Gossamer Wings Tutorial
a 'winged' frame for your Butterfly and Fairy Tubes
My thanks to the fabulous group of ladies at Force Fantastic for testing this tutorial for me
The tube I have used for this tutorial is a Celtic Unicornz Creation. Many thanks.
This Tutorial is entirely my own work and any resemblance to any other is purely co-incidental Please do not copy, script, translate or use in any groups without my permission.
You will need:-
PSP. I have used X but it should work in other versions.
A tube
Xero Filter Set 2 (Soft Mood) Download Zip Here
Simple Filters
Mezzy Filters Download Zip Here
You will also need the backdrop texture download here. Unzip and put into your Textures Folder.
All ready. Let's get started!
1. Open you chosen tube in PSP
2. Duplicate it twice and close the original
3. Minimize one copy and with the other copy open in your workspace complete the following steps:-
4. From your tube choose a medium/dark tone foreground colour and a lighter background colour. You will be creating a gradient with these.
5. Image/Resize. Resize your tube to 275 x 275 pixels making sure that Lock Aspect Ratio is UNCHECKED and Resize all Layers is CHECKED.
6. Layers/New Raster Layer
7. Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom
8. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill this layer with either your background or foreground colour. If your tube is light like mine use your darker colour and vice versa if your tube is darker.
9. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten
10. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tiling/Tile at Default
11. Adjust/Blur/Radial Blur using the following settings:Twirl/Strength 100/Twirl Degrees 0/Horizontal Offset 100/Vertical Offset 0/Protect Centre 44/Eliptical CHECKED.
It is worth noting that this effect will differ with each different image and set of colours. The tube I am using gives a very light and sparse effect but the bigger and brighter the tube the stronger the effect will be so don't be alarmed if yours looks heavier and brighter than mine. You can adjust the Protect centre level to lessen or heighten the effect so experiment a little until you achieve the effect you want.
12. Minimize this image until later.
13. Open a New Raster/Transparent Image/ 275 x 275 pixels.
14. Materials Palette/Gradient Tab/Create a gradient using the following settings. Style Sunburst/Repeats 0/Invert CHECKED/Horizontal & Vertical Centre Points 50/Link Centre and Focal Points CHECKED
15. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill your New Canvas with the gradient
16. Effects/Distortion Effects/Displacement Maps/using the following settings:- Displacement Map/Backdrop/Stretch Map to Fit Image CHECKED/2D Offsets CHECKED/Intensity 100/Rotation 0/Blur 0/Repeat CHECKED
17. Effects/Plugins/Mezzy/Dusty using the following settings:-Intensity 70/Contrast 0
18. Maximize your remaining copy of the tube/Image/Resize/Resize so that it measures no more than 260 pixels on it's longest side.
19. Edit/Copy/Close the image
20. Edit/Paste onto your prepared background
21. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings:-Horizontal & Vertical 2/Opacity 33/Blur 7/Colour Black/Shadow on New Layer UNCHECKED.
(I added Xero Soft Mood to the tube to give it a little more warmth and glow. Keep the Haziness setting at 0 and adjust the glow until you are happy with it but avoid glare. You can also add it to the background image to warm it up a little. Experiment and choose which you prefer)
22. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
23. Selections/Select All.
24. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer
25. Selections/Modify/Select Selection Borders using the following Settings:- Inside CHECKED/Anti-Alias UNCHECKED/Border Width 3.
26. Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel using the following settings:-Bevel 2/Width 3/Smoothness 0/Depth 3/ Ambience and Shininess 0/Angle 315/Intensity 45/Elevation 40/Colour White.
27. Selections/Invert
28. Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the following settings:- Vertical & Horizontal 0/Opacity 50/Blur 15/Colour Black/Fill Interior with colour UNCHECKED
29. Deselect/Layers/Merge/Merge/Visible.
30. Image Canvas Size/Increase Canvas to 375 x 375 pixels/Image Centre.
31. Layers/New Raster Layer
32. Layer Palette/Close your tube Background layer by clicking on the eye.
33. Selection Tool/Custom Selection using the following settings. Top 57/Left 0/Right 375/Bottom 318
34. Flood fill Tool/Flood Fill the selection with your dark foreground colour.
35. Deselect
36. Effects/Geometric Effects/Skew using the following settings:-
37. Layers/Duplicate
38. Image/Mirror
39. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
40. Selection Tool/Magic Wand using the following settings/Select the top transparent triangle:-
41. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer
42. Flood Fill Tool/Flood fill with your light background colour.
43. Deselect
44. Layer Palette/Highlight the 'skewed layer'/right click on it/Arrange/Send to Bottom/Click on the Eye to close this layer.
45. Highlight your top Triangle Layer
46. Image/Free Rotate using the following settings: Left/90/All Layers UNCHECKED/Rotate Single Layer Around Canvas Centre CHECKED.
