Supplies:
Tube Bundle: scraphonored_mitchfoust-14
Font: black-ink-4
Mask: 1343, 1338, and 1318 from Package 27
Remove Black Action
Please do not use any of the licensed supplies without purchasing them first.
This tutorial is for advanced users. You can complete the tag without animation, however, if you like.
First off, unzip all supplies.
Open Photoshop.
We want to create a moving curtain for this tag, so we are going to do that before we even begin the tag. Open a new 800×800 canvas. Use the full bucket to make the background layer white. This way, you can see what you are doing much easier.
Place the curtain element from the scrap kit on the canvas. Make sure your element is in a Smart Object. You can tell if it is by the icon on the layer thumbnail.
Duplicate your curtain layer and then go to Filter > Liquify
This will open a new window where you can manipulate the element.
Use the pusher tool to move the curtain slightly, in a natural pattern as if wind were blowing. I can’t really explain this in detail, but maybe this helps:
Think about the way that wind will move a curtain and duplicate this newly edited layer.
Use the Liquify filter again and move it just a bit more. Repeat this until you are happy with the resulting animation.
I will show you all of the frames I came up with to make my curtain move.
Remember, It doesn’t need to be absolutely perfect. This is tagging, not video game creation 
Now, delete the white background layer and save your PSD file for later. You can close it for the moment.
Open a new 800 x 800 pixel canvas. Be sure it is set to 72ppi resolution.
You can always resize later.
Thanks to Gail Wilson for this little trick, we can eliminate a step later in the tut.
Layer > New Layer…
You will now have TWO blank layers on your tag. The bottom layer should stay blank for the entirety of the tag creation.
Edit > Fill… this layer with white. You can change this to whatever color you like to match the website you will display it on, though.
Place the mask on the canvas that you would like to use.
You can either drag and drop it onto the canvas from your file browser, or you can use the File > Place… method.
Make sure your mask layer is highlighted in the layers panel.
Remember the action you saved earlier. Now go to the actions panel. Highlight the AoRK_Remove Black action and hit the play button at the bottom of the panel.
Your mask should now be isolated. Don’t worry about the dark areas you still see. You won’t see them in just a minute.
Place your paper on your canvas.Right click the paper layer in the layers panel and choose Create Clipping Mask.
Viola! Perfect masking.
Repeat this process with the other mask and paper.
Now, time for the elements! This is where the real magic begins.
You can drag and drop items straight from your file browser into the canvas. This makes it faster to place items.
Instead of telling you exactly where to put what and what size to use, I am just going to show you a animated image of what I did. This way, you can create your own version of the tag without doing exactly what I have done.
When placing your elements, you can transform them again by going to Edit > Free Transform. Just be sure you hold the shift key to constrain the proportions.
As you can see, it is pretty random. I just place the items where I think they might work.
Now, back to the frame element layer. You have a frame, right? If not, you can skip this part. We need to add a fill layer to the picture frame.
Highlight the layer UNDER the frame in your layers panel. Now drop the paper you would like to use onto the canvas.
Grab your selection wand from the tools panel. If you can’t find it, check out the basics page for a better understanding of the tools layout.
The Selection Wand options should look like this at the top of your window:
Click on the center portion of the frame.
In the upper menu of Photoshop, click on Selection > Modify > Expand…
Expand your selection by 2px.
Now highlight your paper layer.
Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection.
Now you have a fill to your frame. Easy Peasy!
We definitely want to add some shadows to our elements. Without shadowing, the tag will just look flat. The secret to a good tag, is a good shadow effect.
Right click (or ctrl+click) a layer and choose “Blending Options.”
I add a drop shadow and an outer glow. The glow enhances the effect a bit.
Now after you have hit OK, right click the layer again and choose “Copy Layer Style.”
Highlight all of your element layers (click the top one, then shift + click the bottom one) and right click again. This time, choose “Paste Layer Style.”
It makes a HUGE difference to add shadows:
Now that we have all of that done, time to add the next details. Tube and text. Fun!
Choose where you want your main tube to be placed.
Now drag and drop your tube onto the canvas. Resize and adjust it to your liking. Always make sure you constrain your proportions while resizing. Hold the Shift key while you drag the corners. I put mine as if it is going to be coming out of the frame layer.
Add a layer mask to your tube. Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All
Grab your eraser tool and carefully erase the part of the tube at the bottom, so it looks like it is going into the frame layer.
Add the same drop shadow you did before.
Go back to the blending options, but this time, tick the checkbox that says “Layer mask hides effects”
If you would like to remove the excess shadows from around your tag, I have explained how to do that HERE. This time you will need to leave the tube OUTSIDE of the group, so you don’t chop her head off, or leave shadows where her legs should be.
Back to the tube layer. Using your soft round brush tool, brush a shadow around the bottom where the frame meets the tube. Create a clipping mask to clip this shadow to the tube. Now add this layer style, making sure to set the fill opacity to 0.
Now you have the perfect shading for your tube to be inside the frame.
Resize before adding copyrights!
Highlight the top layer of the layers panel.
Grab your text tool and add the name you would like. Position it just where you want it and add a layer style. This is mine:
That leave us with the non-animated version of the tag! If you wold like to keep the JPG version, you can save here. Simply File > Save As… and choose the jpg option from the drop down box at the bottom of the dialog.
Here’s where it starts getting complicated. We want to add animation!
Make sure your Animation Panel is open. Window > Timeline (or Animation, if you are on earlier versios)
You will need to click the “Create Frame Animation” button. If you do not see this button, please refer to THIS page for more information about the timeline.
You will see that your first frame is already there.
Highlight the rose layer that is above the frame layer. This way, your curtain will flow above the rose, where it can be seen properly.
Open that curtain animation you created at the beginning of the tutorial.
Select all of the layers and go to Layer > Group layers…
Name it “Animation” if you like.
Right click that group in the layers panel and choose Duplicate…
You should have your tag saved and named by now… because you know, save often, and stuff.
Duplicate the layer into your tag.
You can add a layer style directly to the group. Right click it in the layers panel to bring up the Blending Options. Add the same shadow and outer glow as the other layers.
Use the move tool to drag the WHOLE GROUP to where you would like it on the tag. I have put mine at the top of the frame layer.
Now we are going to treat it just like we would any other animation.
In your Animation Panel, click on the 4 horizontal lines at the top right of the panel. Chose “Make frames from layers.”
And of course, like usual, you will need to unhide the group in the layers panel, so that all of the frames can be seen.
In the Animation Panel, delete all of the frames that aren’t the curtain.
I had 7 layers to my curtain animation, so I will have 7 frames in the Animation Panel.
Highlight the first frame in the Animation Panel and unhide all of your tag layers. DO NOT touch the curtain layers. Those are already spaced out exactly the way they should be.
You can now click play at the bottom of the animation panel to check out your creation!
I needed to move the text so the animation can be seen better. You may want to do the same.
Oh, right! Don’t forget to set your frame delay.
Highlight all of your frames in the animation panel. Highlight the first frame and then hold shift. Click on the last frame. Now all frames are highlighted.
Click on the little arrow beside the time of the last frame. This will bring up a popup for more “delay” options.
Now you will need to save your animation as a gif file.
In your animation dialog, use these settings:
My “Forever List” can find their tags in their Fotki Folders.