This tutorial is entirely my own work and any resemblance to any other is purely co-incidental.
Please do not copy, duplicate, translate, script or use in any groups without my permission.
My grateful thanks as always to my wonderful team of testers at Force Fantastic.
This is what we are making:
The Image I have used is 'Believe in your Dreams' by Lynn Bywaters ©
You will Need:
Paint Shop Pro. I have used version X but the tut should work in other versions.
Filters Unlimited 2
Xero Filters
Cybia Screenworks
A Graphic or a tube
Two PSP Shape Images Here. Save them to a folder. Wherever you store your graphics will do
OK. So let's begin!
The colours used in the first two steps will not be visible when the tut is completed but they need to be used to create the original frame image as the filters used work differently on different colours. I use them to make sure that everyone's finished image looks the same as those pictured. You will also notice that we are not opening our graphic or tube at the beginning of the tut. This doesn't mean I have forgotten to add that step it's just that we don't need to do that until later.
1. Materials Palette/Foreground (top colour)/#d29c46
2. Materials Palette/Background (bottom Colour) #fdf3ad
3. Materials Palette/Foreground/Gradient Tab/Edit/Foreground-Background/Angle 45/Repeats 0/Invert CHECKED/Style Linear
4. File/New/Open a new Raster/Transparent Image/600 x 320 pixels.
5. Flood Fill Tool/Flood fill this image with your gradient.
6. Effects/Plugins/IC Net. Software/Filters Unlimited 2/Tile and Mirror/Radial Tile/Default (Rotation 88/Zoom 169)
7. Adjust/Blur/Gaussian Blur using the following settings: Radius 80
8. Selection Tool/Selection/Custom Selection (click
on this icon
on your top task bar)/and use the following settings:- Top 30/Left 0/Right
600/Bottom 290.
9. Selections/Invert
10. Effects/Geometric Effects/Circle/Edge Mode Transparent Checked.
11. Selections/Modify/Smooth using the following settings:-
12. Selections/Modify/Feather/3 Pixels
13. Selections/Invert
14. Edit/Cut (repeat twice more) Don't be alarmed when your background layer disappears!
15. Selections/Select None.
16. Effects/Geometric Effects/Spherize using the following settings: Strength -50 (Minus 50)/Shape You can choose either Ellipse or Circle depending on the shape of your graphic but you will need to remember later which one you used. Ellipse will pull in the sides giving a narrower look. Circle will pull in the top and bottom giving a wider look.
17. Selection/Custom Selection using the following settings: Top 188/Left 0/Right 600/Bottom 320.
18. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer
19. Select None
20. Image/Free Rotate using the following settings:-
21. Image/Resize/Using the following Settings:- Per Cent 75/Resample Using Bicubic/Lock Aspect Ratio Checked/Resize all Layers/UNCHECKED
22. Duplicate this layer and close the duplicate by clicking on the eye in the Layer Palette. Highlight the Promoted Selection Layer underneath.
23. Move Tool/Move the Crescent to the side of the Circle Frame Image. (See below)
24. Layers/Duplicate
25. Image/Mirror
26. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
27. Highlight and open your top duplicate crescent layer.
28. Image/Resize/Same settings as previously used.
29. Layer/Duplicate and close the duplicate.
30. Highlight Copy of Promoted Selection (Middle Layer))
31. Move Tool/Move this layer to the side of Crescent 1 (see below)
32. Layers/Duplicate
33. Image/Mirror
34. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
35. Open and Highlight your top layer duplicate crescent.
36. Image/Resize using the same settings.
37. Layer Palette/Move your cursor to your top layer/hold down the left mouse button and drag this layer into your workspace.
38. Minimise this new image.
39. Move Tool/Move this crescent to the side of Crescent 2 (see below)
40. Layers/Duplicate
41. Image/Mirror
42. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
You should now have this:-
Those 42 steps complete the Frame Image. If you want to repeat this tutorial save the frame image and the single crescent image as PSP files now and the next time you want to complete this tut you can open and duplicate them and begin at step 43.
OK let's continue.
