This tutorial is my own creation. Any resemblence to another is purely co-incidental. 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 use a link to the page only.

Tools needed to complete this tutorial:-

Paint Shop Pro Version 9

A tube of your choice.
The tube used in this tutorial is used with permission from the very talented Jazzl.

DragonFly Shear plugin

1. Open your tube of choice. Shift + D to duplicate and close the original.

2. Using your eye dropper chose a light colour from your tube for the foreground and a dark, complimenting colour for your background. (Make a note of the HTML code for your background colour).

3. Click on your selection tool and set it to rectangle with no feather.

4. Draw a rectangle shape out using the grey/white squares as a guide. Because all tubes are different sizes, I can’t give you any measurements here, but I worked on drawing the rectangle out so that I started at 16,16 which is the corner of the first white square and dragged the rectangle out to make it an even distance away from all sides.

5. Add a new raster layer and drag it to the bottom of your layer palette.

6. Flood fill with your foreground colour.

7. Effects, Plugins, DragonFly, Shear and use the following settings:-
   • Direction:      0
     
   • Origin X & Y:      0.5
     
   • Strength:      1
     
   • Antialias:      1
     
   • Color:      Your background colour
     
   • Outside:      Leave as is.

8. Effects, Texture Effects, Blinds and use the following settings:-
   • Width:      5
     
   • Opacity:      45
     
   • Color:      Your background colour
     
   • Horizontal & Light from left/top:      Checked

9. Deselect.

10. Effects, 3D Effects, Inner Bevel and use the following settings:-
    • Pie Bevel
      
    • Width:      8
      
    • Smoothness:      0
      
    • Depth:      2
      
    • Ambience:      0
      
    • Shininess:      2
      
    • Color:      White
      
    • Angle:      315
      
    • Intensity:      50
      
    • Elevation:      30

11. Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow and use the following settings:-
    • Vertical:      
      
    • Horizontal:      8
      
    • Opacity:      45
      
    • Blur:      15

12. Highlight the top layer in your layer palette.

13. Edit, repeat Drop Shadow.

14. Add a new raster layer and drag it to the bottom of your layer palette.

15. Flood fill with your foreground colour.

16. Add a new raster layer and drag it to the top of your layer palette.

17. Add your watermark. Merge all flatten.

    

    SIDE BARS

18. Open a new 45 x 450 transparent image.

19. Flood fill with your foreground colour.

20. Effects, Plugins, DragonFly, Shear and use the same settings as before.

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

22. Effects, 3D Effects, Inner Bevel and use the same settings as before.

23. Image, Canvas size and use the following settings:-
    • Width:      55
      
    • Height:      550
      
    • Placement:      Left middle arrow.

24. Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow and use the same settings as before.

25. Hit Ctrl + C.

26. Hit Ctrl & V.

27. Close the original.

28. Add a new raster layer and drag it to the bottom.

29. Flood fill with your foreground colour.

30. Merge all, flatten.

31. Save as your left border.

32. Window, Duplicate.

33. Image, mirrow.

34. Save as your right border.

35. You can now put it all together in Letter Creator.

    
    
        

    

    
    

    
    
    ©Aushorty Creations - February 2006