STEP 1
Open a new image file, 300 x 300 pixels in size, with a transparent background. Flood fill with black.
STEP 2
Add a new layer. Choose the Sinedots II filter (listed under DragonFly in your plugins effects list), open the ss-s2cross.cfg file and select the "crepes" preset - it's the only one in there, so you won't have much trouble finding it.
STEP 3
Now we're going to give this image some shape *S*!
Note: In previous versions of this tutorial, the Vertical Perspective effect was used to change the shape of the Sinedots image. In PSP 9, this effect has been drastically changed, or as Jasc says, it has been altered so that it works correctly. However, this has made it unusable to reshape the Sinedots image, so an entirely new approach is used in this tutorial.
Enlarge the canvas to 600x600.
Choose the Mesh Warp tool (
) - it may be hidden under the Deform tool on the Tools toolbar. Set Mesh horizontal and Mesh vertical to 3, UNcheck Symmetric, and check Show mesh. Your image should look something like this (without the arrows, which I added for clarity):
Watching the status bar at the bottom of the screen to verify node location and movement, convert the Sinedots image into a triangular shape by doing the following:
Note: Make sure your image is zoomed in to at least 100% - this will make it easier to drag the Mesh Warp nodes to precise locations.
- Drag the node at the blue arrow toward the center to coordinates (225,300) - you can see the exact placement of the node on the right end of the status bar along the bottom of the screen.
- Drag the node at the green arrow toward the center to coordinates (375,300).
- Drag both nodes at the red arrows toward the center to coordinates (300,450).
Your image should now look like this:
When you are satisfied with the shape of the Sinedots image, click the Apply button on the Tool Options palette (
).
Using the black background as your guide, crop the image to 300 x 300. An easy way to do this is to make the black layer active and click on the black with the Magic Wand. Then choose the Crop tool, click on the Current Selection button in the Snap crop rectangle to: section of the Tool Options palette:
and then click the Apply button.
Finally, activate the Sinedots layer and resize that layer by 50%. After the resizing, here's what we have:
STEP 4
To help position the image, display the grid lines, changing the Grid, Guide and Snap Properties so that the Horizontal and Vertical grids are 150 pixels apart. Make the grid Color white or another light color, so the grid will show up against the black background
Move the image to the center top with the point of the triangle at the center of the image - use the grid lines as a guide.
Save your work.
STEP 5
Now we're going to change the color of the image. There are many ways to do this, but for this image, I used the Colorize dialog, with Hue = 95, and Saturation = 55. You may use any colors you wish - be creative! Here's what your image should look like now (if you used my colors, that is):
We're done with the grid, so you can hide it now.
STEP 6
Duplicate the Sinedots layer and flip the duplicate layer. Merge these 2 layers.
STEP 7
Duplicate the merged Sinedots layer and rotate the duplicated layer 90 degrees (either left or right).
Merge the 2 Sinedots layers and sharpen as needed. Here's what you should have at this point:
Save your work.
STEP 8
Now we'll add the contrasting layer.
Duplicate the merged Sinedots layer and resize the duplicate layer to 75% of the original size. Rotate the resized layer 45 degrees in either direction. Colorize this layer as before, this time setting Hue to 251 and Saturation to 207.
Finally, add some "pizzazz" to this layer by applying the Kaleidoscope effect with the following settings:
Horizontal offset (-67), Vertical offset (-25), Rotation angle (0), Scale factor (0),
Number of petals (8), Number of orbits (0), Radial suction (68), Edge mode (Reflect)
Sharpen this layer as needed.
That's about it! Now, let's frame it!
STEP 9
Merge all layers. Widen the black background around the image by adding a black 10-pixel border. If you used a different color for your background, use this same color to add the 10-pixel border.
Set the Foreground Material to pattern, choosing the Sinedots Cross image as the pattern, with Angle = 61 and Scale = 14%.
Add a 3-pixel border to the image, using a color just a little darker than your inner cross - I used #DD7580. Select this border and apply an Inner Bevel effect with the following settings:
Bevel (#1), Width (5), Smoothness (10), Depth (5), Ambience (0),
Shininess (60), Color (white), Angle (315), Intensity (25), Elevation (40)
Deselect and save.
STEP 10
Add a 10-pixel white border to the image, select the border, and flood fill with the Foreground pattern. Apply the same Inner Bevel as in Step 9. Finally, to finish the frame off, you might want to add another 3-5 pixel border in the same color as the inner border. Select the border and apply the same Inner Bevel effect used previously.
Deselect, watermark, save and you're done!
Don't forget to sharpen your image if you resize it!
Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did creating it!
If you have any problems, comments, or questions, please do not hesitate to Email me.
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All graphics and content © 2002-2005 by SuzShook
This is my very first tutorial, and I wish to thank someone who has been my inspiration and my guide - and that's Gina Villeneuve of 