CHOPPED BACKGROUND

This tutorial is my own creation. Any resemblance to another is purely co-incidental. Please do not copy, translate or place on another site without my written permission. You are more than welcome to use this tutorial in a group setting, but please link to this page only.

Tools need to complete this tutorial:

Paint Shop Pro v 9

Video Rave Plugin
(There are three lots of Harry’s Filters……….I am unsure now as to which has the Video Rave)

A graphic of your choice.
The graphic I have used is used with permission from Joe Pekar who has kindly allowed me to use his wonderful artwork in my tutorials and stationery creations.

If you have everything you need, let's begin.

1. Open your graphic and resize if necessary. This is a side border tutorial, so graphics that are much longer than they are wide work best.

2. Shift + D twice, close the original and minimize one of the copies for now.

   BACKGROUND

3. Effects, Distortion Effects, Displacement map and use the Wet Fall Leaves map, default settings.

4. Effects, Plugins, Video Rave, Picture chopper and use the following settings:-
   • X Chop:     229
     
   • Y Chop:     229
     
   • Chop Factor:     11

5. Effects, Image Effects, Seamless Tiling and use the following settings:-
   • Corner Checked
     
   • Vertical Checked

6. Effects, Image Effects, Seamless Tiling and this time check Horizontal.

7. Right click in your layer palette, and promote background layer.

8. Lower the opacity of the background to around the 50% mark depending on the darkness of your graphic.

9. Adjust sharpness, Sharpen more.

10. Merge all flatten.

11. Save as your background, JPEG format, and minimize for now.

    SIDE BORDER

12. Maximize the 2nd copy of your graphic. Right click in the layer palette and promote background layer.

13. Layers, new raster layer.

14. Set your foreground to white and your background to null.

15. Click on your pencil tool with the following settings:-
    • Draw lines and polylines selected.
      
    • Dash dot selected.
      
    • Line Width:     8

16. View, Rulers.

17. Placing your mouse at co-ordinates 25,25, hold down your shift key and draw a line down over the bottom of your graphic.

18. Click on your magic wand with the following settings:-
    • Mode:     Add (Shift)
      
    • Match Mode:     RGB Value

19. Click inside one of the dots or dashes. All should now be selected.

20. Hit the delete key.

21. In your layer palette, highlight layer 1, and again hit the delete key.

22. Deselect.

23. Highlight the top layer, and again, using your pencil tool, same settings, draw another line this time starting as close to the top and left side of your graphic that you can.

24. Select either a dot or dash again with your magic wand and hit delete.

25. Highlight layer 1, and again hit the delete button.

26. Deselect.

27. Highlight the top layer in you layer palette and again click on your pencil tool.

28. Repeat the above steps on the right side of your graphic, making the longest line the one closest to the right side of your graphic.

    Note: Because I have the line on its own layer, if I draw them too far apart I can use the mover tool to shift them over a little.

29. You should now have dot-dash lines on both sides of your graphic.

30. Drag your top layer to the bottom of the layer palette now. We will use it for our background.

31. Image, Canvas size and use the following settings:-
    • Width:      1024
      
    • Height:     The original height of your graphic
      
    • Placement:     Left middle arrow

32. Highlight the top layer which should be the layer with your graphic.

33. Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow and use the following settings:-
    • Vertical:     0
      
    • Horizontal:     15
      
    • Opacity:     45
      
    • Blur:     12
      
    • Color:     Black
      
    • Shadow on new layer:     Unchecked.

34. Highlight your bottom layer in the layer palette.

35. In your colour palette, click on pattern and look for the background pattern that we made earlier.

36. Flood fill the bottom layer and lower the opacity if need be.

37. Highlight the top layer. Effects, Image Effects, Seamless tiling and use the following settings:
    • Edge Checked
      
    • Vertical Checked
      
    • Width:      25
      
    • Transition:     25

38. Add a new layer for your watermark.

39. Merge all flatten.

    You can now take this into Letter Creator, a product that comes with IncrediMail. Don’t forget to tile it.

    
    © An Aushorty Creation – November 2004

    
        

    

    Wepage design and creation by Aushorty Designs