Working with Tools in Paint Shop Pro 8 - Foreground and Background Colors

In Paint Shop Pro, there are two colors you can select: a foreground color and a background color. You can combine the color with a pattern, gradient, or texture to create a material, as you'll learn in upcoming tasks. In this task, you'll learn how to choose just the color you want to work with.

With a painting tool, the foreground material is applied when you press the left mouse button; if you press the right mouse button, the background material is applied instead. When you create a shape using the Preset Shapes tool, the foreground material is the stroke color (outline), and the background material is the fill (the interior color). If you insert text with the Text tool, the text is filled with the background material and is outlined or stroked with the foreground material.

1. Click a Color Box

   To change the foreground color, click the Foreground Color box in the Materials palette. To change the background color, click the Background Color box. The Color dialog box appears.

2. Choose a Color from the Color Wheel

   There are several ways in which you can choose the color you want. The most common method is to click the Color Wheel to select the hue you want, and then drag the Saturation and Lightness slider boxes to adjust those characteristics for the hue.

   ---

   Tip - Choose a color without displaying the Color dialog box by clicking the color in the Available Colors panel in the Materials palette. Left-click to choose a foreground color; right-click to choose a background color. Notice that white, black, and three shades of gray are displayed at the bottom of the panel.

   ---

3. OR Choose a Color from the Basic Colors Panel

   A list of commonly used colors is displayed below the Color Wheel, in the Basic Colors panel. To select one of these common colors, click its box.

4. OR Choose a Color by Entering Its Value

   Another way to choose a color is to enter its RGB or HSL values in the appropriate boxes. You can also enter the HTML value for a color in the HTML box.
   
   

   Figure 3.21

5. OR Choose a Color from the Image

   Move the mouse pointer over the image; it turns into a dropper. Click anywhere on the image to select that color.

   ---

   Tip - You can select a color from anywhere on the screen—even the Windows desktop. To do that, move the mouse pointer over a Color or Materials box on the Materials palette, then press and hold the Ctrl key. Move the mouse pointer anywhere on the screen and click to select a screen color.

   ---

6. Click OK

   As you change color settings in the Color dialog box, the corresponding color is displayed in the Current box. Click OK to change the foreground/background color.

This chapter is from Paint Shop Pro 8, by Jennifer Fulton, (Sams, 2004, ISBN: 0672323893). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now.

Next: Gradients >>
 

More Graphic Design Articles
More By Sams Publishing

Comments On: Working with Tools in Paint Shop Pro 8

>>> Be the FIRST to comment on this article!