This is a tag I made as part of being on the Creative Team for my chum, the fantastic Chichi Designz
using her gorgeous kit "Kimberly's Escape"
I basically made the "steps" feature from scratch (I know, right loL!)
and it was quite effective -
So I thought you might enjoy making your own versions
and I'd make sure it wasn't a fluke and tag once more with a different kit...
So, my 2nd tag I've used a lovely tube by Dilara and a totally rockin' kit
called Pirate Girls Have More Fun by the superb Hania - both from
Elegancefly.com
For this tutorial -
I'm not going to explain each and every stage/resize/application etc.
Once you have the template of the steps
It will be over to you to finish the tag off with your scraps and papers
However, I will give you a load of tips and
hopefully you'll be able to get creative and make your
tag look as you would wish it to be :)
OK?
So here we go -
INGREDIENTS
Scrapkit/Scraps of Choice - you're going to want a kit that has a paper
with a "background" scene - indoor or outdoor - your choice
So open your stash and see what you have - the more graduated the scene (i.e. large close up
which then trails back into smaller features) the better
Floor Elements - e.g. scattered leaves, cobblestones, paving,
Various Elements - for either side of the steps and the rest of
the tag so if outdoor, perhaps some trees, foilage, scatters, creatures, lights, flowers
animals etc.
If indoor you're going to want to furnishings, something to place to add to the perspective
of your tag so similar to above but perhaps not a tree (!) :D
Tube - ideally a sitting or lounging tube
Mura Meister Perspective Tiling for angling the paper in the wording
Gradient Glow - Eye Candy's filter - whichever version you use should be fine
Font/s of Choice - You'll need a nice "block" font and perhaps a script font for the name
or maybe a serif font. Your choice but for the steps? A block font sans serif will work best
Mask - nothing too masky, you're going to want quite a lot of the background to show
♥
Firstly we want plenty of space to work so
Open a New Image in PSP
800 x 800 pixels @ 72 dpi or even bigger if preferred
Yup, BIG
You may wish to Zoom in whilst you work or have your
tag area displayed as "Fit Image and Window to Screen"
so you can see what you're doing
Anyway - open your chosen sized tag canvas
Add New Layer
Flood Fill White
TIP 1: Everything I add to this tag goes on it's own new layer
so rather than repeat that all the way through, just remember...
Everything on a new layer
Open your chosen background paper
C&P
Now you're going to want to hide it for now, we can resize and jiggle it after we've
built the steps.
So, untick or hide it in the Layer Palette (LP)
Let's do these here steps
Now, the way I do mine is with Rectangle Preset Shape, dragging, placing etc
But I realise this may be a bit of a faff for some so I've tried to simplify so
we get a reasonably similar result.
Open a New Image in PSP
575 x 55 pixels
Floodfill with either a gradient of choice or anything - we'll probably
be covering this up later so don't stress too much
Once you've flood filled
C&P on the working area canvas
Move the rectangle down towards the bottom of the tag area
about an inch from the bottom?
And go to
Objects, Align, Horizontal Centre in Canvas*
Once you've done that - now we're onto the tricky bit
Well, it's tricky when you've never done it but
once you've done it - tada! You'll be great
♥
With your TEXT tool, on Vector (always create as Vector unless asked otherwise)
Get your chosen block font (quick tip - don't use a font as thin as mine, use a chunkier font!
I used EVOGRIA for both of my tags)
in the bottom material palette box - either gradient/colour as before
and in the top box - nothing, switched off, unticked
Size about 72 or 96 depending on the font you've used
and
Type out the last word of your saying/lyric whatever
I used DARKNESS
See those little boxes - three at each end and three in the middle
They're Nodes (Nodules? Nodes?)
and they're your chums.
They will make your angles correct and the sizing as you'd like
Be nice to the Node loL!
Right so before you do anything else
Get ready to multi task!
OK
♥
Using your mouse (or trackpad in the centre of your laptop like me)
Hover your arrow over the bottom right node
It should now show a double headed arrow?
IF you need to make your font LARGER or SMALLER
Now is the time to do it
And you do that by hovering over the node
Left Click
And either shrink it - or expand it
But bear in mind we are about to warp the text so don't resize too much
Once done - leave as Vector, nodes still showing
Here comes the warp!
