OK, I had been improving and perfecting my headline bars and the final results came out better than I had expected. I started using them and those results came out well and I even replaced a few recent new ones. So it was time to create some more and then one of the most basic ones(my orange one) won't pull up and also it's 2 latest creations. In the Headlines folder where I put them also the same 3 now show a FastStone placeholder graphic. When attempting to pull them up it gives this error: Application version: paint.net 4.1.6 System.ArgumentException: Parameter is not valid. at System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(Stream stream, Boolean useEmbeddedColorManagement, Boolean validateImageData) at PaintDotNet.Data.PngFileType.OnLoad(Stream input) in D:\src\pdn\src\PaintDotNet\Data\PngFileType.cs:line 114 at PaintDotNet.FileType.Load(Stream input) in D:\src\pdn\src\Data\FileType.cs:line 496 at PaintDotNet.Functional.Func.Eval[T1,TRet](Func`2 f, T1 arg1) in D:\src\pdn\src\Base\Functional\Func.cs:line 158

I can breathe a little easier. When I see some of the kinds of things people are creating though...

How did I miss all these awesome plugins? Last year I went on a binge and thought that I got almost all of them. That plugin answers an old question. I had been wondering how to do gradients with multiple colors. Previously I would do things like layers and then put them together. Not long ago I needed multiple gradients for a guide I was writing and I got what I was looking for the harder way. I had never attempted anything like it and my first attempt came up with this one: Yeah! That is exactly what I was looking for. I have been experimenting with them and I think that I don't want the gradient to be too strong. That image above has just enough. I started using these in 2015 and lately I have been wondering about tinkering with them. I have tried a number of options, used a ton of functions and came up with some variations- and I am still debating this one. When I use them the default is orange. Then I use the other colors for different subtopics and moods. In 2105 I didn't even know what the color wheel was- but since I primarily write in green ink most of them are there to contrast with it from the other side of the wheel. I guess I stumbled onto that one and got lucky. Here are a couple of alternate designs that I tried tonight: Usual style: Experimental 1: Experimental 2: I am really debating this one and I might keep playing around with it...

Yeah. I kinda was thinking about doing something like that anyways. Not only do I need a backup of it- but I also will be migrating away from this backup computer back to my main rig and will be transferring a lot of files around. If I have time, maybe I will do some testing and see what happens.

I always thought that you sound experienced. I was laying out different recreations of past steps to see if maybe that was causing any changes. Now maybe the 2 versions is it. Perhaps I had the wrong variable. Now I am going to steeple my hands and do my best Mr. Spock: "There seems to be an error in my logic. I shall attempt to reexamine...." (Add in one eyebrow raise^)

Hmmm. Maybe try my procedure and see if it gives different results(assuming that you do it differently.) That seems to indicate that procedures could be in play. Other methods that I have used: I have DLed the plugins, opened the(created sub-folder) in my downloads just for them, used PeaZip to unzip them in there and then either copied and pasted into C/program files/PDN/Effects. Or Dragged and dropped the DLL files into C/program files/PDN/Effects. I need to take a food break- but maybe I could try doing it each way and see if the results change. I will BBS. Also, I grabbed a screenshot of the most important part:

PDN was running in the background I then switched windows. I always have it running in the background because I may need to use it at any moment(more and more lately) and 99+% of the time I have the same programs and folders running. I keep one maximized window to focus on and then switch around between them as needed. For me(and most people), that is the fastest flow. Others may have their own style... With the plugins, the procedure was identical. Find the plugin, DL it, Right click and tell PeaZip to "Extract to"(with PDN's Effects folder path saved as a bookmark) and then switch to PDN to check and see if the new plugin is there or not. If it is- I then usually do a quick test to see just what it can do. I really am amazed at all the firepower out there! Anybody who says PDN isn't that powerful just needs to get some of these plugins and see what kinds of goodness there is... Also, I just did a 4th plugin "NeonEdges" and it did not start right away. The pattern remains. Some do, some don't.

For that one it was just a straight download and then I used PeaZip to extract it right into the effects folder. I switched to PDN, pulled up effects and tried it on a test image and everything worked! Having said that, I just did the exact same procedure with Cell Texture and it did not show up right away. At this very moment I just restarted PDN and there that one was ready to go. So one required a restart. The other didn't. UPDATE: I just did a 3rd one. I found an old Align plugin and it also did not require a restart. It's pretty clear. Most don't require a restart, some do.

It's confirmed. I am reading a bunch of other threads and one mentioned using Emboss+. I just put it in the Effects folder and there it was ready to go- and no restart.

