This tutorial was written in PSP X and uses Animation Shop 3. You should be able to achieve similar results in other versions. You may need to search for some of the effects in your PSP's dropdown lists or the Help window. Please do not offer any of the supplies for download anywhere, do not change file names, do not send the webpage through emails, and only offer a text link to the tutorial URL. I do not wish my tutorials to be translated. Thank you for your courtesy...God bless, Diana
What We'll Be Using:
Corel Paint Shop Pro
and Animation Shop 3
SUPPLIES:
Images (or you can use your own)
More results (with thanks to my dear friend Ginny for testing!) MORE SAMPLES HERE
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Instructions are for animation at top of page; another shown at page bottom, using different Pixelate values.
1) File/Open and find the .jpg image you wish to use (this animation will have 7 frames when completed so you may want to resize your image prior to beginning tutorial, if size is a concern).
Make sure your Layer Palette is open, if not, View/Palettes/Layers.
2) Selections: Select All.
Selections: Load/Save Selection: Save Selection to Alpha Channel. You do not need to name the selection.
Selections: Select None.
Image: Add Borders: 2px #000000
Image: Add Borders: 50px #ffffff or light color chosen from your image with Dropper Tool (will need to uncheck the Symmetric box; see below):
Image: Add Borders: 3px #ffffff or your chosen light color.
Image: Add Borders: 3px #c2a676 or use your Dropper Tool and choose a medium or dark color.
3) Find the "Cry Kitty" font and double click to open it for use in PSP, then minimize it on your taskbar.
Foreground Color = #000000.
Background Color = #c2a676 (or your chosen medium or dark color).
Type your name, etc. using values below. If needed, make pixel size larger/smaller OR use another font of your own choosing:
Image: Free Rotate: Right, 90 degrees:
Use your Mover Tool to align the text on the 50px section at right (see samples).
4) Selections: Select All.
Selections: Float.
Selections: Modify: Contract: 1.
Effects: 3D Effects: Inner Bevel (see below):
Selections: Select None.
Effects: 3D Effects: Drop Shadow: Vertical and Horizontal = 1; Opacity = 50; Blur = 5;
Color = #000000; Shadow on New Layer = UNchecked.
5) Right click on a layer in your Layer Palette and Merge: Merge Visible.
6) Selections: Load/Save Selection: Load Selection From Alpha Channel.
Your original image, prior to our adding borders, will now have the marquee/marching ants around it:
DO NOT DESELECT UNTIL COMPLETING ALL PIXELATE EFFECTS IN STEP 7.
7) Right click the layer in your Layer Palette and Duplicate (do this 3 times so you will have 4 layers of the image).
Click on the eye to hide (X out) the top layer then click on the layer below it to activate (see screenshot below of the 4 layers, labeled with the Pixelate effects we'll be adding next).
Effects: Distortion Effects: Pixelate: Block Width=5; Block Height=5.
Now also hide this layer and click on the layer below to activate it.
Again go to Pixelate: Change Block Width only to 10 (will need to UNcheck Symmetric box).
Now also hide this layer and click on the bottom layer to activate it.
Again go to Pixelate: Change Block Width only to 15.
Selections: Select None.
8) Click on top layer to activate; then add your watermark on a separate layer. Save your file as a .pspimage (does not need to be saved as .psp Animation Shop as we'll be using the Copy/Merged technique).
ANIMATION:
9) Be sure the current top layer is active, then either Layers: View: Current Only
OR you can right click on the topmost layer in the Layer Palette then View: Current Only.
We will leave our topmost, watermark, layer visible for all the steps below.
UNhide the BOTTOM pixelated layer then Edit: Copy Merged (this will create a merged copy of our visible layers that we'll paste into Animation Shop).
Go to Animation Shop then Edit: Paste: As New Animation.
10) Back to PSP, hide the bottom pixelated layer, then UNhide the layer above it (the middle pixelated layer).
Edit: Copy Merged; go back to Animation Shop then Edit: Paste: After Current Frame.
11) Back to PSP, hide the middle pixelated layer and UNhide the layer above it (the top pixelated layer).
Edit: Copy Merged; go back to AS then Edit: Paste: After Current Frame.
12) Back to PSP, hide the top pixelated layer and UNhide the layer above it (the layer that hasn't been pixelated).
Edit: Copy Merged; go back to AS then Edit: Paste: After Current Frame.
13) There are other ways of doing animation using the Reverse Frames method in AS, but it might be easier for some to understand by just redoing our Copy Merged effect for the next steps.
We now have 4 frames in Animation Shop and we will go backwards, adding them again in reverse.
Back to PSP then hide the top layer we just copied (the layer that hasn't been pixelated).
UNhide the top pixelated layer below then Edit: Copy Merged; go back to AS then Edit: Paste: After Current Frame.
14) Back to PSP, and continue hiding/unhiding and copy/merging the layers, going backwards, adding each of the files to AS.
This will give us a total of 7 frames in Animation Shop.
In Animation Shop you'll see a scrollbar at the bottom of your frames and above it the description of each (F:1 D:10 means FRAME 1 DISPLAY TIME 10).
Click on your scrollbar to get back to F4: D:10 (Frame 4). This is the unpixelated frame.
Right click on the image above this description then click on Frame Properties and change the Display Time for this frame to 120 (see smaller version of how this will look below).
15) Still in Animation Shop, click on View: Animation to see how your finished animated file will look.
If satisfied, File: Save As and give your animated .gif file a name, click on Save.
You could also experiment with the Display Times on each frame or delete 1 or more of the frames for your own unique look (as seen with Ginny's fabulous results!).
The next window that comes up is "Animation Quality Output Size" (I like mine set to 'Better Image Quality'), click on Next.
The next window is "Optimization in Progress", click on Next.
The next window is "Optimization Preview", click on Next.
The last window is "Optimization Results". The actual file size of your animation will be shown under the 'Optimized File' column. Click on Finish and your new animated .gif file is completed and saved to your folder.
16) Image below using different Pixelate values (given below the image).
Pixelate layer values for above images:
Bottom Layer=12,4; Middle Layer=8,4; Top Layer=4,4
Frame 4 Display Timing set to 175.
More results (with thanks to my dear friend Ginny for testing!) MORE SAMPLES HERE
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and perhaps learned a little something from it. If you would like to send me an email with your results, I would be delighted to see them. ..God bless, Diana
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DISCLAIMER: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work on this site is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for non-profit research and educational or criticism purposes only. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Created 07/25/07
Westie Kids/Diana Dorsey 2001-2007
(all rights reserved)
Thank You and God bless........Diana