Monday, September 8, 2008 1:46 PM
Picasa 3 (beta) features an entirely new and expanded collage maker that you can use to create pixel-perfect masterpieces suitable for printing or just sharing online. There are six different collage "themes" to play with, ranging from a simple contact sheet to a "Picture Pile" theme that gives you complete freedom to arrange, resize and rotate pictures on a background of your choice. It's kind of like a virtual scrapbook.
If you're feeling like your composition skills aren't quite up to the task (or if you're just feeling lazy), press the "Scamble Collage" button and Picasa will even rearrange the collage for you automatically. There a lots of document sizes to choose from, including the most common photo, paper, and desktop screen sizes. This makes it easy to create postcards, CD covers, or even posters with just a few clicks. Try this:
That's all it takes to create a collage image like this:
- Select a folder of pictures and press the Collage button
- Choose "Mosaic" in the collage theme drop list
- Choose "8.5 x 11: letter paper" in the Page Format drop list (or whatever size you want)
- Press "Shuffle Pictures" a few times
- To really add interest, explore the Grid Spacing slider and the Background Options
- Press "Create Collage"
That's all it takes to create a collage image like this:
Best of all, collages are saved like documents -- so you can always go back to make changes or add new pictures to an existing collage. To do this, click the Edit Collage button at the top of the screen that appears when viewing a previously created collage. (Note: all your collages are placed in a special Collages project album so that it's easy to find and edit all of your collages).
The real fun happens after the collage is finished rendering -- now you can treat the collage like any other picture and apply fun effects like Soft Focus or Sepia, or maybe add a title using the new Text feature. Once you've created your masterpiece, don't forget to show it off! Share it with your friends and family in a web album, or maybe use it as the title slide in a new Movie project.
The possibilities are pretty endless...so get creative and make some collages!
