Cathy's Corner Dolphin Tutorial
PAGE 3

WARNING - AS WITH MOST OF MY TUTORIALS, THIS ONE IS GRAPHIC INTENSIVE.  I HAVE USED MANY SCREEN SHOTS ALONG THE WAY. PLEASE BE PATIENT AND ALLOW THE PAGES TIME TO LOAD.

For anyone who is intimidated by vectors, I now have another version of this tutorial using selections, which you can access here; however it is my sincere hope that you sill try this version.  I have added many screen shots to make it as easy as possible.  I also hope that you will learn a few tricks about PSP7 along the way!  Whichever version you choose - have fun!

Welcome back! Take a good look at your dolphin and see if anything needs tweaking. If it does, make your changes now. You should be able to edit nodes in your sleep by now, so you're on your own for this part! Once you're happy with the basic shape, we'll add the mouth and eyes.

Dolphins have a wide "smiling" mouth which gives them their friendly appearance. (They also have 224 teeth in there - which, by the way, we WILL NOT be adding!)

Activate your mouth layer. Zoom in on the mouth area so you can see clearly. Click on your draw tool and choose Point to Point, width: 1, antialias and vector both checked. Draw your mouth by clicking in six places using the graphic below as a guide. After clicking on your last spot, right click and choose Quit Node Editing.

Change all your nodes to Symmetric and move and edit them until you are happy with your "smile":

TIP: You can change the properties of several nodes at once.  While in "Node Edit" mode, click on your canvas with your mouse and while holding down your left mouse button, start dragging.  You will see a box start forming indicating the area that you are selecting. Use this to surround the nodes you wish to change. When you release your mouse, all the nodes enclosed in this are will now be black. Right click on any node and change the properties - the properties will change for all the nodes you have selected. 

Save your image: CTRL+S

Activate your eye layer. Click on your Preset Shapes Tool, choose ellipse, width: 1, antialias and vector both checked. Draw a small ellipse just above the back of your dolphin's "smile". I made mine about 10 pixels high and 6 pixels wide. Now rotate your eye left 45 degrees and drag it into position:

Save your image: CTRL+S

TIP: If you'd like to be even more creative than I have been in this version, use your Preset Shapes tool to add a realistic eye for your dolphin.  Add this eye to a new layer just below your eye outline layer. Create as a vector and manipulate the image so most of it appears within your outline.  Convert to raster and erase any stray pixels.  Go to Colors/Colorize and change your Saturation to 150; your hue to 50.

We won't need the "body" layer any longer so delete it now. You can copy your image (Shift+D) and save the original for later use.  After you've made your first dolphin, you may want to change the angle of the body or the basic shape.  Save now and you won't have to start all over.

TIP: Okay, okay - if you really don't like vectors, but you're still here, I figure you deserve a little extra help. Here's a little help to get those pesky little nodes edited properly. Right click on the image below and choose "Copy". Go back to PSP and make sure your dolphin image is active and select all. Now press Shift+Ctrl+L or Edit/Paste/Into Selection. Now my basic dolphin  is a new layer on your image. Move this layer so that it is just above Layer1 and lower the opacity. You can now use it as a guide to edit your nodes. (This is a great trick when using vectors, but let's keep it between us, okay?)

Save your image: CTRL+S

Turn off the visibility for Layer1 and delete the layer with my dolphin (if you used it). Right click on any of the other layers and choose Merge/Merge Visible. Rename this layer "outline". 

Your vectors are now gone! (Okay, stop cheering!)

Time to add some color to our dolphin.

Make Layer1 active and add a new layer called color1.

Turn off the visibility for Layer1. We will be using white and it will be impossible to see against the white of Layer1. 

Neatness is not necessary for the following steps, just make sure you end up with color everywhere within your "outline".

I have tried several (dozen) ways to color my dolphin, trying to find an easier way, but the following is the best I could come up with.  This being said, if you can find an easer way to get the colors to work, by all means use it! Dolphins come in many shades of color, so feel free to use other colors if you'd like.

Add 6 new layers above Layer1, so your layer palette looks as follows:

Here is a color swatch you can use for the next portion of the tutorial.  Right click and choose copy.  Go back to PSP and right click on your workspace and choose Paste as a new image.  (Of course, you can also right click and save to your hard drive.)

Activate your outline layer and using your magic wand, click anywhere outside your outline.  Invert your selection and expand by 10 pixels. Leave selected.

Change your foreground color to dark blue and click on your Airbrush tool. Use the following settings:

Activate your dark blue layer and paint inside your selection.  Completely fill your selected area with dark blue. (We will be removing any color which falls outside out "outline" later, so you don't need to be too careful.)

Save your image: CTRL+S

Change your foreground color to medium blue. Activate your medium blue layer and paint inside your selection, leaving a small portion of dark blue showing near the top of your dolphin. Do not paint inside your lower flipper or tail.

Save your image: CTRL+S

Change your foreground color to aqua. Activate your aqua layer and paint inside your selection, leaving a band of medium blue showing - narrow near the ends and wider in the middle. Do not paint inside your lower flipper or tail.

Save your image: CTRL+S

Change your foreground color to green. Activate your green layer and paint inside your selection, leaving a band of aqua showing - narrow near the ends and wider in the middle. Spray a little extra green up behind the eye.  Do not paint inside your lower flipper or tail.

Save your image: CTRL+S

Change your foreground color to light blue. Activate your light blue layer and paint inside your selection, leaving a band of green showing - narrow near the ends and wider in the middle. Do not paint inside your lower flipper or tail.

