Tutorial #2 : tracing an outline.

You can make your own outlines from copyright-free clipart : this tutorial uses a Victorian Angel clip but obviously you can use anything you like.

original clipart image

image outlined in black

outline in black

outline in colour

Step 1 : if using a Tube, open up a new image at a suitable size (this tutorial uses 150 x 150 pixels) and resize your tube to fit, or resize your image to around the same size, with settings Image - Resize - Resample using Pixel Resize.

Step 2 : open a new layer and select it. Zoom in to the image until you can see the pixels clearly - I usually use 500%. Begin tracing the outline of the image using the Paint Brush tool at 1 pixel, antialias unchecked, in whatever colour(s) you choose. Make sure the lines stay 1 pixel wide only - you can correct any errors with the erase tool, also set at 1 pixel width. The diagrams above show the effects with a black or dark grey outline and with outline colours according to the desired finished colours, which gives a softer effect.

Step 3 : close the background layer by clicking on the 'eye' icon, and select the pixel outline layer. Copy this layer and paste as a new image. If you haven't saved your work yet, save this image!