Lynny

Hi Guru's,

Here's a problem that I just can't find an answer to.

I want to make a calendar, and want the squares for the numbers evenly spaced. How would I first make the lines, then make them evenly spaced. I know I could use the guildlines, but figure there must be a better quicker way.

Lynny

kiwi

Make your rulers visible,make a new layer then using your line tool with black on white {turn off anti aliias setting} make your square shape you want with its sizing,then copy the layer and use the move tool and nudge into position beside the first one.Now merge layer 1 and 2 and copy the merged layer,position merge and copy again.It should not take you to long this way Lynny to get all the squares that you want ....thats the quickest way I can think of at the moment.


Stu.

Lynny

Ok thank you Stu, in PhotoImpact, which I started graphics in you selected all the layers, and could rightclick(Or do something) and choose to align evenly.... was hoping there was something like that....

How's Dunedin tonight, I've moved to Ch-ch and it's a nice warm evening up here.

Lynny

kiwi

Oooh ya PS has aligned to link,I think thats what its called



Ya it was nice and warm last night here as well.What I cant get over is one day is 25 - 28 degrees and the next is 9,then 20+ again?......but oh no theres no global warming eh,the ice caps in the Antartic have just decided to commit mass suicide on us



Stu.

Bacardi

There are other methods too. Alien methods (heheee [slick] ). Methods from the Dark Side 8[ ... Explaining is longer than doing.

First decide how big your calendar has to be. I take in my example squares of 100 pixels. I need six rows and seven columns. Then open a doc with exactly that size, 700x600 and with a transparant background.
And have your layers palette ready. Double click on the background to make it a layer.

Press D to set your foreground colour to black (assuming you want it black squares. If differently, choose one of your colours), Ctrl+A to select all and then Edit>Stroke to apply a thin stroke to the doc.


When you press M to take the selection tool, officially called the Marquee Tool, you can see in the Option Bar that there is a box for the Style. Click on the little arrow pointing downwards and choose Fixed. Now set the size of your square, here 100 vertical and 100horizontal.

Now click somewhere near the top left corner of your workspace, outside the doc. A selected square will appear in the top-left corner of your doc. Press Alt+Delete to fill it with black (or your foreground colour). Keep it selected.

Copy this layer.

Go to Filter>Other>Offset and fill the double of your size in vertically (here 200). A second black square appears as by magic.
Copy this second layer and press Ctrl+F to reapply the offset filter. You now have five rows: three black ones, and two white ones in between. Correct? No: you also have a third white row below the last black square.

Now click the arrow top-right of the layers palette and choose Merge Visible. Your three squares are on one layer. Copy this layer. Go to the offset filter dialog and fill in the size of your square for horizontal and vertical. (here 100 and 100) You now have a second row of your checkerboard.

Once again you merge these two visible layers and now you apply the offset filter 200 horizontally. Copy this new layer and press Ctrl+F once again, and repeat this a fourth time. The last squares fall outside the document.

To get rid of all the layer info that falls outside the doc, press Ctrl+A to select all, Inverse Selection and Delete.

Create one more layer, fill it with the colour of your fancy and place it at the bottom of the lot. Then Flatten Image.



Another method would be to make a pattern, but that is something someone else can explain. Patterns may be quicker, but this method I described is quick, and you do practise a lot of uncommon tricks.

Have fun!

wbiss

You're right, Erik... the explaining takes longer than the actual doing! Good method too, using the offset filter. One I had never thought of!

I've made many calendars and have always simply used guides, along with the single row/column marquee tool.

Good Luck Lynny!

Bacardi

It becomes very funny when you Make a checkerboard like this with simple black and white. Then copy it to the clipboard.

Now open a photograph of the same size (or resize in PS), and then a second one. With the move tool drag the second photograph on the first one. see that they are adjusted.

Now press the second icon from the left at the bottom of the layers palette to add a layer mask. Alt-click on the mask icon to show the (now white) mask. Now just Ctrl+V to paste your checkerboard on the mask, re-activate the normal layers (click on the icon) and whooshhh: you have a checkerboard of two photographs...

Ahhh...and suppose you have made black squares on your layers, and you want to change their colour: just lock transparancy in the layers palette, and you gan paint and doodle with the balck without affecting the transparant other squares.

etc etc etc...

Lynny

Wow, thank you. It sounds complecated, but I'll try it one step at a time and see how it works out, thank you so much for explaining

Lynny

Lynny

Hi Again.... well I couldn't get what you said to work BUT...... I used the offset in a same way on the stroke, and when it appeared used the magic wand and selected the background, hit delete, and them copied the stroke line that was left and did the offset thingy, it took a bit of mucking around, but eventually I got equal lines down and across, then merged it. so I had what I wanted, so thank you [righton] And as a bonus found a use for the offset option.

Lynny

Bacardi

I like it even more that you found your own solution. being creative is the only way to grow.
Apart from that: I assumed you were looking for a way to make some kind of checkerboard...

Indeed: a pattern or a brush would have been much easier here...