Alien Band

This tutorial is copyrighted to Kaye @ Kaye'z Designz. You may print out for personal use but do not post to any site or distribute as your own. Any resemblance to others online is purely coincidental.
Supplies Needed: Paint Shop Pro any version, I used X3. You can get it from COREL. Tube of choice. I used one by Linda Biggs, it can be purchased at CILM. You may use your own color, gradient or pattern. Font of choice or use mine AlienMushroom. Mask of choice or use mine WSLmask003. Notes: Open tube and mask in PSP. Open font and minimize to task bar. SAVE OFTEN.

STEP 1  Open new canvas 500 X 500, Resolution 72.0. Flood Fill with color, gradient or pattern of choice. I used #E0E0E0. Name this layer BG.

STEP 2  Add a New Layer. Flood Fill with another color, gradient or pattern of choice. I used Charade Seamless Tile. Apply mask of choice. I used WSLmask003. Merge / Merge Group. Drop Shadow of choice. Name this layer mask/pattern.

STEP 3  Add New Layer & Flood Fill with Gradient: Rainbow Pastel, Sunburst, Repeats 10, Invert unchecked, Center Point 50, 50, Focal Point 50, 100. Apply same mask and Merge Group. Change Blend Mode to Saturation (L) or Overlay. Name this layer mask.

STEP 4  Copy and Paste tube of choice. Drop Shadow of choice, mine was 3, 3, 65, 8, Black. Name this layer tube.

STEP 5  Grab your Text Tool with font and size of choice. I used AlienMushroom, Vector, Size 60, Bold, Stroke 1 black, for fill I used same gradient from step 3. Type your text. Add Inner Bevel of choice. Add Drop Shadow of choice. Name this layer text.

STEP 6  Add any elements of choice.

STEP 7  Resize canvas if necessary for your group requirements. Add copyright and make sure it is readable.

STEP 8  Save as .pspimage to retain layers for future changes. If you don’t wish to animate Save As .jpg using Jpeg Optimizer to send thru your group.

TO ANIMATE

STEP 1  Activate the mask/pattern layer and Duplicate 2 times for a total of 3 layers.

STEP 2  Activate bottom mask/pattern layer and go to Alien Skin / Xenofex 2 / Constellation: 2, 50, 50, 0, 100, 75, 45, Keep Original Image, Random Seed 3893. Move up to copy of mask/pattern layer and repeat Constellation and hit Random Seed once. Do the same to copy (2) of mask/pattern layer, repeat Constellation and hit Random Seed once.

STEP 3  Hide copy and copy (2) of mask/pattern layer. Copy Merged, go to Animation Shop and Paste as New Animation.

STEP 4  Hide original mask/pattern layer, unhide copy of mask/pattern layer. Copy Merged, go back to Animation Shop and Paste after Current Frame. Do the same with copy (2) of mask/pattern layer.

STEP 5  View Animation and if happy with speed Save As .gif file with these settings: Slider all the way at top for Better Quality. Under Colors tab: 255 colors, Optimized Octree, Error Diffusion. Under Optimizations tab: Check Write minimal frames and Map Identical Pixels other boxes should be unchecked.

All done! I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial. Remember this is just a guide. Experiment using different colors, gradients or patterns, images and settings. Any questions you can reach me at kayewinters@zoomtown.com. This tutorial was written 4/25/10 by Kaye'z Designz.