This tutorial written by Rae (Raeniel)
March 29, 2005
This tutorial and it's supplies are Šrae (other than the font and gradient) & are not to be redistributed outside of this Group.
Thank You
~* Supplies Here *~
This first section is written for PSP 8 and 9. **If you have version 7..skip down to the instructions inside the red box.
At your layer palette - highlight the Full Flower layer and then Add a New Raster Layer.
Open your Text tool .. Waterlily Size 110 Kerning-25
Floating & Antialias checked
Background style - Null Foreground style - Gradient
**If your name is too long for the tagback - go to Image/Canvas Size/increase - then, using the Deformation tool, pull the background and the frame lengthwise.
Keep your text selected/marching ants.
Effects/Texture/Soft Plastic:
Keep selected .. Effects/Geometric or Distortion/Wave:
Deselect.
| ** text - PSP 7: turn off all layers at your TagParts palette.. select the FullFlower layer and Add a New Raster Layer. Your new layer should be the only layer that is On. With your Selection tool - pull a shape, 8 squares deep, from one side to the other:
Flood Fill with Gradient:
Keep selected .. Effects/Texture/Soft Plastic:
Keep selected .. Effects/Geometric/Wave:
Deselect. Open your Text tool .. Waterlily Size 110 Kerning-25 Selection & Antialias checked Styles - anything..unimportant Use the Mover tool to align the background behind your text:
Selections/Invert .. Delete. Deselect. **if your name is too long - Image/Canvas Size .. Increase (your text selection will cancel). With the Deformation tool - pull the wavey area to the right and enter your text again. You'll also have to deform the tagback and frame. Turn all layers On. |
Choose your text and position so the first letter sits into the flower and the lower case letters are about a 1/4 inch above the waterline - leaving room for the dropshadow. You can erase part of the Front flower layer to allow more of your letter to show at the flower base, if needed.
If possible - keep the flower at the same horizontal position I placed it on your palette

Dropshadow:
Select the Tagbackground layer (only).. Copy and paste over to AS.
At PSP, turn off the background and Frame layers - Merge Visible your text and flower. Copy and paste to AS.
At Animation Shop - right click on your background and duplicate to 67 frames (yes! 67..don't worry). Edit/Select All .. Edit/Propagate Paste
At your MouseBack animation - Edit/Select All .. Edit/Copy
Click Frame#1 of your 67 frames/background. Scroll to Frame#40..hold Shift and click again - selecting that series of frames.
Right click and Paste Into Selected Frame.. position the emerging butterfly like so:

Scroll back and forth and see how you did with placement. You'll want the flower's leaves to sit in the water. Undo and try again if you're not happy.
Edit/Select All 67 frames.
Copy your text/flower and Paste Into Selected Frame ..
Pay attention to the water/horizon line and where your flower is placed on the water at PSP .. Scroll the frames to see how it looks with your mouse gliding behind. Undo and Paste again if you aren't happy.
Select all/copy the MouseFront animation.
At your 67 frames - select Frame#42 .. scroll to Frame#66 - hold Shift and click to select that series of frames.
Right click and Paste into Selected Frame ..position your butterfly about here ~ note where the leading edge of the lilypad enters ~ in relation to the water ripple the water ripple:
.. again scroll the frames to check your placement.
Here follow instruction on how I made the water movement in my tag.. if you don't want to go that far.. you can now run over to PSP, copy the frame.. paste to AS..copy again. Select All 67 frames and Paste Into Selected Frame and you're finished.
**The Optimization settings I used are below - in the red box.
OK.. want water movement? Let me say that less is more.. you don't want him on rocky seas
.. to be safe and save you a headache if you don't care for all the work you're about to do - Select All 67 frames and ShiftD to duplicate
Select All 67 frames..Animation/Reverse Frames .. export them to PSP.
Using the Retouch tool/Smudge.. settings : Size 30.. Hardness 40 .. Opacity 50
Starting from Frame 67 (topmost layer) .. wiggle the waterpath that your mouse took in short, slight arcs - at the 'front' of the water. Don't do a continuous smudge streak.. break it and let areas remain untouched. Be careful not to get too close to the flower and include it in your smudge:
work down to Frame layer #52.. turning off the layer above as you go. You're making the water wiggle as he glides past and after he's gone to the back.. remember.. less is more, strokewise. Make some arcs Up.. some arcs Down.. some toward each other and away, etc...
When you finish Frame layer 52 - continue down the palette - turning off layers until you reach Frame layer #15..there you'll continue smudging to Frame layer #1.
Close and update to AS. Select all/Animation/Reverse Frames.. play and if it's all good you can copy/paste over the Frame from your PSP parts.. .. copy the frame again and paste into your animation.
| Optimization settings: I got best results at Colors: Optimized Median Cut Nearest Color Optimizations: Write Minimal Collapse Identical Map Identical *to save loading time you may want to resize your animation before optimizing |
I'd love to see your results! Thank you for trying my tut.. I hope you got a great tag out of it ![]()
~rae