Whats Your Message

This tutorial was written by me on September 26, 2005. You may link to it through your groups and print it out for future use, but NOTHING, including my ideas, is to be removed from this site! This tutorial assumes that you have a reasonable knowledge of PSP and working with layers. I used the incredible artwork of Greg Horn. Please support this talented artist by visiting his site.

You will need the following supplies:

Graphic, tube, and font of your choice

Your favorite group/forum open on your task bar

Xero Porcelain and Soft Vignette

1. Begin by hitting “post a new discussion” in one of your MSN groups, or “post a new topic” in one of your forums. For this tutorial I will be using Sblended’s message board. Center the discussion in the middle of your screen and use your keyboard to take a screen shot of it.

2. Paste it as a new image in PSP. Use your crop tool to remove the rest of your computer screen, leaving only the post.

3. Resize by 80 percent. View/zoom in by 1; then hit “control z” on your keyboard to undo. Hit “shift D” to make a duplicate. Resize again by 90 percent on the duplicate. (I don’t know why, but I have always found when doing screen shots that this process results in a clearer image of the text on the screen. If you want to skip all of these steps and follow the ones you usually use when doing screen shots, feel free!)

4. Right click on your layer palette and promote the background to a raster layer.

5. Now we’re going to work a little bit on your graphic before incorporating it into your message. Open up your picture of choice and crop it so that it’s similar in proportion to the area inside of your post, i.e. rectangular. Right click on your layer palette and promote it to a layer.

6. Go to Effects/plugins/Xero Porcelain and use the following settings:

7. Duplicate the layer by right clicking on your layer palette.

8. Effects/blur Gaussian blur on the copy and type in 3.

9. Go to Effects/plugins/Xero Soft Vignette. Have your background color set to what you want the dots to be and use these settings:

10. Reduce the opacity of this layer on your layer palette to 50 or so.

11. Layers new raster layer and drag it beneath both layers of your image. Flood fill it with a color from your tube. I used a light blue to match the background of the MSN post.

12. On your layer palette, change the blend mode of the BOTTOM copy of your graphic to luminance. Change the top copy’s blend mode to multiply. (These are the modes that I used; you may want to play around with the various options until you find that one that you like.)

13. When you’re satisfied with the appearance of your jpeg, layers/merge visible. Hit “control C” on your keyboard to make a copy of it.

14. Activate your magic wand tool with feather and tolerance set at 0. Back on the screen shot of your message, click inside of the main screen. Layers/new raster layer; then hit “shift control L” on your keyboard to paste the picture into the selection. You should have something like this:

15. Deselect by hitting “control D” on your keyboard.

16. Make a copy of your tube of choice and paste it as a new layer onto your main canvas; position to your liking. Give it a drop shadow. I used Loka’s 3d shadow, but a regular one will do!

17. Back on your message layer, click inside of the top message bar with your magic wand. Layers/new raster layer and flood fill with the same color you used previously on your graphic. Deselect.

18. Activate your text tool and type in the “title” of your post. I used Times New Roman and the message “Laura’s Checking In.” Stretch to your liking and then convert it to a raster layer.

19. Add your “main” text in a font and colors of your choice. I used LHF Crouching Tiger; a pay font, sorry I can’t provide it.

20. Add the appropriate copyright information and your watermark so that you both receive credit for your work.

21. Image/add borders with a width of 1; color black.

22. Image/add borders with a width of 4; color the same you used in your flood fills. Click inside of this border with your magic wand and apply the same Xero Soft Vignette effect you used in step 9.

23. Image/add borders with a width of 1; color black.

Save as a jpeg and you’re finished! I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me HERE. Thanks for stopping by!

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