I like more old school icons- but the new set definitely works so it's not a criticism . Everyone has their thing. That really is the nature of good open source tech. The program "as downloaded" often times is best as a cheese pizza. You then can pick out the toppings you like as add-ons/extensions/plugins... If you really explore open source tech and max it out many people can have the exact same program and it ends up dramatically different for different people and how they use it. I have some very strong preferences and opinions- but it is a free country. And, who knows? What if others have found some other source of goodness that I haven't yet? There is so much to harvest!

OT: @ RIck Brewser. Is that Tesla 100% PDN?!?!? If it is- WOW!

Just speaking for myself and my flow here. I also do tons of resizes to get just the right sizes, ratios, perspectives...and I have found manual resizing(often times while holding Shift) easy and quick. YMMV.

OK- but I don't remember always having transparency as secondary. Would it be possible to put that as an option? I have a few consistent shadow schemes. In most the light source is top left so I make a lot of consistent designs for my prime tasks. Lately, i just break out the magic wand and delete the extra section- unless in some rare cases in which it matches the image too closely and then I would go in and manually change the secondary to alpha. The secondary color isn't an overwhelming thing. Alpha default would be a convenience IMO.

I am back. The Manual Recolor is there, working and that one is a nice simple one. Also, I previously had not had the occasion to use Invert Colors correctly. The few times I had used it were on excessively too white/black and also attempting to create reverse effects for bevels. Each time I got something- but not at all what I was looking for. Now I see it. It's a great quick color wheel flipper! BTW HyReZ. Nice twisty arrow up there. I like that. Maybe I need to look into designing some of my own with a twist???

OK, I have observed a recent PDN behavior change. When doing canvas resizing it seems to have started putting secondary color in the new canvas area. Before it was always blank. While on the subject of canvas resizing: With my color bars(like the one that just got recreated) I always do a (top/left) canvas resize and then add a (bottom right)drop shadow when they are finalizing. Over the years I would always also keep GIMP open and use it for drop shadows because it did automatic resizing with shadows. Then I would switch back to PDN to crop it out. Now I do all of that purely on PDN. Would shadows adding automatic resizing with be a tough thing to add?

Maybe I was getting lucky. When I started kicking up my art skills I went on a plugin installation binge and I would start using tons of them right away. I still do many things manually- but wow! Now it's more about coming up with a concept and then just bam bam bam! Use one function after another and I always end up with something even better than I thought was possible. It can be FUN!

Maybe the restart is the missing step. Most install without it- but maybe not this one. Right now I have a few open projects and I am also going to create another post with some issues there.

Grrrrr. The new one isn't the match that I thought it was. I declared victory too soon. Thanks to both of you for being on it. I am also going to download that other plugin and play with that too. I can't seem to get that plugin to install. I tried twice. The first time I renamed the file(and then .zip) The next time I left it as originally named as a random series of numbers(.zip) and neither are showing up. It has 3 DLL files in place- and nothing is showing up in PDN. I think that I have a darn-near one. I used a few tools such as Color Tint, Hue & Saturation and one of the 2 Curves plugins. A couple of them were doing too much to the gradient and I had to keep fiddling around. I really like the last one and I am going to test it out and see if truly is it or not. .

I just finished a food break and came back. Thanks for the reply. Yeah, when adjusting the saturation that definitely started altering the gradient. I am going to go ahead and try that idea and see how it goes. It was close. That isn't it though. It looks a lot like my close other attempts. I am going to play around with it some more. I may have gotten it virtually identical. I put 2 of them up in layers and kept adjusting till they were looking like clones. All I needed to do was darken it by about 13 points. YES!!! Creative Note: I made the original in 2015 and I did use a narrow gradient(and a few other goodies) at a time in which I barely knew what such things were. I have a series of writings and in the 2012/13 series and then later in the 2014 series I would write in Verdana 14 bold in orange as subtopic headers. I needed something to break things up. One night I was taking a break from the writing and playing a video game and one of the sounds gave me the idea that the writing should be a bar and then put white writing on it. There is a term that is escaping me for when senses cross- and this was one of those moments. Then the 2015 series got a big visual format boost. Only later on did I start creating variations on the bar for different kinds of subtopics. With that I was able to kick things up another notch.

I screwed up. I use a number of images repeatedly as a template and then I write on them. For one of them I named it poorly when saving it which left me with no original. Of course, this was a relatively newer creation and I didn't have it backed up. The original is orange and I need to recreate the light blue version of it. I tried messing with hue and saturation and maybe I missed the values. I got some that were close- but they weren't exactly it. I am stuck here and I can't quite figure out how to nail this one. I will put up a light blue version with writing on it as a reference.

So that sounds pretty embedded. Also, as a side note; I spent a while testing Plex and Kodi and I found Kodi superior for a number of reasons. PDN is something I absolutely have to have and Kodi is on the rise for me. I guess that it is time to close out some projects and put that update back. This deal appears to be sealed. Thanks to everyone for responding. How about some puppies to brighten up your night/morning?