Need help on a project NYC

A place to talk about anything else with other Pixelmator users.
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2018-05-19 03:21:00

Could use a tutor on pixelmator pro for a photo project.
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2018-05-19 08:22:41

Hi Rick.

I'm happy to lend a hand with any questions you have (so long as they lie within my skillset). I'm going to be on and off the computer all weekend so should be able to give a fairly fast response for the next two days (UK time zone). That should, at least, get you started.

If you're happy with that, ask away below, in the unofficial Pixelmator Discord (https://discord.gg/wsJukbr), or choose another forum. If you're happy to do this in a public forum you may even get some more people helping out.

Hope this helps.

- Stef.
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2018-05-19 09:57:24

Hello and thank you! I need to take a group of pens lined in a row and re position each one so they appear lined up. I then need to change the background, and also crop 5 different sizes.
Thank you!
Rick
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2018-05-19 10:17:39

You're welcome.

First things: Image size. If you're exporting at different sizes, you don't want to compromise the output. I tend to size either to final output or 2x final output to give me a margin of error. Since you're using (I assume) an existing bitmap as the background, take that into consideration. If that is close to 1x or 2x maximum export, I'd start by using the background to start the project. Just drag it onto the Pix Pro icon in the launch bar to start.

'Pens lined in a row' could hide a mountain of complexity. My gut feel is the Draw tool (P). It's a vector tool will work fine at different resolutions (but it doesn't scale its thickness with any changes in image size). 'Lined in a row' could mean anything :grinning: but if you turn the rulers on (View > Rulers or ⌘R), you can drag guides from the rulers onto the image. You can also change the snapping behaviour by looking at Properties (⌘,) and looking in the Rulers tab.

Exporting five different sizes: If you use the pen tool in the image, I'd recommentd exporting then resizing. That can wait until later, though.

Good luck, and feel free to ask about anything that crops up as you work.

- Stef
(edit) P.S. Re-reading my post I realise that I'm running at a mile a minute. If you need me to slow down and get into detail on any of these points, just let me know.
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2018-06-09 00:29:30

When I save raw photos they are about 25MB. When I import and work on in PP and then save as a JPeg the size drops to KB's. How can I save at a higher quality?
Thank you,
Rich
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2018-06-09 06:59:19

Hi Rich.

You should expect a significant size drop between a RAW file and a JPEG of the same dimensions. RAW files typically have more than 8 bits per pixel and little to no compression.

JPEGS use 'lossy compression' where they discard some image informaton to give a really small file size. You can adjust the amount of compression by changing the quality setting when you export. Click on the indicated arrow in the export dialog to reveal the quality setting.
Image

If you want to avoid lossy compression completely, you can export using a file format that compresses losslessly. PNG files use a lossless compression algorithm and will also preserve any transparency in your image. TIFF files are typically uncompressed which can make file sizes high but, they, too, can be losslessly compressed like PNGs. I tend to use PNGs as my output format for pretty much anything as they use a good lossless compression algorithm, preserve transparency and can be opened by almost anything, including web browsers.

Finally if you need super-dooper fidelity to your RAW file you can use 16-bits per channel in Pixelmator Pro. To give any benefits at all, this would need to be activated right at the beginning of your project, before you do any work on the image. I'd only use this if I'm doing heavy colour manipulation on a RAW file or if I'm working on an image that is going to be gallery hung. Historically, from my use of other graphics programs, I've learnt that not all effects will be available to a 16-bit per channel image and processing times for any effect will be significantly longer. I don't know how well-behaved Pixelmator Pro is in that regard as I haven't needed to use this feature yet (although a quick test suggests most if not all will work).

Hope this helps.

- Stef.