FirstSteps2Alottafun Lesson Eight

Design By Renee

FirstSteps2Alottafun Lesson Eight
Please Note***These pages will be graphic intense, they will take a while to fully download. Use your refresh button to reload the page to check for updates on this page. ...Renee

Lesson Eight is a Multi-Image Transition Scroll. Which means that we will have 3 images that will fade from the first image to the second, then to the third, then it begins again. These images will be a scrolling left border over a fixed background.

Please Right click on these graphics, click Save Picture As/name it in window/make sure they are listed as a jpg and save to our c:/firststeps folder.
***Note, Each image is walking down the same path. Each view, just closer to home.

Colors Of The Rainbow: Happy Trails: Evening Comfort:

Artist: Jim Warren
http://www.jimwarren.com

By now you should be familiar with some of the steps. I will be using less screen captures. If you get lost, refer to a previous lesson.

I am going to be using two colors, the foreground is color #FFCD45, a nice gold color which will be the frame for the graphics. And the background color, #006000, a rich dark green, which will be for the seamless bkg we will be making.

We will make our seamless tile for the bkg first. So please click your new image icon, and use these settings: 150 Height x 150 Width Transparent. Select your flood fill tool, and flood fill the transparent window with the dark green color.
Now click Image/Noise/Add and use these settings:

Now, bear with me.. You wont see the patterns until we make the full background!!
Now click Image/Effects/Feedback , and use these settings:

You see a subtle change, but we are not done yet. We still need to make our seamless tile.
So please click your new image icon again, and use these settings:
300 Height x 300 Width Transparent
Now click on the green feedback window, and right click to open a menu, select copy:

Now click on the 300x300 window, and right click paste, as new selection:

Now using your cursor, move this tile up to the top left corner of the window, so that it fits perfectly in the corner. Use your mover tool if you need to. The "marching ants" will tell you its even on two sides.

Now, right click your menu again, and select paste, as new selection: You now have a second tile. Move this tile up to the top right corner so that it matches up perfectly with all three sides. Then click Image/Mirror:

Now right click your menu again, and select paste, as new selection. You now have the third tile. Move this tile down to the bottom left corner so that it matches up perfectly with all three sides. Then click Image/Flip:

Now again, right click your menu, and select paste, as new selection. You now have the fourth tile. Move this to the bottom right corner so that it matches up with all four sides.
Then click Image/Flip and then click Image/ Mirror ..

Now click Selections/Select All then Selections/Modify/Expand and use 4 in the settings. this gives our sides a better blend. Now click Selections/None. Do you see the pattern now?

Now we need to make the bkg. Click New Image, and use these settings:
Width 1024 x Height 300 Transparent
Select your flood fill tool and in the tool option window choose pattern. Click the middle tab (looks like a grid) and select your tile we just made, and flood fill the tile into the transparent window. Now click layers/Merge/Flatten All. You can see the pattern much better now. Click File/Save, give it a name and save to your stationery folder:
C:/Program files/Common Files/Microsoft Shared/Stationery/your image bkg.jpg

Hope you like the bkg. The possibilities are endless using the features in PSP!
Now open the three graphics, and choose one for the first image.
Click Windows/Duplicate because we never work on the original image. Close your original.
Click Selections/Select All so you have the "marching ants" all around your image. Then click Selections again and click Modify/Contract and use 15 in the settings.

You will see the "marching ants" move into your image 15px from the edge.
Now click Selections/Invert
You will see double lines of "marching ants" one 15px in and one on the edge.

We are going to turn this into the frame! Make sure your foreground color is the gold we are using, and select your Airbrush Tool and use these settings in the tool options window:

Now, Airbrush your foreground color all around the inverted section, covering it completely. This will just Airbrush what is inside the two "marching ants" lines.

Now click Image/Noise/Add and use the same settings that we used on the bkg tile. They should still be set that way.

Now we need to bevel it. So click image/Effects/Inner Bevel and use these settings: Note that I changed the color square to the same gold color instead of white. We want to keep the dark gold color and a white bevel lightened it too much. You can click on the color square to change the bevel color. Just don't forget to change it back to white for other uses.

Here is the frame:

Ok, we are going to use a "shortcut" to place this frame on the other two images so you won't have to do these steps for each one! While the "marching ants" are showing it's active and selected, right click on the image and click copy.
Next open your other two images and duplicate them, and close the original. Right click on your second image, and click paste, AS NEW LAYER.. we do this because it puts the frame on there perfectly. And now click Layers/Merge/Flatten All. Image two is done. do this same step to the third Image.
Now back to the first image click Selections/Select None and all three are framed!

Now is the time to put in your "sig tag"
Now click File/Save for each image. It will help if you number them also so you know in what order they should be.
c:/program files/common files/microsoft shared/stationery/your images 1, 2, & 3.jpg
Here is a sneak peek at the image and bkg:

I hope you have enjoy this lesson. and that it gave you some ideas to work with!
So if your ready, let's get to the script!

Part Two The Script