Glows, borders and film frames in Paint by Zaweba
Bloom, Soft Glow, rounded corners, film frames, coffee stains, fog and broadcast-safe colour: the finishing filters in Paint by Zaweba.
A finished picture often needs one last touch: a glow to lift the light, a border to frame it, or a bit of atmosphere. The photographic and decor filters in Paint by Zaweba are built for these final steps, along with two practical filters for people who prepare images for video.
Glows
Bloom spreads light out from the brightest parts of the picture, the way a camera lens flares softly around bright windows, lamps and sunlit edges. A little bloom makes evening scenes and backlit portraits feel warmer and more luminous. Soft Glow brightens and softens the whole picture, giving a dreamy, romantic look that suits weddings and flowers. Gloom is the opposite mood, a darker, moodier glow from the shadows.
Glows are easy to overdo. Apply them on a duplicate layer and lower its opacity, or use Edit > Fade straight after, until the effect is felt rather than seen.
Borders and corners
Add Border puts a plain border around the picture. Round Corners softens the corners, which makes screenshots and product photos look friendlier on web pages and in presentations. Fuzzy Border fades the edges into an irregular, soft edge, a vintage look for old-style photo cards.
Film Frame puts the picture inside a strip of film with sprocket holes, a fun touch for event photos and collages.
Before adding a border, crop and straighten the picture. A border makes a crooked horizon very obvious.
Atmosphere
Coffee Stain adds rings and splashes like a mug left on paper, for a well-used, handmade feel on recipe cards, old maps and invitations. Fog lays a soft haze over the picture, adding depth to landscapes or mystery to a forest scene. Masking fog so it is thicker in the distance and thinner in the foreground makes it far more believable.
For video and broadcast
De-interlace repairs frames grabbed from interlaced video, where moving objects show comb-like lines, by rebuilding the picture from one set of lines. If you take stills from old camcorder footage or a TV recording, this is the filter that makes them usable.
Broadcast Safe limits colours to the ranges that NTSC or PAL television can show. Very saturated reds and bright whites can bleed or flicker on broadcast equipment, so graphics headed for television or older video systems are often checked this way.
Getting the best from finishing filters
These filters work best as the final layer of a picture rather than in the middle of editing. Do your crop, tone and colour work first, then add glows and borders, then sharpen if you need to. A border added before resizing will change thickness when the picture is scaled, so add borders at the final size.
Combine with Layer Art when you want something editable. A filter changes pixels; a Layer Art stroke or glow stays live. Use the filter for a one-off image and Layer Art for templates you will reuse.
Mistakes to avoid with finishing filters
Stacking several decorative effects on one picture, such as a glow, a fuzzy border, a coffee stain and fog, quickly looks cluttered. Pick the one that serves the picture. Applying Round Corners and then saving as JPEG leaves the corners filled with a solid colour, since JPEG has no transparency; save as PNG if you need clear corners.
Small as they are, these finishing filters save time on everyday jobs in Paint by Zaweba, from blog images to printed cards.
