[Return to Start] [Lesson 1: Opening] [Lesson 2: Assessing] [Lesson 3: Cropping]
[Lesson 4:Rotating] [Lesson 5: Fixing Blemishes] [Lesson 6: Adjusting Color ] [Lesson 7: Sizing/Printing]

Lesson 4: Rotating the Image -- Correcting a Horizon Line [3 ways to do it]

In both images, there is a horizon line problem.Cropping won't fix that problem, so it's best to first fix the horizon line and then crop the image to it's desired final frame.

For this lesson, work again with the 'captain cat' image. The horizon line is further off and easier to see and fix.

If you are interested, here is my 'captain cat' image with the horizon line fixed and cropped: "Ray's Captain Cat #2"

Guide Lines

It's sometimes useful at the start to have a horizontal and/or a vertical guide line on your image so that you can see whether a form is true horizontal or vertical.

To get a 'guide line' do the following:

• VIEW MENU -> New Guide -> Horizontal
• Click on the MOVE TOOL -> move cursor over the guide line, move the guide line to the horizon line on the image. This will give you a feel for how far off the horizon line is.
• [note - the guide line will not become a part of your image ... when you're done with it do the following:
• VIEW MENU -> Clear Guides

Method 1: Using the Rotate Command

This method is done by 'eye' ... you adjust the horizon line until it conforms to the horizontal guide line.

• SELECT MENU -> All
• EDIT MENU -> Transform -> Rotate

Now that you've rotated the image, you can crop it as in the previous lesson to achieve your final 'Captain Cat' image.

Method 2: Using the Measure tool

• Click on Eyedropper Tool -> Measure Tool
• Click anyplace on the horizon [where the water meets the land] and drag along it and release it. You will be creating a line that is exactly parallel to the flawed horizon line in the image.
• You need not drag along the entire length of the horizon. And, it sometimes helps to click on the 'zoom' tool to make the image larger so that you can more easily place the measure tool on the horizon line.
• Note that you can adjust the ends of the measure tool line ... so you don't have to get it right when you drag it.
• IMAGE MENU -> Rotate Canvas -> Arbitrary

Again, now that you've rotated the image, you can crop it as in the previous lesson to achieve your final 'Captain Cat' image.

Method 3: Using the Crop Tool

• Click on the Crop Tool
• click on the upper left corner of the image and, holding the click, drag to the bottom right corner of the image. This will produce a selection line around the entire image with 8 small boxes at the corners and midpoints.
• release the click and move your cursor around one of the corner boxes until you get a rotation arrow [see image at right].
• then holding onto the click, rotate until horizon is correct

Questions or Issues? Did the instructions work for you? If not, drop me a line and tell me about where you got stuck.

ray@raysweb.net