--| Brushworks Tutorials |-- - Pg 5, PicsArt basic blending - Page 3

Okay, hola, y'all!

So, I was asked if I could do something on Android softwares. And I said, okay, let's go for it. I am terrible at making edits on Pixlr, the resident expert here is LakshMila, Mili. So I picked PicsArt, though I am bad at that too, and the person you really need to ask is Mahi, she is amazing. You can find her gallery somewhere around too.

I am starting with a basic 2 pic signature, blended, text and maybe some after effects, as well.

So, according to me, picsart is one of the easiest softwares you can get on Android. Blending is very very easy. So get downloading. You also have PicsArt on PCs if you use Windows, but I would rather use PS on the PC. Anyhoo.

Step 1: So firstly, after you open the app, there is a +' button at the bottom of your screen. Hit it. It will open a menu from which you need to choose Collage' and then Freestyle'. It will ask you to pick the pictures you want, and you can choose upto 10. Scroll around and pick the images you need to. My sincere advice is to keep them at the top because it is a pain to search for the pictures. :|

Step 2: Now that you picked the images you want, you will get a white background, and minuscule, thumbnail sized images. Do not worry; you will be able to expand it. Tap each image, resize by pinching. Position it as you wish. As I am doing only 2, I place them side by side. When you tap the image, you will have an eraser button at the top. Tap it to erase around where you need the pics to blend.

Step 3: Once you are happy with the blending, tap the forward arrow on the right top corner of your screen. If you would like to, you can change the background from the background options. I am keeping mine white.

Step 4: Crop the excess areas. I have the ugly white background, so I will crop that off. Tap the tools logo and select crop. There is something called free crop, but we will stick to the standard, rectangular stuff.

Step 5: Now you have removed the unwanted stuff, you need to add effects. Choose fx' and play around with what you think will be good. I used Drama' with overlay blend mode. You need to try everything out because what looks good on one picture need not on another. (In general, avoid using darken, multiply and overlay/soft light/hard light for darker pics, and screen, light, add, for brighter pics. It will spell disaster.)

Step 6: (optional): You may add a mask. Swipe right down on the options, and pick mask. You have different types, like light, bokeh, etc. Pick any one, and play around with the blend mode and opacity and you will finally be satisfied with how it looks. You could also add some effect like oil painting, if you wish. Pick the Artistic' option, and run wild. (It really is about experimenting.)

Step 7: Add your text. There is a set of preinstalled fonts, and there are text effects like bend, stroke and shadow. Find the font and colour (there is a colour picker) and effect that suits you.

Step 8: After all this, press the forward arrow. There are a variety of options to save/share. I would say save it because you after all don't want this effort to go down the drain, do you?

There you are.