©Cathy's Corner - Sad Little Clown

(Click on the above graphic for an explanation of the FBN skill ratings.)

I would like to thank Diana, Esther, Jarah, Jari, Trish and Trudy,
my fellow FlyByNighters, for testing this tutorial for me.

For this tutorial you will need:

Paint Shop Pro, which you can get at the Jasc site.

Click here for my zip file which contains the following:

selections files

fill pattern

hair tube

A snack would be good. (Pepperidge Farm Raspberry Milano cookies are one of my personal favorites - but you can eat a lot more pretzels with a lot less guilt!)

Some working knowledge of PSP is helpful.

Unzip the file you downloaded to your hard drive.

The selections files are in the folder named "cc_clown_selections". You can place this folder anywhere on your hard drive. When the tutorial calls for loading a selection file for the first time, go to Selections/Load From Disk and browse to this folder to find the file you need. Paint Shop Pro will now default to this folder until you tell it otherwise.

Open "cc_clown_fill.jpg" in Paint Shop Pro.

Open "cc_clown_hair.tub" in Paint Shop Pro and export as a Picture Tube: File/Export/Picture Tube. (Make sure you enter 4 for BOTH Cells across AND Cells down; Placement mode: continuous; step size: 20; Selection mode: incremental.)

I will be using the icons from PSP to show the steps we will be taking. I have these buttons available on my toolbars, which makes things much easier. Here they are along with an explanation of each:

Disk Load Selection (Selections/Load From Disk)

Float your selection (Selections/Float)

Select none (Selections/Select None)

Save (one of the most important steps in any tutorial)

Invert Selection (Selections/Invert)

Drop Shadow (Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow

Undo (This button is your best friend!)

Okay, let's get started...

Open a new image: 300x300 pixels; transparent background; 16 million colors. Save this image in psp format to your hard drive. Once saved, you can save throughout the tutorial by clicking your save icon .

~ ~ ~ BODY ~ ~ ~

1. Set your foreground to pattern and choose cc_clown_fill.jpg; scale: 100, angle: 25.

2. Set your background color to black.

3. Add a new layer and name it "body"

4. Load the selection "body.sel".

5. Flood fill with black.

6. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

7. Flood fill with cc_clown_fill.jpg.

8. Float your selection.

9. Apply a CurlyQ effect (Effects/Geometric Effects/CurlyQs) with the following settings:

columns: 20
rows: 20
size: 82
strength: 26
clockwise

10. Deselect

11. Save.

~ ~ ~ LEFT LEG ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "left leg".

2. Load the selection "leg_left.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with cc_clown_fill.jpg.

6. Float your selection.

7. Apply a CurlyQ effect (Effects/Geometric Effects/CurlyQs) with the following settings:

columns: 8
rows: 8
size: 82
strength: 26
clockwise

8. Deselect.

9. Save.

~ ~ ~ LEFT ARM ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "left arm".

2. Load the selection "arm_left.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with cc_clown_fill.jpg.

6. Float your selection.

7. Apply a CurlyQ effect (Effects/Geometric Effects/CurlyQs) with the following settings:

columns: 8
rows: 8
size: 82
strength: 26
clockwise

8. Deselect.

9. Save.

~ ~ ~ RIGHT ARM ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "right arm".

2. Load the selection "arm_right.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with cc_clown_fill.jpg.

6. Float your selection.

7. Apply a CurlyQ effect (Effects/Geometric Effects/CurlyQs) with the following settings:

columns: 8
rows: 8
size: 82
strength: 26
clockwise

8. Deselect.

9. Save.

~ ~ ~ RIGHT LEG ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "right leg".

2. Load the selection "leg_right.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with cc_clown_fill.jpg.

6. Float your selection.

7. Apply a CurlyQ effect (Effects/Geometric Effects/CurlyQs) with the following settings:

columns: 8
rows: 8
size: 82
strength: 26
clockwise

8. Deselect.

9. Save.

~ ~ ~ LEFT FOOT ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "left foot".

2. Load the selection "foot_left.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Apply an Inner Bevel with the following settings:

Bevel: round
Width: 20
Smoothness: 15
Depth: 10
Ambience: 10
Shininess: 50
Angle: 0
Intensity: 50
Elevation: 30

7. Move this layer beneath your "left arm" layer.

8. Deselect.

9. Save.

~ ~ ~ RIGHT FOOT ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "right foot".

2. Load the selection "foot_right.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Apply an Inner Bevel with the following settings:

Bevel: round
Width: 20
Smoothness: 15
Depth: 10
Ambience: 10
Shininess: 50
Angle: 0
Intensity: 50
Elevation: 30

7. Deselect.

8. Save.

~ ~ ~ COLLAR ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "collar".

2. Load the selection "collar.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ LEFT HAND ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "left hand".

2. Load the selection "hand_left.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ RIGHT HAND ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "right hand".

2. Load the selection "hand_right.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Deselect.

7. Move this layer beneath your "left arm" layer.

8. Save.

~ ~ ~ FACE ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "face".

2. Load the selection "face.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Change colors:

Foreground: white
Background: #F4CCCC

6. Change your fill to gradient and choose Foreground-Background:

Invert gradient checked
Angle: 45
Repeats: 0
Style: Linear gradient

7. Flood fill your image with your gradient.

8. Change your background color back to black.

9. Change your foreground style to solid.

10. Deselect.

11. Save.

~ ~ ~ EYES ~ ~ ~

**This layer will be slightly different - we will be loading several different selections.

1. Add a new layer and name it "eyes".

2. Load the selection "eye_lashes.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #0000FF.

6. Deselect.

7. Load the selection "eyes_outer.sel".

8. Flood fill with black.

9. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

10. Flood fill with white.

11. Deselect.

12. Load the selection "eyes_inner.sel".

13. Flood fill with black.

14. Apply an Inner Bevel with the following settings:

Bevel: round
Width: 7
Smoothness: 15
Depth: 7
Ambience: 0
Shininess: 71
Angle: 336
Intensity: 40
Elevation: 30

15. Deselect.

16. Save.

~ ~ ~ NOSE ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "nose".

