Picture Within A Picture Tutorial

 PICTURE WITHIN A PICTURE TUTORIAL

I had made a tag like this many years ago.  I honestly do not recall if this was based off a tutorial, or my own making however, if based off a tutorial from someone else, so much time has passed I'm almost sure it's no longer available.  If it was your tutorial, my apologies and please let me know, and know that it made such an impression that I wanted to share it with others.

This is a very easy, basic kind of tutorial, so good for those who are beginners, are getting used to the program, or have been away for a while and need a "refresher" course!

Note:  underlined words that are also BOLDED - like this - are hyperlinked.

This is the tag we will be making:

Easy level - Basic knowledge of PSP is needed.

Materials Needed

1.  Paint Shop Pro  (used Version 9, but can be done on any version)

2.  Scraps (Optional) - I didn't use any however if you wish to use some - go for it!

3.  WordArt (Optional) - 5snow.png (below, right click/save as)  I have had this word art for a long time, creator unknown.  If anyone knows, please let me know so that I may credit accordingly.  I figured since it was basically text and a snowflake shape, it was safe to use.

4.  Tube/Photo of Choice - "Morning Frosts" by George Hodan, from Public Domain Pictures 

The best kind of "tube" to use is actually a photo, as you will see.  You can use a tube, just know you'll have to fill in some kind of background to complete the area.

Filters Needed 

1.  Filters Unlimited 2 - Borders & Frames  (If you need, you can find it HERE.  If you already have Filters Unlimited 2 and just need the actual filter files, I have uploaded them HERE.  Just use the "Import" function in FU to make them available for use.

2.  Drop Shadow - comes with PSP

Optional Filters (for Name/Text)

1.  Eye Candy 5 Impact - Gradient Glow (you can get this at same link for Filters Unlimited, above)

Fonts used

1.  For name/text:  Rainbow Cake

2.  For copyright info:  Rittswood Red Star

Please note that I typically add my drop shadows last.  I will give the drop shadow settings that I have used at the end of the tutorial HOWEVER feel free to use your own settings if/when you would like.

On to the tutorial!

1.  Install the font(s).  (Alternative:  You can open and minimize the font; it should show in PSP.  I use a font program called Cfont Pro - it temporarily installs the font and will uninstall it when you shut down your computer.)

2.  Open a new file, 700 pixels x 700 pixels, 72 ppi, transparent.  At this time, also Shift+D on your image (this will make a copy of your image) - then close out the original, then minimize it for the time being.  Don't worry, we will be cropping later on - this is to just give you some "elbow room" to create.

3.  Make both the foreground and background color, black.  Once done, activate the Rectangle Tool and, using the following settings, draw a rectangle:

Make sure the rectangle is width:  575.00 and height: 475

Objects > Align > Center of Canvas.  Convert layer to Raster.

4. With the rectangle layer still active, go to Selections > Select All.  Selections > Float.  Selections > Defloat.

5. Copy and paste your image as a new layer.  Move it around until you have it as you would like it WITHIN the "marching ants".  Depending on the size of your image, you may need to resize it before copy/paste.  (My photo was quite large, so I resized it by 45% to make it 768 pixels for the width.)

6.  Once you have it where you want it, activate the image layer and then go to Selections > Invert.  Then click on your DELETE button.  (Keep the marching ants as you'll need them for the next step.)

What you should now have is your photo above the black rectangle "template", something like this:

Feel free to hide the template layer for now.

7.  On the photo layer, go to Selections > Invert.  You should now have it making the photo itself, active (keeping the surrounding area inactive).  Going through Filters Unlimited 2, you are going to "Buttons and Frames" (which is a FU filter) > Glass Frame 2, and use these settings:

8.  Selctions > Select None.

9.  Duplicate framed image layer by 85%.  Be sure "All Layers" is not checked:

10.  At this point you can crop your tag.  Crop tool > Merged Opaque.  And then click on the check mark on the far left.

11.  With the resized image active, place a drop shadow on it. I used the drop shadow that comes with the program (Effects > 3D Effects > Drop Shadow)  You may use what you wish.  I used:

12.  At this point you may add anything additional, such as word art, embellishments - you name it.  I used my Lasso tool to do the top part of the word art, provided, and then copied and pasted as new layer, then resized it by 60%, sharpened it slightly, and then moved it to where I wished.  I applied Eye Candy 5 Impact Gradient Glow with the following settings (using white as the color):

Add drop shadows as desired.  (I didn't)

13.  Add crediting info.  I used the same Eye Candy 4 Impact Gradient Glow however changed the white to a dark blue from the image, and made the glow, smaller, with the little slide towards the bottom.

14.  Add your name and you're done!

Additional Info:

For my name, I used #d9ddf7 for my foreground color and #20243c for my background color.  Size 44, stroke width 2.0.

I put the following drop shadow on name:

Thanks again for trying my tutorial and if you make anything with it, I'd love to see!!!!

