CorelDRAW x5 basics: the viewing modes (7) - Pixels View

The Pixels view viewing mode allows you to see the pixel-based version of your drawing. By using this viewing mode it's easier for you to position the objects of your drawing more precisely; in addition, this viewing mode will help you to see how your drawing will look like when you'll save it into a bitmap format.

To activate this viewing mode go to View and choose Pixels. When the Pixels viewing mode is activated, the Snap to Pixels option will become active, too.

The Pixels view viewing mode is very useful especially when you are working with very large or very complex drawings; it is also useful when you are working with paths and you want to precisely adjust the curves. When the Pixels view viewing mode is active, if you choose a magnification level equal or greater with 800% the Pixel Grid will be automatically activated (sometimes you might find this option annoying, so I'll show you how you can disable and enable it when you need to). When you move the cursor around the grid various snap points (namely, pixel corner, pixel edge and pixel center) appear, allowing you to gain a batter control over your drawing.

If you want to customise the Pixel Grid go to Tools -> Option (shortkey: CTRL + J) and choose Document -> Grid. In the dialog box which is displayed you can choose how the Pixel Grid will be displayed (as lines or as dots) and how "dense" the grid should be. You can also activate and deactivate the following options: Snap to grid, Snap to pixel and Show pixel grid at 800% and higher zoom. CorelDraw offers you the possibility to change either the colour of the grid or/and the grid's opacity (use this option to avoid the inconvenient situation when your drawing and the grid have the same colour).

Learn how to create a simple winter frame for your photos in Photoshop (3)

You can read the first two parts of this tutorial by clicking on the links below:
Learn how to create a simple winter frame for your photos in Photoshop (1)
Learn how to create a simple winter frame for your photos in Photoshop (2)

When you're done with the configuration of the brush, open the Paths panel and select the previously drawn path. With the path selected, click the Stroke path with brush button located in the lower part of the panel (see the image below). Click this button several times until you obtain the desired frame:

When you are satisfied with the result, you can delete the path, because you'll no longer need it:

Open again the Layers panel. Press and hold down the CTRL key and click on the frame layer's icon to select the frame (see the image below):

Keep the selection active, turn off the frame's layer and select the layer beneath it (which should be the photo's layer). Press and hold down the Alt key and click on the Add layer mask button (seee the image below):

Click on the photo's layer icon. Click the Add a layer style button and choose the Inner glow option from the styles list. Turn on the preview option to preview the changes you're going to make. Set the colour to black and the blending mode to Normal. Adjust the size and the opacity and click OK when you're done.

The final step: remove some of the white margin. Select the Crop tool from the toolbox (shortcut key: C). Click one of the Crop Handles and drag it inward. Press and hold down the Shift and the Alt keys to crop the image from it's center and to preserve the image's aspect ratio. Press Enter to crop the image.