Tag Tutorial - Emotional Portrait

 A nice simple tut that can have fantastic results depending on your IMAGE used and how YOU choose to finish it off

Written for my fellow image tag enthusiasts!

(We all LOVE our scrap tags, I absolutely adore creating tags with them but I am also old school and appreciate the beauty of an image tag - made using with masks, filters, brushes, fonts etc -  they are where many of us old timers started and should never be underestimated hehe!)

YOU WILL NEED

Image of Choice - I'm using a gorgeous one by Tatyana aka Ignis Fatuus (one of the few photomanip artists that are still Free to Use and it is very appreciated ♥)

Mask - WSL371 by Chelle WeeScotsLass - can be found at her blogpost HERE

Brushes - I used Lyndie Brushes - 273 004 and 273 003 

(The three squares with the dotted lines at angles brushes used many times in my tags over the years)

But if you don't have these, improvise with any rectangle or right angle shape brushes you may have

Filters Unlimited 2 - Distortion Effects - Ink Blots

Xero Graphics - Porcelain  (optional)

EC 4000 Corona (optional)

♥

F Y I before you go on...

Tag DIMENSIONS to remember -  We are working Portrait not Landscape on this Tag

MAIN TAG CANVAS with White Floodfilled Background Raster Layer - 750 x 800 pixels @72 dpi

THE RESIZE of DUPLICATE IMAGE TO BE MASKED - 410 wide by 538 high or thereabouts

Note: this is a duplicate of your original larger image which you have opened and chosen to use

THREE IMAGE SELECTIONS - 274 x 335 high or thereabouts

Again, this will depend on your own original tag canvas sizings and the size of your mask 

SHADOW for THE SMALLER IMAGE SELECTION PIECES - 

Vertical at 17,

 Horizontal at 14, 

Opacity 27, 

5.00 Blur - 

Colour Black

Remember - You don't have to be exact and follow mine though you can if you'd like :)

It will depend on the original size of your chosen image and how large you like to work and what your groups allow etc.

Just as as long as your dimensions are Portrait - your tag will look similar if you adjust your sizings to match and use your creative eye to see placements and positionings :)

Have fun!

♥

READY?

WALLOP!

Very simple - here we go

♥

Open your main tag canvas - size and spec above

Open your Image 

Duplicate

On the Duplicate resize to somewhere in the region of the above sizing

Minimise the original Image for now and on this duplicate

Apply FU2 - Distortion Filters - Inkblots on the default setting

Once applied

C&P over to the Main Tag Canvas

On there - Apply WSL Mask371 (Fit to LAYER selected)

Layers, Merge, Merge Group

Once applied, use Move Tool and place it top left of the tag canvas

Duplicate

Do not Mirror the image

Simply use move again and using your eye

Move it to the bottom right so it looks good

♥

So for the next part of the tut - you're going to make 3 image selections, all sized the same.

We'll do one - then you do the next two

Start with your ORIGINAL (not the smaller image)

Taking my Image Selection sizings as shown above and remembering we want Portrait spec

Draw out a Rectangle Selection of an interesting part of your image - seriously, don't worry too much about the "dimension" of the selection.  As long as the pieces you "cut" from the image are in proportion to the mask layers and allow room for you to move and play with them, you're grand!

Once drawn

Edit, Cut

Back to the main tag canvas

Edit, Paste as a new Layer

Once you've pasted in the middle of the tag canvas, line up and make sure you like the placement - for this first one you want centred in the middle

When happy with placement - duplicate and on the top copy, Selections, All, Selections, Float, Selections, Defloat - reapply the Inkblot filter, Selections None.

Now you can change the Blend Mode in the Layer Palette to one that suits your image used

I used Overlay, but perhaps, Burn, Hard Light, Soft Light - it will depend on the colours and light of the image you choose.

Once you've done this?  That's the bones of your tag!  You're really just repeating this step above for the next two sections of image you want to highlight in your tag.  It might be the face, eyes, the outfit, sparkles in the background/foreground.  See how beautiful your image is and highlight some key portions of it paying attention to your placement within the selection itself :)

(Oooooooh we're gettin' all faaaaancy ovah heaaaaaaaar!)

Place them top left and bottom right of the tag canvas and move up and down the LP

according to your overlap wishes

And when you have done that?

That's your tag mostly done :)

It's now the time for you to shine and get artistic on that image!

You can do as much or as little of the following steps as you'd prefer but bear in mind that I did most of these to my own tag/s - have a look at the examples and see if you can work out what I did do - hint...it's most of them LOL!

• Perhaps you'd like just one layer of image section - if placed over the masked areas and Overlay it to highlight it, but make sure you apply a good deep shadow to get it to stand out 

• Maybe take a larger section in Portrait scale and place it UNDERNEATH the central area  (Ensure you've floated and selected the rectangle image before you apply the filters) and then apply Inkblot again but hit Randomize (as I did!) and then went to PSP's own built in Artistic Effects, and applied Topography on the default setting - nice!

• Apply Xero Porcelain to the main face image section - default

• Apply Mosaic Glass on the factory defaults to one of your image close up layers and then change the blend mode of this layer to Screen

• Apply Ink Blots to one of the image layers without selecting it (Selecting keeps it tidy - not selecting it lets it apply across the whole canvas)  See if that looks good? Hit Randomize to get different results

• Apply Lyndie Brush 273 003 to the top right area (on a new layer added just above the White Background layer in the LP)

• Apply Lyndie Brush 273 004 to the bottom right area (again on a new layer) - Use your judgement and your eye to see whether you like the placements.  If you do, great!  If you don't Undo or Delete the brush layer/s and try again

Note: IF you don't have these brushes, improvise by drawing out a Rectangle Preset Shape with a line width of about 2 or 3 in a Line Style of Choice - then erase what you don't need.  You'll get a similar effect :)

• Take a block font (I used DK Americain) and type out some wordart sized as you would prefer - I used size 48 and two word descriptions inspired by your image. I used words sized 72 and placed in the gap between the brush and image areas or wherever you like the look of them

• Adjust the Kerning of the words if needed to S P R E A D them out 

• Apply a EC 4000 Corona highlight if you're using an image that makes the words fade into the background, it'll help them stand out

Once you've added any finishing touches you may like to add

Add your Name, © of Artist and/or Licencing Information and your Taggers Mark

Delete the White Background

Save a Copy of your Work as a PNG

Save the Original Tag Canvas as a PSPImage in case you'd like to come back to it again :)

That's it!

Hope you enjoyed this simple but effective tut

Hugs y'all!

This tutorial was written 5th and 6th July 2021 by Vix aka VixPSP

Based on a tag made by me for an Image Inspiration Challenge in Creative Misfits

All usual PSP tutorial disclaimer notices, conditions and terms of usage apply

Thank you

Oh and remember - when working with images and tubes that are Free to Use

Make sure you have either General Permission 

(i.e. permission is given on the artist's website that you may use the image/s) 

OR Personal Permission to use the © Image

(i.e. you've personally written to the artist and they have allowed you to use it)

Group Permissions to use images and artwork DO NOT cover you for posting your tags or 

using for tutorials outside of your Group/s, unless your Group states this IS the case.

Check before you use if you are unsure.