Tut - Journey Forth

Journey Forth

This tutorial is my own creation and based on my own ideas. Any and all similarities with any other tutorial is purely coincidental.

Please do not upload to or offer this tutorial on any other site without asking me first. Thank you.

Material you will need:

PaintshopPro – I’m using PSP X2, but you should be able to follow the tutorial in any version.

A scrap kit – I used my own kit Journey Forth, which you can purchase here.

A font of your choice.

A tube of your choice.

1 mask –I used WSL 222, created by Weescotslass, which is included in the material. Check out her blog here for further masks.

No filters required.

You can get the material here.

Now, let’s get started. It might be helpful if you choose the elements you wish to use beforehand, and open them up in PSP prior to starting the tutorial. That way, you have them handy when following each step.

Also, you don’t have to slavishly follow each positioning nor setting – play and experiment a bit, especially if you use different elements.

If you are unsure how to position an element, refer back to my sample tag.

I do assume you have at least some to moderate experience and understanding of PSP.

The DropShadow throughout the tutorial remains the same: V/H -2/-3 O/B 46/6.37.

Resizing throughout the tutorial is done with “Resize all Layers” NOT checked.

Open a new image, 600x600.

Open Frame03, copy & paste, Resize 55%.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Cloth, copy&paste, Resize 53%, Free Rotate – Left – 9 degrees, Move underneath round frame.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Deco, copy&paste, Resize 60%, duplicate.

On first deco, move towards the bottom right. Optional: I erased some of it.

On second deco, Mirror, move towards the upper left. Optional: I erased some of this as well.

Merge down.

Optional: Apply Dropshadow.

Open Frame01, copy&paste, Resize 47%.

Open Paper09, copy.

With your Magic Wand, click inside the square frame, Selections – Modify – Expand by 2.

New layer, underneath square frame, Paste into selection, Selections – Select none.

Open your tube, copy&paste, Resize to liking. Optional: I erased the bottom part of mine. Apply Dropshadow on tube before beginning to merge.

Merge tube, paper and square frame layer.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Leaf, copy&paste, Resize 45%, move underneath square frame layer, towards the bottom left corner. Optional: I erased part of the branch.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Bow03, copy&paste, Resize 40%, move to the upper left corner of the square frame.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Grass02, copy&paste, Resize 35%, move to the lower right corner.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Ribbon03, copy&paste, Resize 40%, Free Rotate – Left – 28 degrees. Move to the lower right corner. Optional: erase the ends extending past the frame.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Bead01, copy&paste, Resize 30% (or to liking), duplicate and place to liking.

Apply Dropshadow to all beads.

Open Butterfly01, copy&paste, Resize 18%, move to the upper left corner, a bit towards the center of the square frame.

Apply Dropshadow.

Open Paper13, copy.

New layer, Arrange – Send To Bottom, Selections – Select All, Paste into Selection, Selections – Select none.

Layers – Load/Save Mask – Load Mask – MaskWSL_222.

Fit to layer, show all masks, source luminance checked; invert transparency NOT checked.

Merge group.

Optional: resize mask or use your Deformation Tool, if necessary, to tweek your mask layers to your liking and/or lower the opacity.

Now, the next step is to add any further text, copyright information and your watermark to the graphic.

Feel free to merge all layers visible and then resize to your liking or crop the image.

If you prefer a transparent background, save your tag in PNG format.

Otherwise, if you select the JPG, it will automatically add a white background.

Should you care for a different colored background:

New layer, arrange, send to bottom, and floodfill with your color of choice.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

XOXOXO,

Dani