MASK ATTACK




This tutorial is my own creation. Any resemblance to another is purely co-incidental. Please do not pull it apart and claim it as your own. 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 needed to complete this tutorial:

Paint Shop Pro 9

Alfs Borders FX

Eye Candy 4000

Mask 193

A graphic of your choice
The graphic I have used is by Johanna Pieterman who has very kindly allowed me to use her artwork in my tutorials.


Ok, if you have everything you need, let's begin.


  1. Open your graphic of choice and resize if necessary.

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

    BACKGROUND.

  3. Using your eye dropper tool, select a foreground and background colour from your graphic.

  4. Effects, Art Media Effects, Coloured pencil and use the setting of 20 for both detail and opacity.

  5. Effects, Artistic Effects, Balls & Bubbles.

    • Shape:

    • Automatic multiple balls or bubbles checked
    • Coverage:     50
    • Average size:     25
    • Size variation:     55
    • Balls or Bubbles type:     Overlapping

    • Surface:

    • Material:     Right click and chose your foreground colour.
    • Opacity:     15
    • Shininess:     50
    • Gloss:      0

    • Maps:

    • Bump map and Fit bump map checked.
    • Select Motion Dance from the drop down list.

    • Illumination:

    • Maximum:     50
    • Minimum:     0
    • Light 1
    • Color:     White
    • Highlight size: 33
    • Type Bubble light checked.

  6. Effects, Plugins, Alf’s Borders FX, Mirror Bevel and use the default settings.

  7. Effects, Image Effects, Seamless tiling and use the following settings:-

    • Corner Checked
    • Bidirectional checked
    • Curved checked.

  8. Layers, duplicate.

  9. Adjust, Blur, Radial Blur and use the Zoom centered preset.

  10. Lower the opacity of this layer to around 70%.

  11. Merge visible. Lower the opacity to around 50 – 60% depending on the colours in your graphic.

  12. Merge all flatten and save as your background as a jpeg.

    FRAME

  13. In you layer palette, right click and promote background layer.

  14. Layers, Load/Save mask, Load mask from disk and find mask 193.

  15. Layers, merge, merge group.

  16. Selections, select all.

  17. Selections, float. Selections, defloat.

  18. Effects, Plugins, Eye Candy 4000, Glass and use the following settings:-

    • Bevel:     8.90
    • Smoothness:     9
    • Inside marquee Checked.
    • Edge Darkening:     -48 (minus)
    • Gradient Shading:     19
    • Refraction:     20
    • Opacity:     36
    • Tinting:     47
    • Glass Colour:     Chose the lighter of the two colours.

    • Lighting:

    • Direction:     90
    • Inclination:     45
    • Highlight Brightness:     90
    • Highlight size:     14
    • Highlight color:     White
    • Ripple Thickness:     9
    • Ripple Width:     39.79

    • Bevel Profile:

    • Subtle Hump
    • Sharp Corner checked.

  19. Deselect.

  20. Image, Canvas size and add 50 pixels to length and width using the middle arrow for placement

  21. Add a new layer. Flood fill with the lighter of the two chosen colours.

  22. Layers, Arrange, Send to bottom.

  23. Effects, Texture Effects, Blinds and use the following settings:-

    • Width:      20
    • Opacity:     45
    • Color:     Black
    • Horizontal & Light from left/top checked.

  24. Adjust, Blur, Gaussian Blur and use a setting of 5.

  25. Making sure the top layer is now the active layer, Effects, 3D Effects, drop shadow and use the following settings:-

    • Vertical;     0
    • Horizontal:     8
    • Opacity:     50
    • Blur:     10
    • Color:     Black
    • Shadow on new layer:     Unchecked.

  26. Repeat drop shadow but change the horizontal to –8 (minus).

  27. Merge all, flatten.

  28. Image, add border and add a 5 pixel border using your darkest color.

  29. Select the border with your magic wand.

  30. Effects, Texture Effects, Blinds and use the same settings as before.

  31. Effects, 3D Effects, Drop shadow and use the following settings:-

    • Vertical & Horizontal:     5
    • Opacity:     75
    • Blur:     25
    • Color:     Black

  32. Repeat drop shadow changing the V&H to –5 (minus).

  33. Effects, 3D Effects, inner bevel and use the following settings:-

    • Bevel:     Pie
    • Width:     8
    • Smoothness:     70
    • Depth:     70
    • Ambience:     0
    • Shininess:     50
    • Color:     White
    • Angle:     225
    • Intensity:     40
    • Elevation:     40

  34. Deselect.

  35. Resize and sharpen if necessary.

  36. Add a new layer for your watermark, then merge all, flatten.

  37. Save as a jpeg and you are now ready to put it all together in Letter Creator.


    © An Aushorty Creation – October 2004