©
©
This Tutorial is entirely my own work and any resemblance to any other is purely co-incidental. Please do not hot link to any of the images on this page. If sharing please only share the link and not the page. Do not translate or use this tutorial in any group or web site without my permission.
My thanks to the members of Force Fantastic for their hard work and support in testing this tutorial.
As with most of my tutorials the effect is all about light and contrast. The best result is achieved with a darker base colour.
Elusive Squares Stationery Set
You will need:-
PSP 9 or X
A Tube or a Graphic (for the purposes of this tutorial I will be giving instructions for the use of a graphic)
Simple Filters
Two Moon Filters Vertical Ripplie (Zip Here)
Filters Unlimited 2
20-20 Mask Here
This is what you do:-
It is very important that the sizes I have given for the image and the borders are not altered. The settings for the Displacement Maps are extremely 'size specific' and if you change any of the measurements by even 1 pixel the effects will not work. The completed image will be 476 x 476 pixels and I have kept it as small as possible. It does not resize well when completed.
1. Open your graphic in your workspace/ duplicate and close the original
2. Choose a dark foreground colour from your graphic and a light (mid tone) background colour making sure that there is a good contrast between the two colours. It is very important that the darkest colour is in the foreground (top) colour box in your materials palette.
3. From these two colours we are going to create a gradient. Materials Palette/Foreground Colour/Gradient Tab/ Select Edit/Foreground Background/Angle 45/Repeats 3/Linear/Invert NOT checked. It is very important that the gradient is created and used in your foreground (top) box in your materials palette.
4. Return your materials palette/foreground colour/to the colour tab.
5. Image Resize/Resize your chosen graphic so that it is no more than 290 pixels on it's longest side.
6. Layers/Promote Background Layer
7. Layers/Load/Save Mask/Load Mask from Disk. Add 20-20 Mask to your graphic
8. Layers/Merge/Merge Group
9. Minimize this image.
10. Open a new Raster Image/290 x 290 Pixels/in your lighter Background colour.
11. Effects/Texture Effects/using the following settings/Canvas Fine/Size 25/Smoothness 0/Depth 1/Ambience 0/Shininess 0/Angle 315/Intensity 50/Elevation 30/Colour/ Use your darker/foreground colour and adjust the ambience and shininess until you find the right depth of colour for your background. I have left both at 0 because I preferred a really dark background to better display the light in the image.
12. Maximize the copy of your masked graphic/Edit/Copy and close this image.
13. Edit/Paste as New Layer onto your background. (To use a tube instead of a graphic just mask the tube and add to your background image in the same way)
14. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten
15. Image/Add Borders/Symmetric/30 Pixels/In your dark foreground colour.
16. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/using the following settings select your border.
17. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer
18. Selections/Select None
19. Effects/Distortion Effects/Displacement Maps/using the following settings:- Squares/Tile Map to cover Image/Size 25/3D Surface/Intensity 13/Rotation 0/Colour (Right click on the colour box and select your lighter background colour)
20. Making sure your top layer is highlighted Effects/Plugins/IC Net. Software/Filters Unlimited 2/Paper Textures/Fine Canvas at Default (Intensity 156/Lightness 87)
21. Selections/Select All
22. Selections/Modify/Contract 30 Pixels.
23. Press Delete on your Keyboard to remove the inner pattern.
24. Selections/Select None
25. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten.
26. Image/Add Borders/Symmetric/30 Pixels/In your lighter Background colour.
27. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same settings as previously used/Select the Border.
28. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill this border with your darker Foreground colour.
29. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer.
30. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill with your gradient
31. Selections/Select/None.
32. Making sure that your top layer is highlighted go to Effects/Distortion Effects/Displacement Maps using the following settings: Squares/Stretch Map to Fit Image/Blur 0/2D Offsets/Intensity 10/Rotation 0/Transparent
33. Effects/Plugins/Simple Filters/Top Left Mirror
34. Effects/Plugins/Two Moon Filters/Vertical Ripplie using the following settings: Amount 0/Darkness, you are 30. (Note: The Darkness, you are setting can be adjusted until you find a level of brightness you are happy with. The higher the setting the less bright the effect. The image in this tutorial was left at 30 but it can be adjusted to 255)
35. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings.
36. Repeat the drop shadow with minus settings.
37. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten
38. Image/Add Borders/6 Pixels/Symmetric in your lighter background colour.
39. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same settings as before/Select the border.
