How to make a Picture Filmstrip

[cjmcguinness]

This tutorial is available as a PDF. Click here to view or download it

This tutorial will show you how to create a filmstrip style frame for your pictures.

You will need to download and install the Tube Oblique plugin to complete this tutorial.

This strip will be setup to contain images in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Start with a canvas size of 420w x 440h. Set your Primary colour to Black and fill the canvas.

EFFECTS > Add Noise: Intensity 64 (default), Colour Saturation 0.

EFFECTS > Blurs > Unfocus at 50px

ADJUSTMENTS > Sepia. This will give your 'filmstrip' a nice brownish camera film type of colour.

Using the Rectangle Select tool, draw a rectangle area that is 420px wide and 30px high, positioned 25px from the top of the canvas.

You can draw a base rectangle and use the Move Selection tool to resize and reposition. Use the information in the bottom right of the screen to get the correct size and position.

Create a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT+N).

Choose the Line/Curve tool, set Primary Colour to White, Secondary Colour to Black.

Set your Brush Width at 30 and your line style to Dotted.

Starting inside the left of your selected area, left-click and draw a line from left to right.

Now, with the dotted line still selected press CTRL+C to copy and CTRL+V to paste. By default the Move Selected Pixels tool will have been selected, so use the mouse to click and drag this selection to the bottom of the strip, make sure that it is offset 25px from the bottom.

Press CTRL+D to deselect and, EFFECTS > NOISE > Median: Radius 5, Percentile 50.

Use the rectangle select tool again and draw a rectangle that is 400 x 300 pixels, positioned 10,70 from the top left. Fill this rectangle white.

Select the Magic Wand tool and set the tolerance at 0%

Hold the SHIFT button and click in the main white area; this will highlight all the white areas.

Go to the Background layer and press Delete. You can now delete later 2.

Use the Rectangle Select tool and, holt the SHIFT key to draw a square about 100 x 100 pixels. Choose the Move Selection tool and, right-click to rotate the square to 45 degrees. Move the selected square to the bottom right of your canvas so that it is only covering a small potion in the corner measuring 20 x 20.

Press the Delete key to get rid of this corner. Repeat this process on the opposite corner.

Now, you need to decide how many frames are going to be in your film strip. I am going to do five here.

Set the Alpha Transparency of your Secondary Colour to 0 (zero). Then select IMAGE > Canvas Size.

Untick, Maintain Aspect Ratio and make sure the Anchor is set to Left.

You need to adjust the size of your canvas width depending on how many frames you want. I am using 5 frames, so I am changing the width of the canvas to 2100 (420x5).

Zoom out to 50% so you can see all the canvas. Now, use the Magic Wand tool again and, holding the SHIFT key click anywhere in transparent area, then press CTRL+I to invert selection.

Press CTRL+C to copy and CTRL+V to paste. Use the Move Selected pixels tool to move the selection to the right and position it.

Press CTRL+V again to paste another copy and move this into position. Repeat this another two times until the canvas is filled.

You'll need to have your filmstrip images prepared, cropped and resized to 400 x 300px.

Open each in a new image within PDN.

Go to your first image and press CTRL+A to select all and CTRL+C to copy.

Go back to your Filmstrip image and press CTRL+V to paste. Use the mouse and the arrow keys to position within the image window.

Repeat this by selecting your images one-by-one and copying them then returning to your filmstrip and pasting and positioning.

Press F4 to access the Layer Properties and set the Opacity at 230 (this will make your filmstrip slightly transparent) - this is optional.

Now, press CTRL+SHIFT+R to access the Canvas Size and, this time changing the Anchor to Bottom, change the canvas size to 2400 x 1200

EFFECTS > Distort > Tube Oblique: Horizontal 0, Vertical anything from 20 - 50, whichever suits best for your purpose.

You can now resize and or rotate your image to suit. Try producing multiple strips with different curvatures using the Tube Oblique effect and adjoin them to make a longer curved strip.

