SHIMMERING REFLECTIONS
Software: Paintshop Pro with plugins Eye Candy 4000 and Flaming Pear's Flood
Author: Honda4fun aka Honda (Sue)
Description: Creating a text effect
My two favourite plugins are Eye Candy and Flood. I'm always playing with them and one day I created this tag. That was about 2 years ago and I haven't gotten around to writing a proper tutorial for it, until now! LOL
Level: Beginner with some basic knowledge of PSP. This tutorial is really fast and simple. It appears long because I went into added detail so beginners could follow along easily. We will be using gradients and layers (no prior knowledge necessary).
Requirements: PSP, Eye Candy 4000 and Flaming Pear's Flood.
This tutorial was made with PSP 7.
Any version of PSP may be used, but the tool and color palettes will differ.
Anyone not familiar with the color palette is urged to use PSP 7.
Jasc's Paint Shop Pro 9 ~ free trial
Version 7 isn't listed ~ you'll have to inquire at the site to see if it's still available.
Alien Skin's Eye Candy 4000 ~ free demo
Eye Candy 3 will not give the desired result.
Flaming Pear's ~ Flood ~ free demo
My Tips: I find the learning process goes much smoother if a tutorial is followed exactly as it's written, using all the same supplies if possible. This way, you'll know immediately if you're doing something wrong or if and when there's a problem with the tutorial itself. After completing a tut, use other text and/or images and do it again. This extra practice will keep it much fresher in your mind. Most importantly, always use a copy of an original graphic and make a habit of saving your work often!
Note: Text within these < > brackets are additional comments for beginners.
Anyone who knows the tools and color palette well can ignore these.
Let's Begin!
From the top menu, click on "File" and choose "New".
From the popup box, use the following settings...
Click "OK".
Note: If you're using different text options than the tut
(eg. a different gradient or a pattern or you choose a solid color),
you can change the background later. For now, leave it as shown above.
From the top menu, click on "Layers".
Choose "New Raster Layer". Click "OK".
From the Color Palette on the right, change the settings to null
for the foreground (top box) and gradient for the background.
< click on the arrows to get to the options shown >
< gradient is the option shown above>
Click on the background color box (not the arrow) to open it up.
From the gradient popup menu, click on the arrow shown...
Scroll down and click on "Cyan-Magenta-Yellow".
Change the "Angle" to 49 and "Repeats" set at 0.
Choose the first "Style", which is linear and click "OK".
From the Tool Palette on the left, click on the "Text"  tool.
< click anywhere on the image to open the text box >
From the popup text box, choose a fat font.
Thick text works best for this type of tag.
I chose Albert.
From your keyboard, put the "Caps Lock" button on.
Using uppercase letters ensures that the bottom of the text is consistent.
< letters like "y" will go under the baseline of the text and it will ruin the effect >
Set the size to 72. Type your text in the Text Entry box.
Make sure "Floating" and "Antialias" are checked.
Click "OK". The text appears.
From the left Tool Palette, choose the "Mover"  tool.
Move the text up to about 3/4" from the top to make room for the following effects.
< place it over the text and while holding the left mouse button down, drag the text >
Center the text horizontally. Leave the ants marching.
Note: If your using your own text, you may have to change the font and/or font size.
Long names will require a smaller font and short names may be made bigger.
Make sure you have at least 3/4" of space on either side of the text.
From the top menu, click on "Effects", choose "3D Effects" and then click on
"Inner Bevel". Use the "Pillow" preset from the drop down menu.
Change the "Elevation", which is the last setting, to 27.
Click "OK" and leave the ants marching.
From the top menu, click on "Effects", then "Plug-in Filters".
From there, choose Eye Candy 4000 and then Motion Trail.
Change to the following settings...
Click "OK".
From the top menu, choose "Selections" and then click on "Select None".
< this stops the ants from marching >
This is a great tag as is! You can save it and then continue with the tutorial.
< if you save it now, remember to choose another name for the final tag >
< as a better alternative, make a copy of it and save that one instead >
From the top menu, click on "Effects" and then choose "Plug-in Filters".
From there, click on "Flaming Pear" and then "Flood".
Change to the settings below...
Each click of the button shown above makes changes to the waviness.
Note: If you're using different text, you may want to adjust these numbers.
Play with the settings until you get the desired effect.
For this tag, it's best to leave "Offset" set at 0.
Click "OK".
Note: The next few steps are only necessary if you're using a different color, gradient or pattern for your text and you wish to change the background color. If you're not changing the background, scroll down to "Continue Here".
From the top menu, choose "Layers".
Click on "Layer 1 - Layer 1", which is the last option.
< this is the background layer >
From the Color Palette on the right, change the foreground box
to the color you wish to have as your image's background.
< I know, it sounds backwards, LOL >
From the Tool Palette on the left, choose the "Floodfill"  tool.
< move it over the image and click on it. Now the new background appears >
Continue Here
From the top menu, choose "Layers", then "Merge".
Click on "Merge All (Flatten)".
From the top menu, click on "Effects", "Sharpen" and then choose "Sharpen".
< Sharpen / Sharpen isn't a typo, LOL >
< this brings out more brightness >
I usually find there's more flood effect at the bottom of the
image than what I really want. Now we'll clean it up.
From the Color Palette on the right, change the background color to black.
If you used a different background, change it to that particular color.
From the Tool Palette on the left, you can use one or both of these tools...
The "Freehand" (lasso)  or the "Eraser"  tool.
< the lasso is good for big jobs while the eraser is better for touchups >
Using the lasso, circle the portion of the flood effect you want to eliminate.
< while holding left mouse button down, draw around the desired area >
This is what mine looks like (the area inside the marching ants)...
With the marching ants still visible, click on  from the top menu.
< now that particular area has nothing in it but the background color >
From the top menu, click on "Selections" and choose "Select None".
Use the Eraser Tool if there's still some cleanup to do.
< while holding the left mouse button down, move it back and forth over the area >
This is the point in a tutorial where I would usually crop an image.
I find it's nicer to leave a wide black border around this type of tag.
I chose not to crop as it's already centered vertically and horizontally.
Now you're done, unless you want to resize your image ~ like I do.
From the top menu, click on "Image" and then choose "Resize".
Choose either a pixel size or a percentage of the original.
< I chose to reduce mine to 350 pixels wide >
Be sure "Maintain aspect ratio" is checked.
< this keeps the width and height in proportion >
From the top menu, click on "Effects", "Sharpen" and then "Sharpen".
This step can be eliminated if you prefer a softer look.
Save your tag.
You're done!
Tip: Most effects will keep the last set of values used instead of defaulting to their original settings. This is true for all the one's we used in this tut (text, gradient, inner bevel, motion trail and flood). If you redo the tutorial now (or before you change those settings again), you don't need to reset their values!
Examples: Here's some other tags I've created using this tutorial...
The tag below was done without the flood effect...
Tutorial © copyrighted by Honda4Fun February 22, 2005
Share this tut with anyone you wish, but please leave it intact....Sue 
P.S. I'd luv to see your creations!
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