Computer graphic designer, Neil Strudwick explores the capabilities of Rainbird's Art Studio

Now there's a piece of software that boosts the graphic potential of the Spectrum and is great fun to use.

The Art Studio (£14.95) is an exciting new graphics package which uses the WIMP environment (windows/icons/mouse/pulldown menus) to create professional-looking graphics, and does it as well as the bigger and more expensive micros. The WIMP environment is easy for even a first time operator to use, and has no complicated keyboard sequences to learn. It is also smooth and fast in operation.

By now you may be familiar with all the commands available but may not realise that by using a combination of commands you can create some great effects. So here are some suggestions for getting the most out of The Art Studio.

Start with a simple outlne shape, such as a letter or symbol. If you are not artistic, then trace around your image from a photograph or something already drawn, onto a piece of clear acetate. Draw the image as large as possible, but so that it fits in the screen of your tv/monitor. Trace round the image using the 'Shapes' commands (i.e. Elastic on/Cont. Lines).

The reason for doing the shape large is so that you have the option of rescaling it smaller (smaller images enlarged become distorted).

Having completed your shape, save it to tape, or microdrive if you have the extended Art Studio. Now you can begin to experiment on it. If there is room on the screen, make two copies of it, in case you make a mistake. That way, you won't have to reload the original.

You can now fill your shape with various textures, using 'Undo' to experiment, or try out the drop shadow effect mentioned at the back of the manual.

The drop shadow effect uses the 'Windows commands quite extensively, firstly fill your shape in solid, then copy it using 'Cut and paste window'. Immediately after you have positioned and printed the copy, select a wash texture (half-tone) and the shape becomes a halftone. You can then copy and merge your solid shape on top and off-centre to give the shadow effect.

You can then ut a window around the whole image, clear it using 'Clear window' and then immediately select a further wash texture. You could go on selecting wash texture until your image eventually disappears.

This technique of clearing a shape and washing texture can be applied to the commands 'Cut, clear and paste' and 'Clear and re-scale', indeed any command that erases a shape.

Try 'Clear and re-scale' without 'merge' and print the rescaled shape over the original, then apply a wash texture. The original shape reappears behind the second shape. Now if you have 'Over' switched on from the 'Attrs' menu, your first image will blend with the second if you merge them. If the 'Over' switch is off, pixels merged are unchanged i.e. black pixel, but if 'Over' is switched on then the combination is on an XOR basis, this would mean black pixel + black pixel = white space.

The best use of Over (other than a special effect) is when you would like to turn a solid shape into an outlined shape. A simple example would be if you wanted an outline of a square from a solid square. With 'Merge' and 'Over' switched on put a window around the solid square, select 'Re-scale window' and print the re-scaled window directly over the solid square but one pixel smaller all round.

If your shape is a solid and you wish only part of it to be textured, select a brush, pen, or airbrush from the 'Paint' menu with the 'Inverse switched on, erase part of your shape that you wish textured, then immediately after select a wash texture. The removed part will reappear in the chosen texture. This technique also applies if you use commands from the 'Shapes' menu and 'Text' menu!

Remember that 'Inverse' also has an effect on the 32 textures, with 'Inverse' on you have 32 inverse textures giving access to 64 textures. This 'Inverse' also applies to the 'Text' menu and the 'Paint' menu when using the 'Brush' command. Depending on whether you have inverse on or off, it will give the effect of having a solid or outline brush shape.

Returning to 'Windows', I have quite often used this menu if I wanted a larger brush. For example, if you wanted to draw a shape made up of large circles; first, draw a circle from the 'Shapes' menu, put a window around it, with 'Merge' and 'Multiple' switched on, and then by repeatedly moving and pressing the fire button, you can draw with that shape. Try this technique using the 'Over' switched on, and see what happens.

Finally I will mention the use of colour. I cannot go into great detail about it because of the nature of the Spectrum attribute screen, but a good way to reduce colour/attribute problems is to use 'Windows' to reposition areas of your picture. One way to colour areas of the screen easily is having selected your appropriate colours, go to the 'Paint' menu selecting 'Brush'. Choose a 'null' brush (i.e. a blank brush that changes attribute colours, not pixels). Quite simply, you then brush colour onto the relevant areas of your picture. For large areas, choose a 'null' texture that will rapidly colour areas of the screen.