|
|
Psp8 Tutorial: Crystals
This is a very easy way to make crystals. Use the tube provided and just place a crystal on different layers. Then use any paint shop pro trick you like to rotate it, blur it, sharpen it, colorize it or my personal favorite...change blend modes. If you've ever wondered what the heck you would do with a blend mode, read on and you will learn this Psp8 trick.
All maegg's tutorials and web sites are authored with CoffeeCup HTML Editor . It works seamlessly with paint shop pro to add graphics to a web page with a simple browse and click. Paint Shop Pro can be turned into a custom button along with any other program you use so it is easy to call up and make changes to graphics. The other features are too many to list here but the main one is a FREE trial DOWNLOAD! Purchasing is very inexpensive and well worth the time it saves going back and forth between graphics programs and web authoring programs. Give it a try and figure out our best kept secret! If you are wrestling with css and need a good css editor, CoffeeCup has a Download - Free CoffeeCup StyleSheet Maker that's definately worth checking out. It makes cascading stylesheets easy to understand, view and code. Now on to the good stuff...
1. You need to download the crystal shape. Unzip crystal.zip and put the crystal.PspShape into your Psp 8 Preset Shapes folder. Download the crystal gradient. Unzip crystal1.zip into your Psp 8 gradients folder.
2. Open a new image. Click File > New set options as follows: width-400px; height-300px; resolution-72dpi; raster background; 24-bit color; transparency checked. Click OK.
3. Create new layer. Click Layers > New Raster Layer.Click the Materials palette and set background color to crystal gradient. Foreground is set to no stroke and not used. Click your flood fill tool and flood fill the layer with the gradient.
4. Click on your Shapes tool or tap the letter P on the keyboard. Click the link below and set the options as in the screen shot.
Shapes Tool Screen Shot
5. Place the cursor in the middle of the new graphic, somewhere in the top center will do. Draw a crystal. I usually make the first one tall and the width is up to your own preference. If you don't like the first one, just click the undo button and try again. I usually do one in the center and work the other crystals out from that one.
6. Click Selections > From Vector Object or Ctrl+Shft+B and you will see the dotted line around the crystal. Click Ctrl+C to copy the crystal or Edit > Copy. Now paste onto a new layer by clicking Edit > Paste > Paste as New Layer or Ctrl+L. Click Selections > Select None.
6. Make sure the new raster layer you just created is the current active layer. Now click on your mover tool or tap the letter M on your keyboard and it becomes the active tool. Place the cursor on your crystal and move it slightly to the left or wherever you think it looks good.
7. We are now going to rotate it into place. Click Image > Rotate and options are as follows:
Direction: left
Degrees: Free at 20.00
Check box - Rotate single layer around canvas
Click OK.
9. Your mover tool is still active, place it on the crystal and move the crystal where the bottom interesects with the other crystal. As you create new layers with crystals, you will intersect the bases at different points. There is no exact way to place these crystals and you will need to eye it a bit.
10. Repeat steps 4 and 5 and add as many crystals as you like. It works well to vary the thickness and size. You can use the same crystal twice and add different effects. Once you get one on it's own layer and placed how you want (use rotate and mirror), you can try different blend modes on the layer. Changing to overlay or burn are two of the ones I used on the finished graphic. Here are a few other ideas:
- Effects > Distortion Effects > Wave (just wave it slightly and you can choose any color in the blue hue and it works well)
- Effects > Distortion Effects > Twirl (try 10)
- Effects > Artistic Effects > Halftone
- Effects > Texture Effects > Fur
Be as creative as you want. The more crystals you add, the better it looks. Once you are done with a vector layer, delete it unless you want it to show. In my example, the only vector layer that stayed was the original crystal in the center. Once I copied and pasted the crystal to it's own layer, I deleted the vector layer. To delete a vector layer, right click on the layer in the layer palette and click delete.
11. When you are done, merge all your layers down. Click Layers > Merge All. Now you can add lighting effects to the entire graphic or add a texture.
If you enjoyed this paint shop pro tutorial, consider supporting the site and future releases by looking through our shopping link. Our shopping area has every product, book, cd, dvd, electronic, computer, software or toy that you could possibly want. Maegg receives a small portion of proceeds from anything purchased through our links. Thanks and drop by the forums and show us your work!
|
|
