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Gradient
Fade Tag
Tutorial
for PSP 8
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| For this tutorial you will need a sparkle tube, you can
get mine HERE. Save the tube in your tubes folder (no need to
unzip it first) Please feel free to use this sparkle tube with
other projects and share it with your friends, just don't claim it as
your own or try to copyright it - its really just a small cross with
faded ends on a transparent background.
A tube graphic - you can get my orchid HERE. Save it in your
tubes folder.
Make sure your Layer Pallet and Materials Pallet are both visible -
if not Click the View menu, Pallets and select whichever are missing.
Create a new image 300 x 300, White background.
Layers, New Raster Layer
Select the Tube tool and select the image you want to use from the
pull down list on the tool options. If the tube is too big, click
undo, reduce the "scale" of the tube on the options pallet and
try again. You want it to fit comfortably inside the image, but
not too small. I used my orchid tube at scale 60, which means 60%
of full size.
On the Layer Pallet, click on the Background layer.
Click the Layers menu, New Raster Layer
Click on the Flood Fill tool
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Setup the materials pallet as follows:
Start with both the foreground and background colours set to be solid
colours.
Click on the foreground colour swatch. Move your mouse over
your image and use to dropper to select a light colour from your tube
and then click OK.
Click on the background colour swatch. Move your mouse over
your image and use to dropper to select a dark colour from your tube
and then click OK.
Set the foreground material to Gradient. Click on the foreground
swatch. The materials window opens with the "Gradient"
tab active. Set the gradient to Foreground-Background.
Angle=0, Repeats=5, Style=Radial, Horizontal=50, Vertical=50. Your
gradient should now alternate between your chosen colour around the
center. As shown, but using the colours you have chosen. When
you have competed the settings, click OK.
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You should have 3 layers on your layer pallet, in this
order:
Raster1
Raster2
Background
Make sure Raster 2 is the active Layer (it will have the dark blue
band on it). You should still have the Flood Fill tool selected.
Click on your image to fill it with the gradient.
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| Selections menu, Select All
Selections menu, Modify - Contract
Number of pixels = 30
Selections menu, Modify - Feather
Number of pixels = 30
Selections menu, Promote Selection to Layer
On the Layer pallet, click the eye symbol next to Raster 2.
(spectacle symbol on PSP 7)
You should now see a faded edge on your background gradient.
Selections menu, Select None.
Image menu, Resize
Set your measurement to "percent"
Width = 75, Height = 75
Resize All Layers = unticked.
Make sure the "Promoted
Selection" Layer is hightlighted on your layer pallet - as
shown. If it is not highlighted, click on it to hightlight it.
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| Layers menu, Duplicate - you
should see an additional layer on the layer pallet, but your image won't
look any different yet.
Click on the Deformation tool (Picker
tool in PSP Photo XI).
Point to the center of the coloured area and drag it up and left - so
it sits in the top/left corner of your image. Keep the dotted
lines just inside the edge of your image, as shown.
On the Layer Pallet, click on the Promoted Selection Layer (the one
underneath the one that is currently selected).
Move the coloured area on this layer, down and right, into the
corner.
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| On the Layer Pallet, click on layer Raster 1. Still using
the Deformation tool (or Picker tool), move the tube graphic into the upper right area of
your image. You can use the corner handles to adjust its size
slightly too.
When you are happy with the size and position of the tube, Adjust
menu, Sharpness, Sharpen.
Add a drop shadow (Effects menu, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow) with the
following settings:
Horizontal = 2
Vertical = 2
Opacity = 50
Blur = 20
Colour = Black
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| Click on the Text tool.
Click on the Foreground materials swatch (showing the gradient
pattern).
Change the gradient Style setting to Linear and the Angle to
45. Leave all the other settings the same.
Then click the double ended arrow between the 2 materials swatches to
swap the foreground and background settings around. The picture
shows what the materials pallet should look like once you have swapped
the materials around. Foreground is a dark colour and Background
is your gradient.
On the Text tool options, make sure "Create As" is set to
Vector.
Click somewhere in the lower part of your image.
Type in your text in the box and then drag across it with the mouse
to highlight it. Now you can adjust your text size and font on the
options pallet and see instantly what they will looks like.
Don't worry if your text is not in the right position or goes slightly
off the image area at one end - we can move it later.
I used Font = Monotype Corsiva, Size 48, Stroke Width=1
When you are happy with your font and size, click the Apply button on
the text box.
Click on the Object Selector tool (3 below the text tool). Use
this tool to move the text into place (by dragging it) and adjust the
size if necessary. In PSP Photo XI use the Picker tool.
When you are happy with the size and position of your text :
Layers menu, Convert to Raster Layer
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| Bevel the text:
Effects menu, 3D Effects, Inner Bevel
Set as shown in the picture.
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| Add a drop shadow to the text:
Effects menu, 3D effects, Drop Shadow
Horizontal = 1
Vertical = 1
Opacity = 50
Blue = 6
Colour = Black
Layers menu, Merge, Merge All (flatten)
The tag is finished except for adding the sparkles.
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