Supplies:
Tube: annaliwanag-133-1
Scrap: scraphonored_babyletsgohome
Font: quiska
Mask: 728 and 732 from Package 15
Please do not use any of the licensed supplies without purchasing them first.
First off, unzip all supplies.
Open the mask(s) you would like to use. You don’t have to use the ones I have chosen.
Select > All
Edit > Copy
This will save a “selection” of the white areas in the mask.
You can now close that mask.
Open a new 800 x 800 pixel canvas. Be sure it is set to 72ppi resolution. You can always resize later.
I usually add a color fill layer to the tag so it is easily changed should I use it on a different color website. Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color…
White usually works with most websites.
Place the paper 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. Just browse to the folder with the kit when prompted.
With the paper layer highlighted in the layers panel…
Select > Edit in Quick Mask Mode.
Edit > Paste
This will leave parts of the paper in red. This is good! If it doesn’t, then you will need to open and copy the mask again.
Select > Uncheck the Edit in Quick Mask Mode.
Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection
Magic, right?? now you don’t have to worry about having an extra clipped layer.
Instead, you have a mask thumbnail attached to your paper layer.
Place another paper on your canvas and repeat the process with any other masks you want to use.
That’s it! How easy is that?
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:
Because my elements are so far from the edge of the tag, I am not going to try to remove the extra shadows. They seem to be ok at this distance.
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. I have chosen to put mine just above the swirl. This way, all of the major elements are behind her.
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.
Don’t put the copyright until AFTER you have resized your tag. It will make them all blurry if you do it now.
Ohhh I just noticed, this particular tube would look great if it was coming out of the frame. Let’s do that!
Highlight the tube layer in the layers panel.
Now, go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal All.
This added an extra thumbnail to your layer.
You can see that this white thumbnail now appears to be selected. If you click back and forth between the layer thumbnail and the mask thumbnail, you can see that the white box switches, also. This is important in just a few minutes.
Highlight your frame layer. Right click the thumbnail and choose “Select Pixels.”
This adds the “marching ants” around your frame.
Now back to the tube layer. Make sure the mask thumbnail is selected. The white box should be around it.
Grab your eraser tool from the tools panel. Erase the portion of the tube that is under the frame.
Select > Deselect
Now using your eraser tool, be sure to erase any parts of the tube that were outside the frame, at the bottom.
Now we need to do something a little different with the layer style.
Add the same shadows as above. But… there is ONE difference. You have to hide the parts of the shadow that come out above the frame at the bottom. That is one simple check of a button!
This button will make the layer mask hide any effects. It’s extremely useful for out-of-bounds shadows.
Let’s add on more shadow, though… but this time, we can’t use layer effects.
Grab a big soft fluffy brush, and set your foreground color to Black.
Create a new layer above your tube. Take the brush and add some black to the tube just at the bottom where the tube meets the frame.
Right click this new layer and “Create Clipping Mask” to form it to your tube layer.
Ohhh it’s too dark, isn’t it? You can use the Move tool to move it down to look right. You can also use a Gaussian Blur to fluff it out some more. (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur…)
Not all tubes are made the same, so you will need to fiddle with the settings to make sure it is perfect for your tube.
Wait… something is missing. Oh yes. Let’s add some text!
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:
Grab another paper from the kit and place it on your tag just above the text. Right click and Create Clipping Mask. Perfect!
One… More… Element.
Grab an element that is somewhat transparent and has a nice glowy type of effect. This kit just happens to have one! Element_12.png
Place this on your tag and position it nicely. Let’s add some effects to it.
Open a new image. File > New 300×300 pixels should be good enough.
Fill the layer with gray. Some version of a middle gray, or you can go to Edit > Fill… and choose 50% gray from the dropdown.
Filter > Nose > Add Noise
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate
Edit > Define Pattern…
Name it whatever you like.
You can now close the image without saving.
Back to the tag.
Open the blending options of your glowy-element layer.
NOW is the time to resize if you want. I don’t resize my tags because I want you to be able to see every little detail of what I am doing. You can make yours whatever size you like.
Image > Image Size. Don’t forget to click the chain link to constrain the proportions.
DON’T FORGET COPYRIGHTS!
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.
Animation!! We love 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.
Duplicate that layer by clicking the little plus sign at the bottom of your animation panel. (folded paper icon on older versions)
Go back to your glowy element layer. Open up the Blending Options. Don’t change anything in the box, though! Select the Pattern Overlay option. Again, don’t change anything.
Instead, hover your tag and you will see that your cursor turns into the move tool. You can move the pattern around on the canvas like this.
Give it a good 3-4 swipes and click OK.
Go back to Frame 1 in the animation panel.
Click the 4 horizontal lines at the top right of the panel. Choose “Tween…”
This will give you 5 frames in the animation panel. You don’t really need more than that. It won’t really change the effect.
You can now click play at the bottom of the animation panel to check out your creation!
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 tag in their folder on Fotki! 