Suspended Steel Frame

This tutorial is entirely my own work and any resemblance to any other tutorial is purely coincidental.

It is only through the hard work and willingness of my testers in Force Fantastic that this tutorial ever saw the light of day. I would have written it off as unworkable but they didn't lose faith and because of them and their great spirit, the whole thing came together. I owe each and every one of them, a great debt of gratitude. Thank you Ladies.

Suspended Steel Frame

This is what we will be making:-

You will need:

Paint Shop Pro 8 or 9

Andrews Filters 4 (Download a Demo Version here) Note. If you don't already have Andrew's Filters you will find when you download them that they are in FFL. format. You will need a small programme called The Plugin Commander to convert them to 8bf. format. Go Here for more information. This tutorial works on the principal that you have Andrews 4 imported into Filters Unlimited. If you are using it direct from your Plugins Folder it will still work but you may find some differences in colour

A Border Fade mask (I have used Nevoa) 20-20 or Circle Fade will do just as well. Download Nevoa Mask Zip here.

Filters Unlimited 2

A Graphic of your choice.

This is quite a complex tutorial and contains in all, 100 steps, but if you have a good working knowledge of PSP and it's tools and follow each step you should be able to complete it with ease.

This is what you do:

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

2. Minimise one copy and resize the other one to 320 x 320 (Make sure Lock Aspect Ratio is UNCHECKED)

3. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tiling/Default.

4. Adjust/Blur/Gaussian Blur/Radius 25.

5. Duplicate this image and minimise the copy. This copy background image will be the fill for your metal frame.

6. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited 2/Tile and Mirror/Radial Tile/Default (Rotation 88 Zoom 169)

7. Maximise your saved copy of the original graphic and resize so that is no larger than 320 on it's longest side. Make sure Lock Aspect Ratio is CHECKED.

8. Layers/Promote Background Layer

9. Layers/Load Save Mask/Load Mask from Disk. Add your mask to the image in the usual way then delete the mask layer and merge/merge group.

10. Edit Copy and close this image

11. Edit/Paste/Paste as New Layer onto your prepared background image.

12. Layers/Merge/Merge all flatten.

13. Image/Add Borders/25/Symmetric in Bright Red

14. Selection Tool/Magic Wand using the following settings. Select your border.

15. Promote Selection to Layer

16. De-select

17. In your materials Palette select Bright Blue as your Foreground Colour (top box) and Bright Red (same red as your border) as your Background colour (bottom box)

18. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited 2/Andrew's 4/Square out of it /using the following settings.

19. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten

20. Image/Add Borders/25 pixels/symmetric in Bright Blue (same blue as is in your materials palette).

21. In your materials palette reverse the foreground and background colours by clicking on the curved arrow between the two boxes. Red should now be in the top box and blue in the bottom box.

22. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same Settings as before select your border.

23. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer

24. Deselect

25. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited 2/Andrews 4/Square out of it/Using the following settings

26. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten

27. Image/Add Borders/10 pixels/Symmetric/Bright Green

28. Selections/Select all

29. Selections/Modify/Contract 60

30. Selections/Invert

31. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer

32. Rename this layer Border

33. De-select.

34. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Same Settings as before make the following selections on your border layer. The four bright red corners on your red border and the four light blue inner sections on your blue border. See below:-

36. Selections/Invert.

37. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer.

38. Rename this layer Metal Frame.

39. Highlight your Borders Layer

40. Selections/Invert

41. Selections/Promote Selection to Layer.

42. Rename this Layer Cutout

43. Do not deselect.

44. In your layer Palette delete your Borders layer.

45. In your material palette select your background colour. This will be the colour that shows through the gaps in the frame and also the background colour of your letter.

46. Make sure your background layer is now highlighted

47. Press delete on your keyboard.

48. Close your background layer and highlight your cutout layer with the selections still active.

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

50. De-select

51. Close your cut out layer and your background layer and highlight your metal frame layer.

52. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/same settings select all of the coloured sections on this layer including the green border.

53. Maximise your saved 'fill' image.

54. Edit/Copy (you can now close this image)

55. Edit/Paste into selection

56. De-select

57. Highlight and open your background layer and close your two top layers.

58. Image/Canvas Size. Increase your canvas size by 20 pixels on each side. 480 x 480 pix. Image Centre.

59. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Select the border

60. Flood fill with your background colour

61. De-select.

62. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Select the Green 10 pixel Border

63. Selections/Promote Selection to layer

64. Close your background layer

65. Edit/Paste into Selection

66. Deselect.

67. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tile at default.

68. Selections/Select all

69. Selections/Modify/Contract/23

70. Press delete on your keyboard.

71. De-select.

72. Open your metal frame layer and ensuring that your cutout layer and background layer are closed Merge/Merge visible. If you wish to brighten your merged layer a little do so now in Adjust/Brightness and Contrast

73. Reopen your background and cutout layers.

74. On your merged layer Effects/3D Effects/Drop shadow using the following settings.

Vertical and Horizontal 2

Opacity 25

Blur 10

Colour Black

75. Repeat with minus settings.

76. Layers/Arrange/Bring to top

77. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten

78. Image/Add Borders/10 pixels/Symmetric/Any colour

79. Selection Tool/Magic Wand/Select the border.

80. Edit/Paste/Paste into selection. If you brightened your frame brighten this border by the same amount.

81. Selections/Invert

82. Effects/3D Effects/Cut out using the following settings.

83. De-select.

84. Your frame is now complete.

You can add a new layer at this point and add your watermark if you wish then merge all flatten. Your finished image is 500 x 500 pixels. If you prefer a smaller header, resize now.

85. Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.

86. Keep open in your workspace.

To create your sidebar and background

1. Make a selection as shown below.

2. Edit/Copy

3. Edit/Paste/Paste as New Image (You can now close your main image)

4. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited/Tile and Mirror/Mirror Horizontal.

5. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited/Tile and Mirror/Seamless Blend Vertical

6. Image/Canvas Size. Increase the canvas size to 1024 width x the height of your sidebar. Set your image centre left.

7. Layer/Add new layer.

8. Flood fill with your background colour.

9. Layers/Arrange/Send to Bottom

10. Highlight your top layer. Effects/3d Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings. Make sure you select Shadow on New Layer.

11. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tile/Edge/Vertical.

12. Layers/Merge/Merge all Flatten

13. Save as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.

Assemble in Letter Creator remembering to set your text about 80 left so that it doesn't obscure the sidebar.

Enjoy!

Please do not copy this tutorial. If sending to friends please send the link and not the page. Do not take it, change a couple of steps and claim it as your own. I work hard to create and develop original ideas from everyday events that I witness. Please feel free to do the same!

Menu