You can also add a Drop Shadow for effect - you will need the Drop Shadow plugin.

[BoltBait]

Nice use of the new line drawing mode. 8)

[jerkfight]

This is really good. So simple, yet good finish.

OFFTOPIC: cjmcguiness check your pms

[Bob]

Draw with a transparent color (ie its alpha = 0) instead of drawing with white and deleting it afterwards.

[The_Lionhearted]

Good stuff!

[cjmcguinness]

Draw with a transparent color (ie its alpha = 0) instead of drawing with white and deleting it afterwards.

Yes, good suggestion. That would have saved creating the extra layer.

You'd have to remember to change the Blending Mode to Overwrite as well.

[OmgWtfBbq]

Love it. Another great tut.

[toe_head2001]

Thanks. This is a very Useful tutorial.

Oh...I spelled Reel wrong

[flyby]

Once i created the box and go to use the dotted line style i can't . No where on mine can i find anywhere to change the line style, i have fill: then different things but in that there is nothing even remotely similiar to what you have.

can anyone point me in the right direction ?

Thankyou

[Down]

Do you have the newest version?

Great tutorial btw.

[cjmcguinness]

Once i created the box and go to use the dotted line style i can't . No where on mine can i find anywhere to change the line style, i have fill: then different things but in that there is nothing even remotely similiar to what you have.

can anyone point me in the right direction ?

Thankyou

flyby,

The ability to change the line style was introduced in v3.07b

A stable release of 3.07 is now available from the Paint.NET website

Download and install the latest version and you will have access to this feature.

[Mr.F]

Awsome tut, can't wait untill trying it myselfe

[flyby]

Ok ill download that one, thankyou for all this

[moc426]

Nice tutorial, new line tool's use is excellent in this.

[flyby]

I went to download it and it turns out i already had that version, and i still cant find that line thingy,

Can anyone help me ?

I really need to be able to do this just my luck i cant find it !!

[Down]

Look at the second screenshot.

[flyby]

Yeah i have looked at that, i have brush width, then fill ,

no line style there or anywhere that i can find.

[flyby]

Its ok i have found it , sory for all this !

Edit : is there any way to get the film strip to curve the other way ?

[OmgWtfBbq]

Yep just play around with the Rotate/Zoom tool

[Enormator]

Have you digital guys never seen a film? In Germany it's called a "Negativ". Not for no reason. The pictures should be negative for more realism.

[oma]

really loved this tut. very well done. managed to follow all the steps and the pictures showing each step were spot on.

My shaky hands had a trouble lining up the one negative square along the 2100 strip so just saved the one and then made new image canvas size to fit the five items and used photo flood fill and then removed the white.

was able to follow on from there with good results.

especially liked learning that I could make that 100 x 100 box and rotate never knew that before what a left click could give.

very good and useful all around.

two thumbs up.

OMA

[Kazooma]

When I have selected the white with the magic wand and got background and delete, it just does a white fill, it does not delete it. What am I doing wrong?

[cjmcguinness]

When I have selected the white with the magic wand and got background and delete, it just does a white fill, it does not delete it. What am I doing wrong?

When you are preparing to delete the white areas you should have 2 layers. The top layer has the white areas and the bottom layer is completely black.

Use the magic wand on the top layer, hold the [sHIFT] key and left-click to select all the white. Try this extra step... Uncheck the top layer so that it is not visible, you should now see the background (black) layer, with all the areas that were white still selected.

The focus will automatically change to the bottom layer - now press the Delete key. The selected areas should now be deleted and you should be able to see the checkerboard in the empty spaces.

Hope this helps

-CJ

[jcl3628]

sweet i'm going to try that soon

[Rubrica]

When I have selected the white with the magic wand and got background and delete, it just does a white fill, it does not delete it. What am I doing wrong?

Also, make sure that you're pressing the key that says "Delete" ,not just the backspace key.