Save your image: CTRL+S

Change your foreground color to white. Activate your white layer and paint inside your selection, leaving a band of light blue showing - narrow near the ends and wider in the middle. Do not paint inside your lower flipper or tail. 

Save your image: CTRL+S

If you got any color inside your lower flipper, make your outline layer active and click inside your flipper with your magic wand tool.  Click on each color layer (except dark blue) and hit delete to remove it.

If you're not happy with your colors, adjust each color by spraying more paint or erasing as necessary. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT LAYER ACTIVE AND THE CORRECT COLOR CHOSEN! Deselect

Here's what I have so far. (I told you neatness didn't count!)

Save your image: CTRL+S

Turn off the visibility for Layer1 and your outline layer. Right click on any of your color layers and choose Merge/Merge Visible.  Rename this layer "color".

Make your outline layer active and using your magic wand (tolerance: 10, feather: 0) click anywhere outside your outline.  Expand your selection by 1 pixel. Make your color layer active and hit delete to get rid of any color outside your outline. Deselect.

Save your image: CTRL+S

Make your color layer active. With your magic wand click the area outside your color and invert your selection. Go to Effects/Blur/Average and set the Filter aperture to 17. Leave selected. Leave selected.

Add a new layer and flood fill your selection with white. Move this layer below your color layer. Turn off the visibility for Layer1 and outline layer and merge your remaining two layers.  Rename this merged layer "color". Deselect.

Save your image: CTRL+S

Make your outline layer active and duplicate it. Turn off the visibility for your original outline layer. On your duplicate outline layer erase the lines for your mouth, eye and inside fin. (Change the opacity and density settings to 100 on your eraser.)

With your magic wand click inside the main body area. Expand your selection by 2. Selections/Modify/Expand. Add a new layer and apply a cutout with the following settings:

Save your image: CTRL+S

Add a new layer and apply a cutout, changing your horizontal and vertical settings to: 3 and changing your shadow color to black.

Delete your Copy of outline layer and move your outline layer to the top.

Activate your outline layer.  Using your magic wand (holding your shift key to get multiple areas selected) click inside your lower fin and your flipper. Expand your selection by 2. Add a new layer and apply a cutout to this area, same settings last used.

With your outline layer active, use your your selection tool, (set to  rectangle) to surround your inside fin. Go to Selections/Promote to Layer. Rename your new layer "inner fin". Deselect.

Change your foreground color to red. Right click on your "inner fin" layer and choose View/Current Only. Using your draw tool, set to freehand, antialias checked, vector UNCHECKED, draw a line from one end of the fin line to the other, making an arc, as shown:

Save your image: CTRL+S

Don't worry about neatness, as this is only a guide and we will be deleting this red line shortly.

Using your Magic Wand, tolerance: 10, feather: 0, click inside your "fin" area. Expand your selection by 2 pixels. While still selected, add a new layer called Fin color. This should now be your active layer.

Change your foreground color to medium blue and using your  Airbrush tool, with the following settings, click twice just at the tip of your fin. 

Deselect and apply a Guassian blur of 2. 

Save your image: CTRL+S

Activate your "inner fin" layer and erase/delete the red line. Go to Colors/Adjust/Brightness/Contrast and set your brightness to: -150 and contrast to: 0. Lower the opacity on this layer to 45.

Activate your outline layer and duplicate it. Make your duplicate layer active. Right click on this layer and choose View/Current Only. Click on Selection/Select All; Selections/Float; Selection/Defloat.  Zoom in on the tip of your dolphin's beak and using your eraser tool, erase the outer line to separate it from the line of your dolphin's mouth. See below:

Deselect and zoom out so you can see your dolphin. Using your Magic Wand click on the outline of your dolphin. Check to make sure your mouth is NOT selected and hit delete. Now click on the inner fin line and delete this also. You should be left with only your mouth and eye line(s). Go to Colors/Adjust/Brightness/Contrast and set your brightness to: -150 and contrast to: 0. Lower the opacity on this layer to 45. Rename this layer "mouth and eye".

Save your image: CTRL+S

Right click on your layer and choose View/View All. 

Lower the opacity on your outline layer to 30 - this will leave just a hint of an edge to our graphic.

Turn off the visibility for Layer1. Right click on any of the remaining layers and choose Merge/Merge Visible. Rename this layer "dolphin".

Save your image: CTRL+S

You can delete Layer 1 and tube your image for later use or finish off your image. (Why not do both?)

Here's how I finished my image for the graphic you saw at the beginning of the tutorial:

Flood fill Layer1 with white.

Add a new layer and name it "water". Flood fill your water layer with the water graphic provided below, or one of your own.  Lower the opacity on your water layer to 75. 

Duplicate your dolphin layer. Make your "Copy of dolphin" layer active. Click Selections/Select All; Selections/Float; Selections/Defloat. Flood fill this selected area with black. Using your mover tool, move this image toward the bottom of your canvas. This will be your shadow, so place it wherever it looks good to you. Lower the opacity on this layer to 30 and apply a Guassian blur of 2.5. Move this layer below your dolphin layer.

If you'd like to add some marine type decorations to your image, add a new layer between Layer1 and your water layer and place them on this layer. You can find some wonderful tubes at Barry's site.

Merge all layers and add a border of your choice.

Congratulations - you should now be pretty familiar with vectors and you have created a beautiful image to boot!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial - if so, tell your friends; if not, tell me!

This tutorial was featured at FlyByNightGraphics.

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