Limitless Tutorial

 A little explanation about the name of the tutorial:  I call it limitless because it truly is a limitless kind of tag, as in, the sky's the limit.  While this will show the steps I took for the tag, below, the thing is you can totally switch things around, like using a different filter or a different setting on the same filter I used, or use a different background, or decide to animate it .... again, the only limit is your imagination.  At the end of the tutorial, I will show a couple of "limitless" ideas I have done to make it look a little different.

*Words in BOLD and not underlined are hyperlinks*

This is the tag we will be making:

Easy level - Basic knowledge of PSP is needed.  This tutorial is also good for beginners, those who have been away from PSP for a while and need a "refresher" course, or if you are just looking for a little bit of inspiration.

Materials Needed

1.  Paint Shop Pro  (I used Version 9 on Windows 10, but can be done in any version)

2.  Scraps -- None required, however if you wish to use some to embellish your tag, feel free to do so.  

3.  Tube of Choice -- I used a few scrap elements from the kit "Spring Fresh" by Diamond Creations for the "fill"  (element 1) and for the "tube of choice" (element 37).  You could also use an actual tube, or something from a scrap kit,, or even an accent/embellishment - the sky is the limit!

4.  2 Fonts, your choice.  You will need at least one font that is kind of "fat" or wide, which will be the "centerpiece" of the tag.  You will be removing part of the center if it isn't already cut out and we will be using the outer edge to decorate/design.  See my tag to see what I mean.  You can find many "fat" fonts here at Dafont, usually under the "Cartoon" or "Comic" themes and also FontSpace under "Bold" - just suggestions.  Also, all caps will usually work better with this, however, not an absolute.  You can also use a regular font with caps on, and just modify it's thickness ("stroke width").

5.  Some sort of image that will be used as the "fill" on the font.  It doesn't need to be a full image as it will be used with Mura Meister - Copies filter in this tutorial.  You could also use a pattern or texture or part of a stock image or even an element from a scrap kit (which is what I'll be using in the tutorial) .... again, limitless!  Note that this should be a different image from the "tube of choice" mentioned in #3.

Filters Needed 

Drop Shadow  (comes with PSP)

Mosaic - Glass  (comes with PSP)

Mosaic - Antique  (comes with PSP)

Mura Meister - Copies

Optional Filters (for Name/Text)

Eye Candy 5 - Impact (optional)

Fonts used

You'll want a "fat font" for this tag.  You can find a bunch of fat fonts at 1001 Fonts.

For this tutorial I used the font "Einhorn" for the word "SPRING".

For the name/text I used "Drummon".

For the copyright info I used "FFF Executive".

**Please note that I typically add my drop shadows last when making tags.  I will give the drop shadow settings that I have used within the steps of the tutorial HOWEVER feel free to use your own settings if/when you would like.**

Here we go!

1.  Install the font(s).  (Alternative:  You can open and minimize the font; it should show in PSP.  Or, use a font program. I use a font program called Cfont Pro - it temporarily installs the font and will uninstall it when you shut down your computer.)

2.  Open a new file, 800 pixels x 500 pixels, 72 ppi, transparent. (No worries, you'll be able to crop as needed later on.  This just allows extra space to create.) 

At this time, also Shift+D on your image (this will make a copy of your image) - then close out the original, then minimize the copy for the time being.  Do this for both your "tube" and your "fill" image.

3.  Go to your materials palette and choose a darker hue from your "fill" for the foreground color and close out ("null") your background color.  (I used black for my foreground color which I will change later in the tutorial however you can do the color now and skip that step in the tutorial when it comes up).   Note: you could also go with complementary or even contrasting colors of the tube colors, if you desire.  You could also just do black and null (closed), and change the black to another color later on.

With your text tool, write the word you wish to use.  I am using the word "Spring" - all cap letters.  I also used a kern of 5 to help give a little space between each letter.

I used the following settings to create my word:

Once you are happy with how it looks, go to Objects - Align - Center of Canvas.  And then you can "convert to raster" in the layers palette:

Do not use any of the 'merge' options at this point.

Rename this layer "text".

4.  Go to your "fill" and copy and paste it as a new layer to your 'text' file.  You should now have something like this:

Resize as you need/desire.  I resized my flower element by 85%, twice.

Rename this layer "fill".

5.  With the "fill" layer active, go to Mura's Meister - Copies and apply the following settings:

You don't want any gaps or spaces between the repeated image, so if you need to modify the top number, do so.

Once done, hide this layer for the time being.

 

6.  Go to your "text" layer, move it to the top.  Using your Selection Tool - Magic Wand, click on the *inside* of your word- the little "marching ants" should show up:

(If your letters have spaces between, you might need to click on each letter individually, which is fine)

Make your "fill" layer active (still hidden!) and then go to Selections - Modify - Expand and make the "number of pixels" to 3.  Click OK.

Again, go to Selections - Invert.  Hit your "DELETE" button.  Unhide your "fill" layer, move it under the 'text' layer.

7.  If you used black for your text, this is the time you can change the color.  (If you did the desired color at the beginning, you can skip to the next step).

