Simple Sample Circle Frame

This Tutorial is entirely my own work and any resemblance to any other is purely co-incidental. This tutorial assumes a basic knowledge of PSP and it's tools.  Please, when sharing, share the link and not the page.  Thank you.

My thanks, as always to my great team of testers at Force Fantastic who make it all possible.

This is what we will be making.

 

The joy of this tutorial is that it is all completed in PSP without the use of any outside filters.   I have worked this in PSP X but it will work just as well with PSP 9.  The main image and the sidebars will change with each different image you use depending on where the light and shadows are in your original graphic.

You will need.

PSP 9 or X

A Graphic of your choice (You can create your own image from a tube and background or use a Jpeg)

Circle Fade or 20-20 Mask.  20-20 Zip Here

Let's Begin.

 

1.  Open your graphic in PSP. Duplicate twice and close the original.

2.  Minimize one copy and with the other open in your workspace complete the following steps.

    a)  Image/Resize to 300 x 300 pixels. Lock Aspect Ratio/UNCHECKED

b)  Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tiling at default

c)  Adjust/Blur/Gaussian Blur/Radius 25.  Duplicate this image and minimise the copy to use later.

d)  Layers/Promote Background Layer

e)  Effects/Geometric Effects/Circle/Transparent Checked.

f)  Effects/Geometric Effects/Spherize/Strength 100

3.  Maximize your other copy of the graphic and complete the following steps.

a)  Image/Resize.  Resize so that it is no more than 280 pixels on it's longest side. Lock Aspect Ratio/CHECKED

b)  Layers/Promote Background Layer.

c)  Layers/Load/Save Mask/Load Mask from Disk/Load 20-20 or Circle Fade

d) Layers/Merge/Merge Group

e)  Edit/Copy and close this image

4.  Edit/Paste as New Layer onto your prepared Circle.

5.  Layers/Merge/Merge Visible

8.  Image/Canvas Size/Increase the size to 450 x 450 Image Centre.

9.  Layers/New Raster Layer

10.  Selections/Select all

11.  Maximise the duplicate blurred image you saved earlier at Step 2c.

12.  Edit/Copy and minimize.

13.  Edit/Paste into Selection

14.  Deselect.

15. Effects/Geometric Effects/Circle using the same settings as before

16.  Repeat Step 15

17.  Close your top layer by clicking on the eye in the layer palette.

18.  Highlight your bottom layer

19.  Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Add (Shift)/RGB Value/Tolerance 0/Feather 0/Anti Alias/Use all Layer/Contiguous all Checked.  Click on the transparent area surrounding your circle.

20.  Selections/Invert

21.  Selections/Modify/Contract 8 Pixels

22.  Open your top layer by clicking on the eye again and highlight

23.  Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the following settings.

24.  Deselect.

25. Effects/Texture Effects/Texture/Grain Long Deep. using the following settings. Choose your colour by clicking around your graphic until you find a result you like.  Much depends here on your choice of graphic so the settings I have given for Ambience and Shininess are a guide only.  Change them to your liking but try to avoid making it glare.

26.  Window/Duplicate.  Minimise the duplicate image to use later.

27.  Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow/Using the following Settings.  Vertical 0/Horizontal 0/Opacity 40/Blur 20/Colour Black/Shadow on New Layer Unchecked.

28.  Layers/Merge/Merge Visible.

29.  Layers/New Raster Layer.

30.  Selections/Select All

31.  Edit/Paste into Selection.

32.  Deselect

33.  Effects/Artistic Effects/Halftone using the following settings:-  If your frame is darker like the example I have used for this tutorial then change the Blend Mode to Soft Light.  If you have a lighter frame then using Multiply will give a darker background effect. Try changing them until you find one you like and you can also alter the opacity to achieve a softer effect.

                             

34.  Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom.

35.  Layers/New Raster Layer.  This should be your middle layer.

36. Selections/Select All.

37.  Selections/Modify/Contract 50 Pixels

38.  Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the same settings as before.

39.  Selections/Invert

40.  Edit/Paste into Selection

41.  Deselect

42.  Effects/Texture Effects using the same settings as before.

43.  Close your two bottom layers and highlight your top diamond shape frame layer.

44.  Select black as your foreground colour.

45.  Null your Background colour by Clicking on the under your background colour in the materials palette. 

46.  Preset Shape Tool/Ellipse using the following settings.  Drag out a circle around the inner edge of your frame surrounding your picture.  Adjust with the nodes until it covers all the edges around the circle.

47. Objects/Align/Center in Canvas

48.  Selections/From Vector Object

49.  Layers/Convert to Raster Layer

50.  Click on your Selection Tool and your border should now be selected.

51.  Edit/Paste into Selection.

52.  Deselect

53.  Effects/Texture Effects/Texture.  Use the same settings as before but change the colour to something lighter or use a contrasting colour and adjust the Ambience and Shininess to your liking. Again the settings I have given are as a guide only.

54.  Layers/Merge/Merge Visible

55.  Close your top layer by clicking on the eye in your layer palette and open and highlight your middle layer

56.  Preset Shape/Rectangle.  Using the same settings as before drag out a square to fit the inner side of your outer border.  Use the nodes to adjust as necessary.

57.  Objects/Align/Centre in Canvas.

58.  Selections/From Vector Object

59.  Layers/Convert to Raster Layer.

60.  Click on your Selection Tool and your border should now be selected.

61.  Edit/Paste into Selection

62.  Deselect

63.  Effects/Texture Effects/Texture/Using the same settings.

64.  Re-open all layers and Layers/Merge/Merge all flatten

65.  Image/Add Borders/8 Pixels/Symmetric/Any colour

66.  Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Select the border

67.  Selections/Invert

68.  Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the previous settings

69.  Selections/Invert.

70.  Edit/Paste into Selection

71.  Effects/Texture Effects/Texture using the last used settings.

72.  Deselect

Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.

To create the sidebars.

1. Maximise the saved Diamond Frame image

2.  Close the top layer by clicking on the eye in your layer palette.

3.  Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same settings as previously used/Click on the transparent area around your circular image.

4.  Selections/Invert

5.  Edit/Paste into Selection

6.  Effects/Texture Effects/Texture.  Use your lighter settings same as we used for the borders.

7.  Deselect

8.  Re-open your top layer. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible

9.  Image/Resize/to 70 pixels height and width using the following settings.  Make sure that you resample using Weighted Average.

10.  Image/Canvas Size/Width 70/Height 139/Placement click on the centre top button.

11.  Layers/Duplicate

12.  Image/Flip

13.  Layers/Merge/Merge Visible

14.  Image/Canvas Size/Width 1024/Height 139/Placement click on the centre left button.

15.  Move Tool/Click on your sidebar and using the bottom right arrow on your keyboard move it about 18 pixels to the right.

16.  Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings/Vertical 0/Horizontal 0/Opacity 40/Blur 12/Colour Black/Shadow on New Layer UNCHECKED.

17.  Layers/Duplicate

18.  Image/Mirror

19.  Layers/New Raster Layer.

20.  Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill this layer with the background colour of your choosing.  You can of course create your own background but for the purposes of this tutorial I will be using a plain colour.

21.  Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom

22.  Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten

Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.

Assemble in Letter Creator placing your background image centre/top and tiled and your header placed centre.  Set your text margins at around 95-100 left and right.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.

Tricia ©  November 2005

 

             

  

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