Star Frame Tutorial
My thanks to the members of Force Fantastic for their tireless efforts in testing this tutorial. Great work Ladies........as always!
This tutorial is entirely my own work and any resemblance to any other is purely coincidental. The images I have used were either obtained from the www. or through group shares and I claim no ownership or copyright to any of them. If they belong to you and you do not wish them to be used then please contact me and I will remove them.
This is what we will be making.
The instructions I give are for the basic frame and sidebars but there are a 1001 things that can be done with it to make it completely different and entirely your own so please feel free to experiment and let your creative juices flow!
I have made the completed image large because if, like me, you like to work with a split screen when using a tutorial it will help with the selections if the image is slightly larger and it is resized at the end.
You will need:-
PSP 8 or 9
A circle fade mask (20-20 or Circle Fade are great) 20-20 Zip Here
Filters Unlimited 2 (optional)
A graphic
So let's begin!
1. Open your chosen graphic in PSP. Duplicate twice and close the original
2. Minimize one copy and resize the second to 300 x 300 pixels. Make sure that Lock Aspect Ratio is UNCHECKED.
3. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tiling at Default.
4. Adjust/Blur/Gaussian Blur/Ratio 25.
5. Maximize the saved second copy of your graphic and resize so that it is no more than 280 pixels on it's largest side. Make sure that Lock Aspect Ratio is CHECKED
6. Layers/Promote Background Layer
7. Layers/Load/Save Mask/Load Mask from Disk
8. Add your Fade Mask to your Graphic in the usual way/Delete the Mask Layer /Merge/Merge Group.
9. Edit/Copy and close your masked image.
10. Edit/Paste as a New Layer onto your prepared Background.
11. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible.
12. Choose your foreground and background colours from your image. Make your foreground choice a dark colour and your background choice a lighter shade of the same hue.
13. Image/Canvas Size. Resize your canvas to 400 x 400 pixels/Image Centre.
14. Selection Tool/Magic Wand with the following settings select the transparent border around your image.
(Anti
Alias Checked)
15. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer. Rename this layer Outer 1
16. Repeat Step 15. Rename this layer Outer 2.
17. Close your bottom Merged Layer by clicking on the eye in the layer palette.
18. Flood fill the selection in your Outer 1 and Outer 2 layers with your darker colour.
19. De-select
20. Image/Canvas Size/Resize your canvas to 600 x 600 pixels/Image Centre.
21. Close Outer 2 and highlight Outer 1
22. Image/Rotate/Free Rotate/using the following settings.
23. Open Outer 2/Layers/Merge/Merge Visible and rename this layer Outer.
24. Layers/Duplicate and rename this layer Inner
25. Close Inner and Highlight Outer.
26. Selections/Select All
27. Selections/Modify/Contract 150
28. Press Delete on your keyboard
29. Deselect.
30. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same settings as before/select the four triangular cut-outs on your frame
31. Selections/Modify/Expand/2
32. Flood fill with the same colour as the rest of the frame. Using the following settings:-
33. Deselect.
34. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Select all of the frame.
35. Duplicate and move this copy under 'Outer'
36. Close outer
37. Working on the copy. Selections/Modify/Expand 6 pixels
38. Flood fill tool. Flood fill with your darker colour. This will just make the copy frame slightly larger.
39. Deselect
40. In your materials palette foreground box select gradient. Foreground/Background using the following settings. Angle 45 Repeats 5 Style Linear.
41. Close the copy layer and highlight and open Outer
42. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Click on the frame to select it.
43. Flood fill with your newly created gradient.
44. Effects 3D Effects/Inner Bevel using the following settings.
45. Open the copy of Outer and Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
46. Deselect
47. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Click on the 'border' around the outside of your frame (ignore the centre border) and Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel using the following settings.
48. Deselect
49. Close the 'outer' merged layer and open and highlight 'Inner'
50. Selection ToolMagic Wand/Click on the frame to select it
51. Flood fill with your lighter colour
52. Duplicate layer
53. Close Inner
54. On your copy of Inner Layer/Selections/Modify/Expand/6 pixels
55. Flood Fill with your Darker Foreground colour. This will fill the frame as well.
56. Move this layer under 'Inner'.
57. Deselect.
58. Open 'Inner' but keep Copy of Inner Highlighted
59. Selection tool/Magic Wand/Select all of the dark borders and the triangles.
60. Effects/3D Effects/ Inner Bevel/ Same settings a last used.
61. Deselect.
62. Close copy of Inner and Highlight Inner
63. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Click on the Transparent Area around the outside of the frame.
64. Selections/Invert
65. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer.
66. Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the following settings.
67. Deselect
68. Close the promoted layer and highlight and open Copy of Inner
69. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Click on the octagonal transparent centre to select it.
70. Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the same settings.
71. Deselect
72. Close Copy of Inner and Highlight and Open Inner
73. Selection tool/Magic Wand click on the frame to select it.
74. Effects/Plugins/IC.Net Software/Filters Unlimited 2/Paper Textures/Canvas Fine at Default (you can of course use whatever texture or pattern you prefer)
75. Deselect.
76. Open Copy of Inner and the top Promoted Selection layer
77. Layers/Merge/Merge Visible
78. Image Resize. Resize the image to 80% using the following settings.
79. Open all layers and Merge/Merge Visible
80. Layers/New Raster Layer
81. Flood fill this layer with your chosen background colour. Either light or dark whatever you prefer
82. Layers/Arrange/Send to bottom
83. Close this layer and highlight your merged frame layer
84. Selection tool/Magic Wand/select the transparent area around the frame.
85. Selections/Invert
86. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings.
87. Deselect
89. Layers/New Raster Layer. Add your watermark if you wish and Merge/Merge all Flatten.
90. Resize the completed image to 90%.
91. Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25. Keep open in your workspace.
To create the sidebars. The measurements given are for a screen resolution of 1024 x 768.
1. Create a selection as follows:-
2. Edit/Copy
3. Edit/Paste as New Image
4. Effects/IC Net. Software/Filters Unlimited 2/Tile and Mirror/Mirrored and Scaled
5. Image/Canvas Size/Add 20 pixels to the width only of your image placement centre/right. Adjust the height to the same height as your sidebar image.
6. Selection Tool/Magic Wand select the transparent area down the left side of your sidebar.
7. Flood fill with the same colour as your background.
8. Deselect.
9. Image/Canvas Size/increase the width of your canvas to 1024. Placement Centre/left. The height should still be set at the height of the sidebar image.
10. Layers/New Raster Layer
11. Flood fill this layer with your background colour.
12. Layer/Arrange/Send to bottom
13. Highlight your top layer.
14. Layer/Duplicate
15. Image/Mirror
16. Layers/Merge/Merge all flatten.
17. Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.
When assembling in Letter Creator. Place the background in the body section and tile making sure that you set Image Position to Centre/Top. You won't be able to see the sidebars but they will show when it is opened fully in Incredimail
Set the Text at about 85-90 Left and 85-90 Right
Position the main frame as normal in the Header section and place Centre.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.
Tricia ©
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