Revised on Nov. 9, 2001 (finally :)

(This was my very first tutorial that I wrote in Dec. 2000.  I have rewritten it to add screen shots and other improvements.)

You'll need PSP6 or 7 from www.jasc.com, KPT5 from www.corel.com and You may also want to use Fantastic Machine's Paint engine (free) for the background, Blade Pro (30 day trial) or Ulead Art Texture (free) for the frame.  You can also use Eye Candy 3.0 or 4 for perspective shadow, now available free from Alienskin! (http://www.alienskin.com/freeEC3.html) 

Download my KPT shapeshifter and lights presets here.  

Download my topper and hook tube zip here.

I think the greatest thing about KPT is just pushing those buttons!  Try different lighting, textures, masks, environment maps!  The world is your ornament..(I mean oyster!)  I'll show you my exact settings for this tutorial :)  Always remember to save often and save your final creation as a .psp as well as a .jpg.

 

  1. Unzip and place my shapeshifter preset (angiesornament.kpt5) into your Plugins/KPT5/Shapeshifter/presets/environments/shapeshifter  folder.  Place the light preset (angieslites.kpt5) into your Plugins/KPT5/presets/lights folder.  If you don't have the cool kitchen environment map already, place it in your KPT5\presets\EnvMaps folder.  Open the topper image in PSP.  Ok now we're all set!
  2. Open a transparent image, 400 X 400. Add a new layer.
  3. Open an image you would like to use for the ornament.
  4. Using the selection tool, antialias checked, circle, select a large circle of the image.  Mine was about 250 X 250.
  5. Copy/paste as a new selection onto your new image.  Selection/modify/expand by 1.  Keep it selected.
  6. Apply KPT Shapeshifter using my ornament preset (click on the circle in the lower left corner and browse to my preset), and be sure the cool kitchen environment is also loaded (click on the env. map window to browse to it). Your settings should be similar to mine below:
  7. Right click on your "floating selection" layer (which is greyed out), in the layer palette.  Promote to layer.  Slide the opacity arrow down to between 50 and 70.  If you happen to have jaggie edges, just use the retouch/soften tool, size around 3, 50% opacity & density, and smooth out the edges of the ornament.  
  8. Add a new layer.  Place my topper tube on top of your ornament at a scale of around 47%.  Sharpen.  Add a drop shadow - Effects/3d/Drop Shadow - Offsets at 1, opacity 73, blur 6.2, colour black.
  9. I like to add a small top portion of glass just under the topper, to make it more realistic.  Working on your KPT layer (promoted selection), and  using your selection tool, rectangle, feather 0, antialias checked, select a small part of the top of your ornament (about 65 X 20).  Ctrl C to copy and then ctrl E to paste as a new selection.  
  10. Using your deformation tool, move it into position under the topper.  Shift and click on the lower corners and drag them out just slightly.  Apply.  Use your magnify tool to make sure that it is placed well.

    Now turn off your layer 1, right click on your layer palette, and merge visible.  Save as a .psp file and export as a tube if desired.  

  11. You can add a hook easily on a new layer. Using my hook tube, move it into position using the deformation tool, sharpen, magnify 2X's to zoom in and erase using the erase tool, size 2, opacity and density 100%, a tiny portion of the hook, to make it appear to be on the topper. 

     View/normal view and rotate the ornament if you'd like using the deformation tool.

  12. At this point I merge all visible and apply a drop shadow (same settings as the topper) on the ornament.  You can also choose to apply a perspective shadow on it using Eye Candy. 

     

  13. On layer 1, flood fill with a complimentary colour, and apply Paint Engine mosaic preset.
  14. Add a white border of 3, select with magic wand, Use a blade pro preset or go to effects/texture effects/sculpture silver preset.  Invert selection (Shift/ctrl I).  Next apply cutouts at 3  opacity 61, blur 16.3 and again but offsets at -3. Or you can frame however you'd like :)

That's all there is to it!  I hope you enjoyed this tut.  Merry Christmas!

 

 

Please feel free to email me :)

I am thrilled to have this tutorial chosen as a December 2001 "SuperToot" from www.dizteq.com.  

Click on FilterMunky to follow the link!

©Angie's Arts, November 9, 2001

Hit Counter

©Angie's Art 2000-2008

All rights reserved. 

You don't need to ask permission to use a tutorial for a group lesson, but please use a text link only.
Please do not send these tutorials through any lists or email.

All tutorials, tubes, masks are for personal use only.   All of the tutorials and tubes on my site are original works created by me. They are not to be reproduced or republished on the internet or by any other means.

Please don't write and ask to translate my tutorials, there are many great online translators you can use.

Thank you for respecting my terms!