Shell's Tutorials

Noisy Santa!

Open a new image

Set your foreground colour to #800000. Flood fill your new canvas.

Go to Layers > New Raster Layer.

Set your background colour to white and your foreground colour to null

Click on your text tool and use the settings in the screenshot.

Click on your canvas and type a letter in the text entry box. Find a snow flake that you like by clicking on different letters to see different snowflakes. Go to Selections > Select None.

Add another snowflake using a different letter. After each snowflake, go to Selections > Select None.

Add more snowflakes.

Go to Effects > 3D Effects > Inner Bevel and use the settings in the screenshot.

Go to your layer palette and right click on raster 1. Duplicate it and keep duplicating until you have 4 layers.

Duplicate your snowflake layer and keep duplicating until you have 4 layers. Turn off the visibility of the top 2 layers.

Go to Adjust > Noise > Add/Remove Noise and use the settings in the screenshot.

Turn on the visibility of the next snowflake layer and click on it to select it.

Add noise using the settings in the screenshot.

Add noise to the next snowflake layer using the settings in the screenshot.

Unhide the top layer, click on it to select it....

and add noise again using the settings in the screenshot.

We're going to do the same with the red layers. Hide the top 3 and click on the bottom one to select it.

Add noise using the settings in the screenshot.

Unhide and click on the next layer above. Add noise using the settings in the screenshot.

Unhide the next layer above, click on it to select it and add noise using the settings in the screenshot.

Unhide the top red layer, click on it to select it and add noise using the settings in the screenshot.

Go to Layers > New Raster Layer

Open the Santa tube and click on the Santa layer to select it. Go to Edit > Copy. Click on your snowflake canvas and go to Edit > Paste As New Layer.

This is what you should now have.

Click on Raster 3 to select it.

Click on the text tool and use the settings in the screenshot.

Set your foreground colour to MCQ Cell gradient and your background colour to #800000. Click on your canvas, type in the text in the text entry box (I typed Merry Christmas) then click ok. Move the text where you want it then go to Selections > Select None. I moved the text to top of the canvas.

Add an Inner bevel to your text.

Go to Layers > New Raster Layer

Add your name to the canvas, add an inner bevel to your text and move it into position.

Click on your crop tool. Move the crop lines to the outside edge of your sig.

Click the tick to perform the crop.

We now need to arrange and merge our layers. Arrange the layers as in the screenshot.....Red layer, snowflake layer, top text layer, Santa layer then bottom text layer. Turn off the visibility of all the top layers, leaving the bottom 5 layers visible.

Right click on a visible layer and go to Merge > Merge Visible

Turn off the visibility of the newly merged layer then turn on the visibility of the next 5 layers.

Right click on a visible layer and go to Merge > Merge Visible. Turn off the visibility of the newly merged layer then turn on the visibility of the next 5 layers.

Right click on a visible layer and go to Merge > Merge Visible. Turn off the visibility of the newly merged layer then turn on the visibility of the next 5 layers. Right click on one of the visible layers and go to Merge > Merge Visible. You should now have 4 merged layers.

Go to Image > Canvas Size and make a note of the original dimensions of your canvas.

Open a new canvas using the same dimensions. Flood fill it with #800000

Go to Image > Add Borders

Use your magic wand to select the border then flood fill it with the gold gradient. Add the same Inner Bevel to the border as you did to the text. Go to Selections > Select None.

Add another border.

Select it and flood fill it with red. Add an Inner Bevel then go to Selections > Select None.

Add another border.

Flood fill it with gold, add an inner bevel then go to Selections > Select None. This is your frame for your sig.

Save your Santa and snowflake canvas as a PSP image then close it. Click on your frame to then go to Edit > Copy.

Open Animation Shop. Go to Edit > Paste As New Animation. Now click on the Duplicate Frames icon 3 times. This will give you five frames. Click on the last frame then click on the Delete Frames icon (it's the one to the left of the duplicate frames icon) so you're left with 4 frames. Open your Santa and snowflake canvas in Animation Shop.

Click on your Santa and snowflake animation to make it the active image then go to Edit > Select then Edit > Copy. Click on your frame animation to make it the active image. Go to Edit > Select All then Edit > Paste > Into Selected Frame. As soon as your Santa image appears on your frame canvas, click once to position it.

If you want to, go to Animation > Resize Animation.

Save and you're done :o)