New Page 2

Using Effects on Tubes

PSP 8, 9 and
PSP Photo XI

The aim of this tutorial is to help you become familiar with some of the techniques used in tag making tutorials. This is what we are going to make - you can use any tube image.

New image 300x300 pixels, white background

Layers menu, New Raster Layer

Add the tube you want to use to make this - It needs to fill most of the canvas, but with a small amount of space around all of the edges.

Adjust, Blur, Gausian Blur

Radius = 4

Effects, Texture Effects, Tiles

Tile Shape: Square (choose from the pull down list)
Tile Angularity = 0
Tile Size = 20
Border Size = 2
Smoothness = 0
Depth = 5
Ambience = 0
Shininess = 0
Colour: set to white
Angle = 315
Intensity = 50
Elevation = 30

Click on the Pan Tool or Magnifier and Zoom In to 200%

Click on the Magic Wand selection tool (you may need to open out the list of selection tools to find it)

Set the Tool Options for the magic wand as follows:

Match Mode= RGB Value
Tolerance=25
Anti-Alias = ticked
Outside (from the pull down list.

With the Magic Wand, click on the black lines between the tiles.

You should see "marching ants" around all the lines - shown opposite.

Press Del on the Keyboard or Edit menu, Clear - this removes the black lines. You should see white where they were.

Selections, Invert

Effects, 3D Effects, Inner Bevel

Bevel = No 3 (select from the pull down list)
Width = 2
Smoothness = 13
Depth = 5
Ambience = 6
Shininess = 36
Colour = White (click the swatch to change it)
Angle = 313
Intensity = 50
Elevation = 30

Selections, Select None

Click on the Pan or Magnifier tool, and then click the Actual Size button on the Options Pallet.

Layers, New Raster Layer

Add your tube again, but a little smaller than before.

Adjust menu, Sharpness, Sharpen

Deformation Tool or Pick tool (PSP Photo XI) - Rotate the tube a little and move into a corner, but overlapping your background pattern.

Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow

Vertical=3, Horizontal=2, Opacity=60, Blur=6, Color=Black.

On Layer Pallet, Lower the Opacity slider to 80 on the Raster 1 layer.

PSP8 Layer Pallet

PSP7 Layer Pallet

Add your name on a separate layer (refer to the text tutorial if you need to)

That's the tag finished.... but before we merge the layers and save it, let make a duplicate so that we can carry on experimenting.

Windows menu, Duplicate.

On one copy - Layers menu, Merge, Merge All

Save as a .jpg file, then close this image.

On the duplicate image.....

On the Layers pallet, click on the Raster 1 layer - the one which has the tile pattern.

Try out some of the following on this layer - Undo each one when you have seen its effect before trying the next one.

Selections menu, Select All then
Effects, Distortion Effects, Twirl - Degrees = 100
Effects, Distortion Effects, Wave - Both Amplitudes 1, Both Wavelengths 10 to 20 (experiment). Selections, Select None.
Effects, Reflection Effects, Kaleidoscope - experiment with the settings.

Here are some of my "experiments"

I don't often use tutorials to make tags, and I've been asked how I know what effects and settings to use. The answer is this: I experiment, and with practice, it takes less experimenting to achieve the effect I have in mind. Or, I just experiment until I find an effect I like and work from there.