40. Flood Fill Tool/Flood fill with your gradient
41. Effects/Plugins/Two Moon Filters/Vertical Ripplie/using the same settings as previously used
42. Repeat Steps 35 and 36 (Drop Shadow)
43. Selections/Select None
44. Image/Add Borders/27 Pixels/Symmetric/in a colour not contained in your image
45. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same Settings/Select the Border.
46. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill with your darker/foreground colour
47. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer
48. Selections/Select None.
49. Effects/Distortion Effects/Displacement Maps using the following settings: Squares/Tile Map to Cover Image/Size 25/Blur 0/3D Surface/Intensity 11/Rotation 0/Colour use your lighter background colour.
50. Making sure that your top layer is highlighted Effects/Plugins/IC.Net Software/Filters Unlimited 2/Paper Textures/Fine Canvas/Default.
51. Selections/Select All.
52. Selections/Modify/Contract 27
53. Press Delete on your keyboard
54. Effects/3D Effects/Chisel/using the following Settings/Size 4/Transparent/Colour use your darker foreground colour.
55. Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the following settings:Vertical and Horizontal 0/Opacity 55/Blur 15/Shadow Colour Black/Fill Interior with Colour NOT Checked
60. Selections/Select None
61. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten
62. Selections/Select All
63. Selections/Modify/Contract 6 Pixels
64. Selections/Invert
65. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer.
66. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill the selection with your gradient
67. Effects/Plugins/Two Moon Filters/Vertical Ripplie/same settings as previously used.
68. Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel/using the following settings.
69. Selections/Invert
70. Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the same settings as previously used.
71. Selections/Select None.
72. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten.
73. Preset Shape Tool/Preset Shapes/Rectangle using the following settings:-
74. Null your background colour and have your gradient showing in the materials palette foreground choice.
75. Drag out a rectangle beginning in the top left inner corner surrounding your original masked graphic and finishing in the bottom right corner. See below: Adjust with the nodes so that it sits just over the edge of the canvas border but make sure that none of the canvas border shows around the inner edges of the gradient border.
76. When you are happy with the placement of your border Layers/Convert to Raster Layer
77. Effects/Two Moon Filters/Vertical Ripplie/Same settings as previously used.
78. Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel/Same Settings as previously used.
79. Layer Palette/Close your background layer by clicking on the eye.
80. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same settings as before/Select the inner transparent area of your border.
81. Effects/3D Effects/Cutout/using the same settings as previously used.
82. Selections/Select None.
83. Re-open your background layer by clicking on the eye in your layer palette.
84. Layers/New Raster Layer/Add your watermark if desired.
85. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten
Your main image is complete. Save as a Jpeg. with the compression set at 25. Keep open in your workspace.
To make the sidebars and background.
1. Make a selection on the left border of your main image as shown below: From the outside of the final inner gradient border to the inside of the border surrounding the image. It is important that just the light area is selected. As a guide your selection should be somewhere between 52 - 72 pixels depending on the size of your lighter area and you can enlarge your image to help you to get the 'cut' just right. We use just the light area of the gradient borders as this will prevent the 'ripple effect' when the sidebars are put in place.
2. Edit/Copy
3. Edit/Paste as New Image
4. You can now close your main image.
5. Effects/IC. Net Software/Filters Unlimited 2/Tile and Mirror/Seamless Blend Horizontal.
6. Image/Canvas Size/Increase the width of the canvas to 1024 (or whatever your screen resolution is) set the height to the height of the image. Image placement click on the centre/left button.
7. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings.
8. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tile on your shadow layer using the following settings/Corner/Vertical
9. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible.
10. Layers/Duplicate.
11. Image/Mirror
12. Move Tool/Click on the image of the right border and using the left arrow on your keyboard move it inwards by 17 clicks. Or just move it 17 pixels inwards but make sure the top and bottom are still in position.
13. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
14. Layers/New Raster Layer
15. Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom
16. *Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill this layer with your darker Foreground colour.
17. *Effects/Plugins/Two Moon Filters/Vertical Ripplie/Same Settings as before.
* This is the background I have used for this tutorial you are, of course, free to use a background of your choice.
18. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten
Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.
Assemble in Letter Creator placing the sidebars and background in the body section and tiling. Set the text at 90 left and right.
Place the image in the header section placed centre.
Should send at less that 100 kb.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know here
Tricia ©
February 20th 2006
