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This tutorial demonstrates how to create a simple rectangular frame using the Rectangular Marquee Tool, and how to fill your frame with either, a Solid Colour, Pattern, Gradient, Filter or Plugin of your choice.
Apply Gradients
Add Layer Styles
Apply a Solid Colour or Pattern
Apply a Solid Colour, Pattern or Gradient Fill Layer
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
1/
From the top menu, choose File then New, and set the following attributes.
Tip
Display your image’s grey workspace, by left-clicking and dragging its top right menu, diagonally upwards.
2/
Then from the left-side toolbar, activate the following Rectangular Marquee Tool.
And set the following attributes into its Options bar.
Now, beginning at the top-left.
Left-click and drag out a marquee - ensuring it is surrounded by three squares, on all four sides. Naturally, make your frame wider, if you prefer.
Note
If you need to reapply the marquee; from the top menu, choose Edit then choose Step Backwards.
Moving the selection
After you have applied the marquee, left-click inside it and drag the marquee to a central position. Note: Before moving the selection, ensure New selection is active.
3/
From the top menu, choose Select then choose Inverse. Now you have created the border, you can fill it with a Pattern, Gradient, Solid Colour, Filter or Plugin of your choice.
4/ New Fill Layer
From the top menu, choose Layer then choose New Fill Layer, then link Here to fill your border with a Solid Colour, Pattern or Gradient.
5/ Plugin Filters
I am going to fill my frame with an Eyecandy 5 Impact filter; to do likewise, from the top menu, choose Filter then Alien Skin’s Eyecandy 5 Impact, then apply a filter of your choice; experiment with the Eyecandy filters you have at your disposal.
6/
From the top menu choose Select then Deselect - this removes the marquee. Your frame is complete and ready to apply to an image, as explained in my Applying Picture Frames lesson.
7/ Fill your frame with a gradient
Ensure the marquee remains; then from the toolbar activate the Gradient Tool.
And set the following attributes into its Options bar.
To display your gradient sets: left-click the tiny black triangle (illustrated below).
And in the subsequent drop-down menu, left-click the black triangle circled in
red.
From the subsequent drop-down list, left-click to place a tick in front of the Large List tab, as shown below - or choose Large Thumbnails. Then click a gradient set of your choice - I am utilising Spectrums.
Now, left-click the following tiny black triangle 
And from the subsequent drop-down menu, scroll the gradient swatches, then
double-left-click to activate your choice.
Your gradient is ready to; therefore, starting where I have indicted below.
Left-click, and stretch a line, diagonally across the image.
As soon as you release the mouse button, the line disappears - and the gradient is
applied. Note: Beginning the gradient line at different angles and positions, changes the way the colours are rendered.
Tip
Experiment with different gradient orientations - shown here. 
Your choices are: Linear, Radial, Angle, Reflected and Diamond.
 
Additionally, altering the Mode from Normal to one of the following, changes the appearance of your gradient.
8/ Applying Layer Styles
To apply a Layer Style; from the foot of the Layers palette, left-click the tiny black arrow, next to the following Add a layer style (f - fx) icon.
And click your choice from the following list. 
In the subsequent Layer Style dialogue box, either, accept the default settings - or experiment with the Structure settings. You can apply any of the Styles listed on the left-side menu. Additionally, you can apply one Style, or all of them.
After you have applied the Style, or Styles of your choice, click OK.
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Press Ctrl and D to remove the marquee; your frame is complete and ready to apply.
10/
Fill your frame with a colour or pattern
To fill your frame with a Pattern or Solid Colour; return your frame to the transparent selection state. To do this, from the top menu, choose Edit then choose Step Backwards - keep stepping backwards until the transparent rectangular frame returns. Or click a previous snapshot in the History palette - demonstrated Here - Chapter 3.
Now, from the toolbar, activate the following Paint Bucket Tool.
And set the following attributes into its Options bar.
If you choose Foreground - (above left), your frame will be filled with whatever colour your Foreground colour swatch is set to - my Foreground colour is set to White.
To fill your frame with a Pattern; click the Pattern tab, then set a Pattern of your choice - for example; Rock Patterns. Then double-left-click to set a Pattern; for example, Bubbles.
You are now ready to fill the transparent frame with your choice of Pattern or Solid Colour. Therefore, left-click (inside the selection) to fill it with your choice.
 
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Have fun creating rectangular frames and filling them with the fill of your choice of effects. My applying picture frames lesson can be found here, and my optimising and saving images lesson is Here.
Wendi E. M. Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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