CHAPTER 7 TIPS AND HINTS X-SPECS 3D COMPATIBILITY Digi-Paint 3 is compatible with the X-Specs 3D manufactured by Haitex,Inc. Digi-Paint 3 can be used to draw in thee dimensions while using X-Specs. You must be in interlace mode for 3D drawing to work. The X-Specs create 3-D by using alternate lines in the interlace mode for display to the left eye and the right eye;the display is synchronized with very fast LCD shutters in the eyeglasses. The left eye sees the even lines,the right eye sees the odd lines. Press * to turn on the X-Specs(press e to turn them off). Press the left parentheses key (Shift-9) to draw for the left eye;press the right parentheses key(Shift-0)to draw for the right eye. Create 3D effects by first pressing "shift-9" and pasting down a brush. Then move it to one side about 5 to 10 pixels away,press "shift-0" and paste it down for the other eye. Varying the amount of separation between the two views creates a greater or lesser impression of depth. Some experimentation will show you how to get the best use out of this feature. WORKING WITH DIGI-VIEW GOLD First of all,Digi-Paint 3 is the perfect companion to NewTek's Digi-View Gold video digitizer.(If you don't already own Digi-View Gold,it's a combination of hardware and software fo your Amiga that allows you to "digitize" objects or pictures using a video camera,thus bringing the images into your Amiga.) Digi- Paint 3 reads in any Digi-View picture,and can be used to touch up,edit or combine such pictures. The Rub Thru mode is particularly useful to merge two Digi-View pictures using the Transparency controls. Combine a digitized picture of yourself or your friends with digitized pictures of the rich and famous. See what you'd look like with different hair color or even a different hair style. Or,for more commercial applications,you can digitize products and alter their appearance to help make design decisions. Digi-Paint 3 now give you the capability to edit the lifelike images you get from Digi-View,which lets you get more out of your Digi-View. RESOLUTION MODES Digi-Paint 3 can load files of any resolution mode created by Digi-View. Hi-res images(640x200 or 640x400)are re-rendered into HAM mode using a sophisticated algorithm that creates an amazingly crisp picture. This conversion process uses the Dithering currently selected;you may get better results with some pictures by using patterm Dithering or no Dithering at all. RAW FILES Digi-Paint 3 cannot directly utilize Digi-View's raw RGB files. You must first use the Transfer 24 software to load in the RGB file and save it in any standard Amiga IFF resolution. You can also take the opportunity to manipulate the file with the image processing tools available in the program. 59 NORMAL PICTURE TO OVERSCAN The resizing technique covered in tutorial #4 can be used to convert a standard size pictue to overscan size. Set the screen size to one of the overscan settings(say 384x240). Then load in a 320x200 picture. Select the entire picture as a brush,and save it using Copy This Brush. Then use TxMap mode with Smoothing on an draw out a new rectangle to the limits of the 384x240 Canvas. Select the View command from the Picture menu to see the results. CURING FLICKER Interlace pictures can sometimes suffer from flickering. Use TxMap mode to remove flicker. Select the picture as a brush,select Copy This Brush from the Brush Swap menu,select TxMap mode and turn on Smoothing. Then select the Filled Rectangle drawing mode and single pixel brush. Drag out the rectangle making it either slightly larger or smaller than the original. The flicker in the repainted image will be greatly reduced or gone. ADVANCED PERSPECTIVE The directions in the Perspective Tutorial give you a quick way to get perspective effects. For even better results,pick up the image you get at the end of the tutorial as a custom brush,use Copy This Brush,then use the Horizontal Warping with Warp Amount at medium at stamp it down again. Then Repeat using Darken mode with Transparency horizontally at the front to darken the rear edge of the brush and not the front edge. PERSPECTIVE FILL SCREEN Use the Tiling Controls set to 9 by 9,use TxMap to draw a rectangle covering the bottom two-thirds of the screen,with Warp Amount set to high,and the Horizontal Warping at the bottom of the Warping Locator. This gives you the effect of the brush receding off into the distance. MAKING NON-INTERLACED PICTURES INTERLACED Load a non-interlaced picture(for example,let's say 320x200). After the picture is loaded go to the Size requester(from the Picture menu)and click the Interlace button,the OK. The screen is redisplayed as interlace with the picture in the upper half of the screen. Select the whole picture as a custom brush and copy the brush. Select TxMap mode and draw out a new rectangle that covers the whole screen. For even better results,turn on the Smoothing control. LARGE TILES To get more than 9 copies of a brush in a Tile,use Tiling again on the brush. For example,if you want 12 copies of a brush vertically and horizontally,cut out the custom brush,copy it,then activate TxMap and set the Tiling Controls to 6 by 6. Then stamp down the brush,click Scissors and click Repeat,then copy this new brush and select 2 by 2 tiling,then stamp down the new brush. MULTIPLE COLOR RANGES To create color gradations with more than two main colors(and their intermediate shades),use Range Colors in Range mode to draw part of what you want. Then set a new Range Color. For instance,if you want a range from red to yellow to blue in a rectangle,set a red to yellow range,draw half the rectangle, then set a yellow to blue range and draw the other half of the rectangle. 60 REVERSE RANGE TEXT This effect uses Range Colors to bring out text against a background of the same range. Select Range mode,then choose the Horizontal Hotspot and drag it to the bottom of the Hotspot Locator in the Controls section of the Toolbox. Go to the Text section and type in the title you want(a large display font works the best;at least 24 point). When the text appears,select Copy This Brush from the Swap sub-menu in the Brush menu. Go to the Controls and move the Horizontal Hotspot to the top of the Hotspot Locator. Now go to the Tools and select the Filled Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle about the size of the text you created(it can be larger or smaller,if you prefer). Now select TxMap mode from the mode menu and click Repeat. If you like,turn on the Smoothing in the Controls menu before doing this. You now have text against a background where the same color range goes in opposite directions. MISCELLANEOUS TIPS If you're not getting what you expect when you draw,check to see what Drawing Mode you're in,or see if you've left the Transparency controls on. Press the Tab key to return Digi-Paint 3 to its default settings. The right mouse button cancels any operation in progress. Since Digi-Paint 3 draws things from the top down,this feature can be used to draw only the top half of a brush or a shape. Remember,with Merge Picture,the whole back picture is the paint that can act on the front picture with any of the Mode menu features. Try bringing a picture into the front using Transparency controls for a "soft-focus" effect. The effects of Blur mode can be adjusted using the Transparency controls and the Dithering controls. When not in use with Range mode,the Range colors can be set up to hold a spread of colors that you'll be using often. Files can be opened by double-clicking on the file name and aborted by clicking and holding the left mouse button. Using the keyboard shortcuts saves time. When you find yourself reaching for the same icon or menu item for the hundredth time,look in Appendix A for a keyboard shortcut. Painting with two hands is faster than painting with one hand. Freehand drawing works rapidly,but if you release the mouse button and draw again before the "Zz" cursor disappears,Digi-Paint 3 considers that as part of the original brush stroke. A single Undo will remove all such paint from the screen. This can be used to sign your name of the screen with Freehand drawing, and then clear your name off the screen by clicking Undo. When you hold down the right mouse button to display the menus,the program's copyright information is displayed at the bottom of the screen. More importantly,the current picture size and custom brush size are also shown. 61