©Cathy's Corner - Holiday Greeting Tutorial

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

This tutorial written by Cathy on December 5, 2003.

*** PREPARATION ***

For this tutorial you will need:

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

2. My zip file, containing the images you will need to complete your tag, plus an extra image you may use if you'd like. Click the icon below to download the zip file, unzip to a folder on your hard drive.

The best advice I can give you is to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!! There's not much worse than losing all your hard work due to a program or computer lock up or melt down!!! So...save your work often...I will be putting reminders throughout the tutorial:

Save

As with any of my tutorials, I try to write them for the beginner in mind, however, this increases the load time of the pages. Please be patient.

Please feel free to use any colors you like to create you own unique image.

Ready? Let's go...

*** GETTING STARTED ***

1. Open a new image 500x300 pixels, resolution: 200/pixels per cm, raster background, 16 million colors, transparent background.

2. Save this image as follows:

Click on File/Save As (F12) and browse to a folder on your hard drive where you would like to save your file.
Type in the file name "my_tag.psp"
Click on the Options button and choose:
Compression: LZ77 Compression
Save as PSP7 Compatible File

We will be using this image in Animation Shop, so it is necessary to save with the extension of "psp" and in the PSP7 Compatibility mode

3. You can now save your image at any time by clicking on your Save icon or hitting Ctrl+S.

4. Open the three images from the zip file you downloaded:

cc_santa_mouse.psp
cc_santa_dog.psp
cc_brick_seamless.jpg

5. Export the two "santa" images as Picture Tubes and close the originals.

Tip: I name all images I make with the prefix of "cc_" to denote "Cathy's Corner". When exporting images as tubes I use the same method (a prefix with the author's name or identifying initials; or a suffix) to identify the creator of the tubes. This trick helps me give proper credit when using someone else's tubes.

For this tutorial I will be using the mouse image, but you can use the dog (or any other image you have) if you feel comfortable making adjustments.

Save

*** CREATING THE ROOF ***

1. Add a new Vector Layer and name it "roof".

2. Set your foreground and background colors to black.

3. Click on your Preset Shapes tool and choose the rectangle shape:

Retain style: unchecked
Anti-alias: checked
Create as vector: checked
Line style: solid
Width: 1
Join: first (left) selection
Miter limit: 15

4. Starting at coordinates 0,250 draw a rectangle down to the lower right corner (coordinates 500,300) of your canvas:

5. Click on your Pen Tool and change to the Edit mode.

6. Move your top left node to coordinates 0,30 to give your roof a slight angle:

(image cropped to reduce load time)

7. Add a new Vector Layer and name it "chimney".

8. Click on your Preset Shapes tool (same settings).

9. Change your background to pattern and choose the brick pattern, which you downloaded. (Angle: 0, Scale: 40)

10. Draw out a rectangle approximately 75 pixels wide by 125 pixels high.

11. Change your background color to light gray (#C0C0C0) and draw another rectangle approximately 90 pixels wide by 20 pixels high for your chimney top.

12. Move your mouse over the small circle(s) in the center of your shape(s) and when your cursor changes to four arrows, move your chimney and chimney top into place as shown below:

(image enlarged for easier viewing)

11. Click on Layers/Arrange/Move Down...now your chimney is "behind" your roof.

We will leave our objects as vectors for now...then we can adjust the size later if needed.

Save

*** CREATING YOUR MESSAGE ***

1. Open a new image 400x50 pixels, resolution: 200/pixels per cm, raster background, 16 million colors, transparent background. Save this image as "message.psp".

2. Flood fill your canvas with black.

3. Selections/Select All; then Selections/Modify/Contract and enter 1 pixel.

4. Flood fill with white.

5. Change your foreground and background colors to red. (I used the red from the mouse's cap: #E14C49)

6. Click on your Text Tool (create as Vector) and type your greeting with the font of your choice. Arrange your text so that it is to the right side of your canvas:

(I used the font Harrington, Size: 30, Stroke: 1 and Bold)