43. Choose your tube or graphic and open into your workspace. I am using this floral image and as it was very large I have resized it to 400 pixels High.
44. Open the PSP Shape you saved to a folder. You need to open the one (either circle or ellipse) that matches the Spherize setting you used. For this one I have used Ellipse. I want to show you how to process the image without using a fade mask but achieving the same effect and getting a perfect fit into an odd shaped frame without distortion. You can make your own shape if you prefer by using your preset shape tool and dragging out an ellipse to match the shape of your inner frame edge. This works just as well with a tube (see foot of page) even though for the tutorial example I am using a graphic.
45. Edit/Copy the shape and close.
46. Edit/Paste as a New Layer onto your Graphic or Tube
47. Move Tool/You can now move the shape around until you find a part of your image or tube that will look good in the frame. Resize your image layer if you need to until you get what you want.
48. Layers/Promote Background Layer
49. Close the image layer by clicking on the eye in your layer palette and highlight your top Shape Layer.
50. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Select the inside of the Shape
51. Close the Shape Layer and Open and Highlight your Image Layer
52. Selections/Modify/Feather 50. (Don't worry if the selection goes outside of the image)
53. Selections/Invert
54. Edit/Cut Repeat two or three times
55. Select None
56. Edit/Copy and close your graphic image.
57. Edit/Paste as a New Layer onto your frame image. It should fit perfectly but if you need to tweak it a little use the pick tool.
58. On your frame Layer/Effects/Plugins/Cybia/Screenworks/Fine Rule/Mode 0
59. Effects/Artistic Effects/Chrome using the following settings. Flaws 2/Brightness 0/Use original colour NOT checked/Colour choose a colour from your image. Just hover the cursor over your image and it will become a dropper.
60. Effects/Plugins/Xero/Soft Mood using the following settings: Haziness 0/Glow adjust according to your colour used. Choose as much or as little as you need but avoid making it glare.
61. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings:- Horizontal and Vertical 0/Opacity 40/Blur 10/Colour Black/Shadow on New Layer NOT checked.
62. Layers/New Raster Layer
63. Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom
64. Choose a colour for your background. I like to go two or three shades darker than the colour of the frame if I am using a tube but for this image I have matched it to the colour of the image background but you choose whatever you prefer.
65. Flood Fill Tool/Flood fill your bottom layer with this colour.
66. Adjust/Add/Remove Noise/Add Noise using the following settings:- Gaussian checked/Noise 8/Monochrome checked.
67. Add a new layer and add your watermark.
68. Layers/Merge/Merge all flatten.
Export as a Jpeg with the compression set at 25 and close the image.
So let's make the side borders and background.
1. Open your minimised single crescent shape.
2. Image/Resize/Resize using same settings as previously used (75%) but with Resize all Layers CHECKED.
3. Image/Canvas Size/Increase width by 30 pixels/Increase Height by 100 pixels/Placement Centre Right Arrow
4. Effects/Plugins/Cybia/Screenworks/Fine Rule same settings as previously used.
5. Effects/Artistic Effects/Chrome/Same settings as previously used.
6. Effects/Xero/Soft Mood/Same settings (you may want to increase the glow a little)
7. Image/Canvas Size/Increase the width to 1007(for a 1024 screen resolution) pixels/Leave height the same/Placement Centre Left Arrow
8. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow same settings as previously used
9. Layers/Duplicate
10. Image/Mirror
11. Layers/New Raster Layer
12. Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom
13. Flood Fill Tool/Flood fill with the same colour you used on your main image background
14. Adjust/Add/Remove Noise/Add Noise using the same settings as before.
Export as a Jpeg with the compression at 25
Assemble in Letter Creator adding the background and sidebar graphic to the Body Section. Adjust your text to about 80 left and right so that it doesn't obscure your side borders. Add your main frame image to the Header Section placed Centre. Add your footer notes and you're done.
Some examples I made using a tube.
The tubes I have used in both images are by Suzi Sgai. With grateful thanks.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any queries or feel like sharing your result with me then you can contact me here.
Tricia ©
February 7th 2007