Again, with your hover over the bottom right node
and the double arrow pop up will happen
then
Press and hold down the Shift key
then using your Left Click and holding that down too
you'll see the node tranform into a wide bottomed rectangle
Using your trackpad or mouse, move (drag) the node over to the right so it lines
up roughly with the right side of the rectangle you made
Let go of everything you're holding down :)
See?
Sorry guys, this is something I do without thinking so it's hard to describe it for a tut loL!
I hope I'm making sense?
OK
So now
Do the same for the bottom left hand side node
Really drag it across and pay attention to the text - don't worry if it's
larger than or overshooting the rectangle
we can sort that in a minute
What we want is a good "angle"
Got that bit sorted?
Lovely!
Now
Using the Centre MIDDLE node
When you hover over it - it will be a compass arrow NSEW
Left Click and MOVE your word into place now
Using the Rectangle to line up
Place
Then finally
Go to the Centre TOP node
And once more Left Click and drag either up or down
to make the final adjustment to the angle of the word
Here I've highlighted the 4 nodes I used - the bottom two are the only
ones you'll need to hold Shift whilst changing the angle
Other than that, it's clicks and drags to get what we want for this tag
TIP 2: The other nodes are for widening, shrinking etc.
Take some time one day to play around with them, you can get some funky
and fun results using them
But always take care when you use them to treat your fonts with love,
some do not look good if they've been overwarped or treated badly so be nice hehe!
Once you are happy that the angle is as you'd like
and it's sized as you'd prefer
CONVERT TO RASTER
♥
Guess what
That's it!
You've made the first part of the step
Nice one and well done!
So now...
Duplicate the original rectangle layer
Resize 80%
Move it into place on the tag area so it should line up quite nicely
with the top of your first word?
If not - jiggle the resizing of the Rectangle percentage until it does
OR
Go back and redo the word?
(*Don't forget to Object, Align, Horizontal Centre in Canvas)
Either way - that is it
That's how you make your steps!
Repeat the stages above for the lyric or phrase you're using
Keep converting to Raster when you've done the word
Don't forget to Align and also
Use your eye to SEE the steps and whether they need moving about, jiggling, going back, coming foward etc.
Don't worry about exact placements of the wording - most of
that is going to end up covered or shielded by tube or elements so
it's not really the main focus
but get it as neat and tidy as you can
You may even like to change the Brightness to WHITE so you can see what you're
doing to it - to do this - Adjust, Brightness and Contrast and have the Integers
on 255 both - should now be white
Alternatively, both on 0 for black
On you go..you carry on..I'll wait here until you've got your template ready
♥
Happy?
OOOOH it's like the STAR WARS WORDS! LOL!!
OK
🏆 So well done you if you stuck with it 🏆
Here's my 2nd tag that I'm making along with you -
See mine's no perfect but it's a close approximation
and if you look at it
it gives a stepped impression
Nifty and nice!
So here's where YOUR creativity comes into play
Well, almost😉
Three more things we're going to take care of
Firstly
Back to our PAPER layer
so Unhide it in the LP
and make sure it's just above the White Back in the LP
And here's where we have some choices to make -
After you've unhidden it
Check the perspective "angle" of the paper background
in relation to your steps
Are they complimentary?
Do you need to move the paper up the tag area to
get it looking more perceptively correct
Do you need to resize the paper layer?
I can't decide that for you, it will all depend how you drew out your letters,
resized your rectangles or which paper background you're using
So that bit - over to you
Make the changes you need to make
Be it resizing, repositioning or replacing etc.
(For instance, I decided to recolour my steps...
and completely redo my wording LOL!
Basically, I started again!
I kept my steps the same - recoloured them though
Deleted the words and used a different font - as named above
and replaced my wording using the steps as positioning guidance
I also went hunting for a different tube
So when I found what I wanted to use
I then found a matching kit - pasted the new paper and
Moved the paper up the tag area to get the floor to step angle I wanted
Resized 80% and moved it again - BINGO! Liked it.
And now I'm back with you...)
So, when you've got that bit how you want it
See at the top of the steps?
Add a Frame - resized as needed
And paste a larger version or Close Up
of your tube face
C&P
your chosen tube
Resize as needed
and place either ON the bottom step
OR below it
OR somewhere else on the tag complimentary to the design
Where ever you'd like
♥
Here's the really fun part!