47. Layer/Duplicate
48. Image/Canvas Size/Increase canvas size to 495 x 495 pixels/Image Centre.
49. Image/Free Rotate using the following settings:- Right/180/All Layers and Rotate single layer around canvas centre UNCHECKED.
51. Effects/Distortion Effects/Wave using the following settings:-
53. Move Tool/Click on the top 'waved' layer then using the left arrow key on your keyboard move it across until the centre gap becomes visible then adjust back until the gap is closed. You should now have the shape shown below.
54. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible.
55. Selection Tool/Magic Wand using the same settings as before but changing the Match Mode to All Opaque select the 'wing' you have just created.
56. Maximise the 'blurred image' you created earlier and Edit/Copy. You can now close this image.
57. Edit/Paste into Selection
58. Selections/Modify/Feather/Number of Pixels 6
59. Selections/Invert
60. Edit/Cut
61. Repeat Step 60 Twice More
62. Deselect
63. Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel using the same settings as previously used.
64. Effects/Plugins/Xero/Soft Mood using the following settings:-Haziness 0/Glow adjust until you find the right depth of colour and glow avoiding glare for the colours of your image. As a Guideline my glow is set at 106 but for lighter colours it will need to be less.
65. Layer Palette/Go to your 'wing' layer and holding down the left mouse button drag the layer into you workspace. Minimize until later.
66. Back to your main wing image Click on the Eye of your Tube Image Layer to open it and using the arrow keys adjust the wing layer if you need to so that the pointed edge sits just over the border of your image.
67. Layers/Duplicate
68. Image/Mirror
69. Layers/Duplicate
70. Image/Free Rotate using the following settings:-Left/90/All Layers UNCHECKED/Rotate single layer around canvas centre CHECKED
71. Layers/Duplicate
72. Image/Flip.
You should now have this.
73. Close off your tube image layer by clicking on the eye and Layers/Merge/Merge Visible.
74. Minimise this main image and Maximise the single wing image you created earlier.
75. Image/Canvas Size/Double the width to 228/Leave Height the height of the image 364/Image Centre.
76. Layers/Duplicate
77. Image Mirror
78. Move Tool/Click on the Right Wing and using the Left Arrow key move it so that it joins the other wing in the centre forming a butterfly shape.
79. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
80. Image/Resize using the following settings:-PERCENT/Width 33/Height 17/Lock Aspect Ratio UNCHECKED/Resize all Layers CHECKED
81. Image/Free Rotate using the following settings:- Left/Free 40/All Layers and Rotate Single Layer around canvas centre UNCHECKED.
82. Edit/Copy and minimize this image
83. Maximise your main image and Edit/Paste as New Layer
84. Move Tool/Position the Butterfly in the top Left corner of the frame as shown below.
85. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the same settings as before.
86. Repeat Drop Shadow with Minus settings.
87. Effects/Plugins/Simple Filters/Top Left Mirror
88. Highlight your 'wing' layer and repeat the drop shadow with plus and minus settings.
89. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible.
90. Effects/Plugins/Mezzy/Dusty/Same settings as previously used
91. Open all layers and highlight the bottom layer/Flood Fill Tool/Match Mode None/Use all Layers CHECKED/Blend Mode Normal/Opacity 100%. Flood fill this layer with your dark Colour.
92. Effects/Plugins/Mezzy/Dusty/Same settings as previously used.
(You can, if you wish, add a drop shadow using the same plus and minus settings to your tube image layer at this point.)
93. Layers/New Raster Layer/Add your Watermark.
94. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten.
95. Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.
You can use this method to create wings for your tubes. Just create a triangular selection on a blank canvas and then use the method you have learned here. Try pulling the wings into different shapes using the Raster Deform Tool, use different wave settings to make them more pointed or more rounded, lower the opacity to make them more ethereal. The possibilities are endless.
Background and Sidebars. This is created for a 1024 x 768 screen resolution
1. Maximise your small butterfly image.
2. Image/Canvas Size/Width 85/Height 125/Image Right Centre
3. Image Canvas Size/Width 1017/Height 250/Image Left top
4. Layers/Duplicate
5. Image/Flip
6. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
7. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the same settings as previously used
8. Repeat Drop Shadow using minus settings.
9. Layers/Duplicate
10. Image/Mirror
11. Layers/New Raster Layer
12. Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom
13. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill with your dark colour
14. Effects/Plugins/Mezzy/Dusty same settings as previously used.
15. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten
16. Save as a Jpeg with the compression set at 25.
Assemble in Letter Creator placing the background image in the body section and setting the text at about 85 - 90 left and right. Place the main image in the Header Section placed Centre, complete your footer notes and if you wish add a link to www.force50.co.uk so that others can try it.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know Here
Tricia ©
June 25th 2006