Pretty Girls Heart Frame

This tutorial was created on August 20, 2002.  If it bears any resemblance to another tutorial on the net, it is pure coincidence.  The skills that you will learn here are your own, and I hope that you will fine them useful.  In this tutorial, I will assume that you have a basic working knowledge of PSP, and is made for the intermediate skill level.  If you have any trouble, feel free to contact me, and I will do what I can to help.

These are the materials that you will need:  You will need Paint Shop Pro, or course.  I use Version 7.04, but I am sure it will work in other versions as well.  You can download a trial version of Paint Shop Pro from COREL.

We will also be using Eye Candy 4000, and their Chrome filter.  You can download a free version of Eye Candy here:  EYE CANDY

Another filter that I am using in this tutorial is the Simple Filter, which you can get HERE.  Just install the plug ins in your plug in folder of PSP.

You may download the picture that I am using HERE.  Open the picture in PSP and minimize it on your workspace.  You can get the brushes that I used in this tutorial at Jan's Designs, cornerbrush4.

Open a new image, 500 by 500, 72 million colors on a transparent background. Name it and save it now, and don't forget to save it after every step.
New layer. Go to Preset Shapes, using the Heart 3 shape, Vector and Antialias checked. Foreground null, and change the background to the bronze gradient that you have in PSP, or one of your choice that will compliment your image. Click on the arrow on the background button, and select Gradient. On the gradient, linear is selected, angle and repeats is 0, and invert is not selected. Draw a gold heart on your workspace.
Now go to Object/Align/Center in Canvas. On your layer pallet, right click on the vector layer, and from the list, select "Convert to Raster Layer".
Using your Magic Wand, click inside of your heart. Selections/Modify/Expand by 2 pixels.
Add new Raster Layer, and name it cut out. Effects/3D Effects/Cut Out with v and h at 0, opacity at 75 and blur at 50, color black.
New layer. With your Paint Brush tool, round, size 20 and opacity at 100 and foreground white #FFFFFF, add some accents to your "glass". I added one v shaped one at the bottom of the heart, and one at the top left, and a smaller dot at the top right, but you can experiment with where you want your light to "shine". Then go to Effects/Blur/Gaussian Blur of 9. On the layer pallet, change the Layer Blend Mode to Luminance. Keep selected.
New layer and name it image. Go to your Cream and Sugar picture, and copy it, by going to Edit/Copy, and then go back to your heart image. Edit/Paste/Into Selection. On the layer pallet, drag this layer below the cut out layer.
While you are on the layer pallet, click on the little eye glasses on the layer pallet for the heart layer and the background layer. This will make the heart disappear, and you will only see the image, cut out and the highlights. Make sure that one of the visible layers is highlighted, and then Layers/Merge/Merge Visible. You can turn back on the heart layer again, and move the merged layer below it. Keep selected.
Add a new Raster Layer, and then Selections/Invert. Flood Fill this selection with #914A30, or if you are using another image, use a complimentary color from your image. Layers/Arrange/Move Down.
Effects/Plug ins/Eye Candy 4000/Weave, using these settings: Ribbon Width 5.04, Gap Width 0, Shadow Strength 8, Thread Detail 52, Thread Length 22.32, smear ribbons checked and fill with solid color checked.

OR... You can also flood fill this selection with the tile that I made from my image. Copy this tile, and paste it into your PSP workspace as a new image. Then you can go into your patterns selector on they styles button, and find the tile, and flood fill the selection with it.
Go back to the gold heart layer, and highlight it on your layer pallet. Using your magic wand, click outside of your heart. Selections/Invert and then Selections/Modify/Contract by 1 pixel. Add a Drop Shadow with Effects/Plug in/Eye Candy 4000/Shadow Lab with these settings: Center Offset Direction 256, Center Offset Distace 5.33, Overall Opacity 50, Overall Blur 50.74, Perspective Blur 0, Draw outside selection is checked.
Set your background color to white #FFFFFF, and Image/Add Borders with a symmetric border of 5. Select your border with your magic wand, and flood fill with the golden gradient, the same one that you made the heart with.
Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow V and H 2, Opacity 100, Blur 10. Now repeat your drop shadow, with the V and H -2.
Now add another border of 5 pixels, and repeat steps 9 and 10. Then add another 5 pixel border, and flood fill this one with the gold gradient.
Add a Raster Layer. Using your paint brush, choose custom brushes on the tool pallet. The one that I used is one of Jan's brushes, corner brush #4.

Using your favorite corner brush and the gold gradient, add one to the four corners of your frame. I then added a slight drop shadow on the corners. Then Layer/Duplicate, Image/Mirror, Layer/Duplicate, Image/Flip, Layer/Duplicate, Image/Mirror.
Now Add a border of 25 pixels, select the border, and change your styles button to Pattern. Click on the Pattern button, and select the Pretty Girls image that you have minimized on your workspace. Flood fill the 25 pixel border with it.
Then go to Effect/Plugin/Simple/Center Tile. Now add a Gaussian Blur of 12, and then you can either leave it like that, or go to Eye Candy 4000 and apply the same weave effect that you did before.
Add a border of 5 pixels, and flood fill with the gold gradient. Now add another border of 5 pixels, and repeat steps 9 and 10. Then add another 5 pixel border, and flood fill this one with the bronze gradient.

You are done, except for the resizing. Do not forget to sharpen after your resize, and thank you for doing one of my tutorials!

Ask me about...

Colon Cleanse, weight loss, health, nutrition & energy.