2. Load the selection "nose.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Apply an Inner Bevel with the following settings:

Bevel: round
Width: 14
Smoothness: 15
Depth: 7
Ambience: 0
Shininess: 50
Angle: 315
Intensity: 50
Elevation: 30

7. Deselect.

8. Save.

~ ~ ~ CHEEKS ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "cheeks".

2. Load the selection "cheeks.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ MOUTH ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "mouth".

2. Load the selection "mouth.sel".

3. Flood fill with white.

4. Contract your selection by 2 pixels.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ HAT 1 ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "hat1".

2. Load the selection "hat1.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ HAT 2 ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "hat2".

2. Load the selection "hat2.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 2 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ HAT 3 ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "hat3".

2. Load the selection "hat3.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ HAT TASSEL 1 ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "hat tassel 1".

2. Load the selection "hat_tassel_1.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ HAT TASSEL 2 ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "hat tassel 2".

2. Load the selection "hat_tassel_2.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ HAIR ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "hair".

2. Load the selection "hair.sel".

3. Click on your Picture Tube tool

4. Browse to the tube you exported.

5. Change the Scale to 50.

6. Fill your selected area with "hair".

7. Apply a Straw Wall texture effect with the following settings:

Color: black
Angle: 240
Blur: 17
Density: 51
Length: 4
Width: 2
Transparency: 98

8. Effects/Sharpen/Sharpen.

9. Colorize:

Hue: 22
Saturation: 100

10. Deselect.

11. Save.

~ ~ ~ TEAR DROP ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "tear drop".

2. Load the selection "tear_drop.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ BALLOON STRING ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "balloon string".

2. Load the selection "balloon_string.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Deselect.

5. Save.

~ ~ ~ BALLOON ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "balloon".

2. Load the selection "balloon.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Invert your selection

7. Apply a Drop Shadow:

Vertical: 5
Horizontal: 5
Opacity: 50
Blur: 20
Color: #EA4B4A

6. Apply a second drop shadow, changing your Vertical and Horizontal to: -5.

7. Deselect.

8. Save.

~ ~ ~ SHIRT TASSELS ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "shirt tassels".

2. Load the selection "shirt_tassels.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Contract your selection by 1 pixel.

5. Flood fill with white.

6. Deselect.

7. Save.

~ ~ ~ TEXT ~ ~ ~

*** This is optional - feel free to add the text of your choice ***

1. Add a new layer and name it "text".

2. Load the selection "text.sel".

3. Flood fill with #EA4B4A.

4. Apply an Inner Bevel: Round setting.

5. Deselect.

6. Save.

~ ~ ~ TRIM ~ ~ ~

1. Add a new layer and name it "trim".

2. Load the selection "trim.sel".

3. Flood fill with black.

4. Deselect.

5. Save.

~ ~ ~ FINISHING UP ~ ~ ~

To finish up our image, we will be adding a drop shadow

to most of our layers. I saved this for last so I could see all my layers clearly.

1. Click on your "body" layer.

2. Click on (or Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow) and use the following settings:

Vertical: 2
Horizontal: 2
Opacity: 50
Blur: 5
Color: black

If you have the Drop Shadow icon in your toolbar, it makes this step much easier, since you can just:

Click on your layer
Click on your icon
Click OK

Repeat your drop shadow on each of the following layers:

left leg
right hand
left foot
left arm
right arm
right leg
right foot
collar
left hand
face
hat 1
hat 2
hat 3
hat tassel 1
hat tassel 2
balloon string
balloon
shirt tassels

Apply a drop shadow to the following layers, but change your Vertical and Horizontal to: 1

hair
tear drop

If you went along blindly (yes, I did it myself) you may have to hit your undo button a few times to get back to the hair layer!

Save. (This will be your final save in psp format, so make sure you're happy with your image.)

~ ~ ~ CREATING A TUBE ~ ~ ~

To save your clown as a picture tube:

1. Merge visible layers:

1. Right click on any layer in your layer palette and choose Merge/Merge Visible from the fly-out menu...or...
2. Click on Layers/Merge/Merge Visible

2. Export as a Picture Tube:

1. Click on File/Export/Picture Tube
2. Enter 1 for both Cells across and Cells down
3. Enter a unique name for your tube ie: "my_clown"
4. Remaining settings left at default

3. Exporting an image as a Picture Tube does not affect the image you are working on. You can continue working on the current image. Add a new layer/layers to create a background or add any other embellishments you would like.

4. When you're finished save in your favorite format: gif or jpg.

5. Your original psp format will still be in the folder you last saved it to, in the state you last saved.

~ ~ ~ OPTIONAL STEPS ~ ~ ~

Would you rather have a happy clown? No problem...

1. Make your "mouth" layer active and rotate your image 180� (either direction). (Make sure All layers IS NOT checked.)

2. Use your Mover Tool to adjust the position of your mouth.

3. Make your "tear drop" layer active and hit delete.

4. Make your "text" layer active and hit delete.

5. Add new text of your choice.

As with most of my tutorials, my hope is that you learn something new about Paint Shop Pro.

I encourage you to try different effects to make Your clown truly unique.

Here are a few clowns I made
(The one on the right was made following the tutorial.)