BUTTERFLY FILLED MASK

For Sorcha.
Note: I wrote this tut on request. It is written for advanced beginners to understand how to make their own masks, however, I included the mask I made if you are in a hurry. The first part of the tut is on making the mask from a preset shape. If you choose to use the one provided, skip to part 2.

Never follow a tut verbatim unless you are striving to learn a particular technique.  Experiment, play, make your work your own!

Materials needed:

• Paintshop Pro - I used version 9.
• 
  Butterfly.jpg Rightclick and choose: Save target as -
  Photo by Kathy Bishop - found on Morguefile.com
• 
  Floortile mask Right click and choose: Save target as
• OR if you plan to make your own mask, download KO-floortiles.PspShape -
  Download the preset shape here and move to your Preset Shapes Folder - (My Documents\My PSP Files\Preset Shapes) *This is a multiple shapes file. It will add several preset shapes to your browser. It's an excellent starter for making masks. Sadly, I don't remember where I got the preset shape.

MAKE YOUR MASK

Open a new image 400X400 pixels, background: white
Choose your preset shapes tool and browse to: Floor Tile Patterns, PT2 JL_M

Retain Style: CHECKED
Create as vector: CHECKED
Anti-Alias: CHECKED

Click close to the upper left corner, hold your mouse button and drag down to the right to draw your shape so that the outside border does not reach the edges of the canvas. Make the design as close to square as you can.

Objects > Align > Center in Canvas

Right click on the vector layer in your layer palette and choose: Convert to Raster Layer.

Adjust > Color Balance > Negative Image.

Save your new mask as a jpg image in your mask folder. C:\My Documents\My PSP Files\Masks

Minimise it for now.

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Butterfly Mask

Open the butterfly photo. Press Shift + D to duplicate the photo and close the original.

Click on the Background Layer in the Layer Palette.
Promote Background Layer
Choose a color from your photo - I chose #4d879c.
Layers > New Raster Layer
Floodfill the new layer with your solid color.
Duplicate the new layer, so you have two layers of solid blue.
Right click on the top layer (in the layer palette).
Arrange > Send to Bottom.

Your butterfly layer will be sandwiched between two blue layers.

Right click on the top blue layer.
New Mask Layer > From Image
Browse to the new mask you just made and select it. (Mine was Image 3)

Source luminance checked.
Invert mask data unchecked.

In your layer palette, right click on Group - Raster 2 layer.
Merge > Merge Group

Selections > Select All
Selections > Float
Selections > Defloat

Click on your foreground color to open the material palette.
Patterns tab.
Browse to your butterfly image with the mask over the top.

Set your pattern to this:
Angle: 46
Scale: 22

Floodfill your selection with the new pattern. Do not Deselect.

Effects > 3D Effects > Inner Bevel with these settings:

Repeat the inner bevel.

Effects > 3D Effects > Drop Shadow
Vertical: 2
Horizontal: 2
Opacity: 70
Blur: 4
Color: Black

Repeat the drop shadow with vertical and horizontal set to -2.

Change the Layer Properties to Multiply and lower the Opacity to 80%.

**You should play with the layer properties and opacity until you find the look you like!  Never follow a tut exactly the way I write it.  To love your work as much as I do my own, you have to make your work YOUR OWN - your unique piece.

Click on the butterfly layer (Raster 1) to select it.
Image > Resize > 75% -
Resample: Bicubic
Resize all layers: UNCHECKED

Add the same drop shadow to the butterfly layer as you did to the mask layer and then with the -2 settings:

Layers > Merge > Merge All - Flatten
Resize your image to a size that is comfortable to you.
Export as a .jpg at a compression of 8

I hope you enjoyed doing this tut as much as I enjoyed writing it.

vetch