To change the text color, with the text layer active, go to Selections - Select All, Selections - Float, Selections - Defloat.  You should see the "marching ants" around your letters:

Click on your DELETE button.  You should still have marching ants however the outline should now be gone.

Using the Flood Fill tool on this layer, flood fill your black lettering areas - it will look something like this:

8.  While still active, Adjust - Add/Remove Noise - Add Noise and use the following settings:  

Gaussian, 30, Monochrome checked

You may then de-select your layer (Selections - Select None).

9.  On your Layers palette, you are going to lock the text and fill layers with the same number so that if you need to move it, they'll stay together.

10.  Go to your tube and copy and paste as new layer, rename this layer "tube", and move it to where you would like to place it - either above or below the text & fill.  Use your Move tool to move around the text & fill to where you need/desire, as well as the tube.  Resize either/both as needed.  (Just remember if you resize the text layer, you will also need to resize the fill layer by the same amount.)  

It should look something like this:

I also used one of the butterflies from the scrap kit - element 9 - and used Image - Mirror and then moved it to where it is placed.  I renamed that layer "butterfly".

I also resize all my items by 85%.  

11.  Go to Edit - Copy Merged.  Edit - Paste as New Layer.  With the Move Tool, line it up as best as you can with the other elements on the tag.  Move the merged layer to the bottom.

While still on the merged layer, go to Adjust - Blur - Gaussian Blur, radius:  15.00

12.  Effects - Texture Effects - Mosaic Glass with these settings:

And then:  Effects - Texture Effects - Mosaic Antique with these settings:

13.  At this point, you can apply any/all drop shadows to what you wish.  I put it on my text layer and my tube layers using this setting with the Drop Shadow effect that comes with PSP:

Butterfly and Birdhouse:

Vertical:  2

Horizontal:  -2

Opacity:  45

Blur:  10.00

Color:  Black

Shadow on New Layer:  Not Checked

(I applied the drop shadow on the birdhouse twice)

For the text, I used:

Vertical:  0

Horizontal:  0

Opacity:  55

Blur:  7.00

Color:  Black

Shadow on New Layer:  Not Checked

14.  Activate your crop tool, and click on the "merged opaque" button in the upper toolbar, and then click on the check mark to crop the tag.

At this point, I will typically save the layered file as an "in progress" tag template in case I need to go back and fix something, or if I want to re-do something at a later date, so save this as a layered file (either .pspimage or .psd - either is fine in PSP.)

14.  Once done, go to Edit - Copy Merged.  Edit - Paste as New Image.  This is now your tag from this point on.  

At this point feel free to resize as needed/desired.

My cropped tag was 765 wide x 384 high, so I resized by 85% - be sure to resize all layers.

15.  Go to Adjust - Sharpness - Unsharp Mask and apply these settings (feel free to modify for your own personal taste):

Radius:  1.50

Strength:  15

Clipping:  15

Luminance Only:  Checked

16.  At this point, add your artist/copyright information (including license, if applicable), and tagger watermark, if desired.  

I used font:  FFF Executive, Size: 6, Stroke Width:  0.00  Anti-Alias:  Sharp.  Kerning: 5, Tracking 0.010:

(click on this to open it in larger view)

Optional:  Using Eye Candy 5 - Impact - Gradient Glow with the following settings on your © info:

You can also add your name to the tag and you are done!  Save this in .png format if you wish a transparent background.  

This will be your 'template' to use for adding names to it.  

If you would like to do your name the same as me, directions are below.

For name/text:

A.  I did the text at size 36, stroke 1.5 .. foreground with the dark purple I used on the text (#391c40), and background color a very pale hue of that color (#e7daea).

B.  Place the name/text to the right of the tag, just above the © info, convert to raster layer.  I didn't want the name to be too big as I didn't want it to overpower the rest of the tag.

C.  And then I used Eye Candy 5 Impact - Gradient Glow with the same settings in step #16 (optional).

If you choose not to use the gradient glow, you can instead just apply a simple drop shadow - or choose to do neither.  Choice is yours.

 ...and you are done!

Save as you would for a tag with a name added to it.  Be sure to NOT give it the same name as the "template" (step 16, above).

Alternate ideas for this tag tutorial:

(I used a "daily freebie" from Design Bundles in 2021)

For the background, instead of using the Mosaic filters, I used the Textures - Blinds filter that comes with PSP.

If you make anything with this - or any of my - tutorials, please share?  I'd love to see it, and post it to the blog!

And here are some wonderful, beautiful versions of this tutorial made by others - aren't they fantastic??

from Bonnie:

from Deb (Mellow):

Thank you!! 💜💜💜

Thanks so much for checking out my tutorials!

New Tutorial Blog!

 I have decided to start up a (new) blog for my tutorials. I will be writing tutorials on the basics of Paint Shop Pro, Animation Shop as well as tutorials to make sig tags and even (maybe?) some for different scrapping items!  At some point, I hope to move over the tutorials from the older tut blog - which is still currently accessible - so all my blogs will be under the same account (the older tut blog is under a different email address).  Be sure to check back often and thanks for looking.