Get creative!
Open your chosen kit and have a good look through the elements
See what you have
A nice mixture of flora, fauna, floor based elements?
Perhaps some leaves, scatters and such
Cobblestone flooring area? Sand? Grass?
That'd be good!
Resize for each step and place under or over the word/s as needed
Take your time and fiddle around
Enjoy resizing and pasting onto your tag canvas
Position as you'd like
Move things around
Experiment with different looks!
(Want to know the total creation time for my first tag?
Over 2 days of 4 hours total each day, redoing, removing, adding and replacing LOL!)
You can bet you have kits that you've barely even tagged fully?
Try them!
(Since returning to PSP land in January, me and kits are the best of friends and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE seeing all the element and paper goodies in a kit
Such tag potential in all!)
BIG IMPORTANT TIP:
Pay attention to your resizing percentages.
For instance, a gorgeous little bird the size of a tiger
next to a "realistically" sized butterfly?
Er...Hmm....
But!
By remembering the perspective we're trying to achieve in
comparison to the size of your tube etc.
can be all the difference to the overall effect.
For instance, I averaged a 40% resize for the bottom nearest my tube elements
and slightly larger/smaller for the rest depending on original size
(check that out before you resize to give you an idea of what percentage you'll need)
😉
Resizing the same element and placing the duplicate up the steps
will add to the illusion of distance
and relativity
Oooooh Matron!
SO - See element you'd like
Open It
Check the original size showing
For instance - my barrel in the 2nd tag
Opened - showing at 100% it's quite big
Looked at Tag
Guessed at 40%
Resized (Bicubic with Sharpen)
Pasted
Moved into position
More like a keg than a barrel but still gorgeous!
Moved down the LP so it was behind the foliage
Happy
Closed the original element taking care NOT to save the resizing
Apply a favourite element dropshadow to the placed element on the tag canvas
then
Onto the next...
See - easy, fun and really makes the tag your own.
Don't forget, to sharpen any elements that go too blurry or fuzzy but take care NOT
to oversharpen or it will look too harsh
♥
Right.
So -
Once you're happy with your elements
Open the paper you're going to use for your word fill
(This is optional - if you've got lots of elements
and your steps already look full and steppy (!) then just skip to **)
Once your paper is open
Apply Mura Meister Perspective Tiling
In the filter - adjust the Perspective slider UP or DOWN depending on the angle
you want to match to your steps
Once you're happy
OK to Apply
Now, resize the Paper as needed
Copy the paper
And do a Word Fill and Steps Fill
for the steps and wording
(If you don't know how to do this?)
Apply to fill the wording
Click on the word you're filling
Selections, Selections All
Selections Float
Selections Defloat
Paste your paper as new layer
Selection, Invert
Click Delete on the paper layer
Selections None
Repeat for the rest of the wording
Then for the Steps -
(IF you don't already have lots
of step fill or element placements
within your steps)
Paste the Paper above the largest step rectangle
Repeat the stages for each 'rung' of the steps
The key to getting a nice effect with this
is don't move the paper when you're pasting -
That way you get that nice angle repeated in the words
and the steps and looking nifty
Now to Gradient Glow - I'm using EC4000
and
We're going to apply to the Wording
and the Steps
Apply this setting to each of the step rectangles
and the fill layer of the wording
Then you can perfectly "line up" the wording and steps
if needed
That's the steps all finished off so you can delete
the "template" rectangle layers
and the original wording layers
Check the positioning of everything
Check that all is sized as you'd like
with shadows as needed
Once happy
Delete any excess layers
On the PAPER layer just above the White Background
Apply a favourite mask if needed or liked
Add your CR info
Add your name in a font and place of choice
Shift and hit D to duplicate your work
On this duplicate
Layers, Merge Visible
and SAVE this one as a PNG
Then, back to the original tag canvas
Save as a PSPIMAGE so you can
revisit to add more names.
There's your tag and I hope you like it -
Here's what I made...
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and please feel free to send me your results :)
This tutorial was written 22nd/23rd May 2021 by Vix aka VixPSP
Based on a tag made by me
All usual PSP tutorial disclaimer notices, conditions and terms of usage apply
Thank you
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