Underwater Miracle

Supplies:

Tube: https://www.cdoestore.com/product-p/charitydauenhauer-31-2.htm
Scrap: https://www.cdoestore.com/product-p/scrapkarma_ib-cazenave-99-3.htm
Font: https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/rachelyn
Mask: 640 from Package 13

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.

It seems that our mask was too big for the tag. Let’s fix that.

With the red “quick mask” still in effect, go to Edit > Free Transform

Fit the red mask inside your tag.

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?

Sometimes, this method will leave a dark line around your tag. You can take a very small round eraser and click in the very corner of the mask. Hold shift, and then click on the next corner. This will erase in a straight line. Repeat this until you have gone all the way around your tag, ending in the corner you started. You will need to do this for all masks. It only takes a couple of minutes, but it makes a big difference. My tag has the line still left intact. I don’t mind the line, but some may find it annoying.

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.

When placing your items, Edit > Free Transform them with the settings below.

KS_IB-MC-99-3-El (30)

KS_IB-MC-99-3-El (30) copy

KS_IB-MC-99-3-Frame (2)

KS_IB-MC-99-3-Spray (2)

KS_IB-MC-99-3-Spray (4)

KS_IB-MC-99-3-El (21)

KS_IB-MC-99-3-El (30)a

KS_IB-MC-99-3-El (30)c

KS_IB-MC-99-3-El (19)

KS_IB-MC-99-3-El (28)a

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. Highlight the layer you want the tube to be above.

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. If you want to flip your tube, go to Layer > Transform > Flip Horizontal.

Do you have your tube placed as a Smart Object? If not, then it is a good idea to get in that practice. It really helps with a lot of different things.

Double click the thumbnail in the layers panel. This will open the tube as a new file. Hide the seahorse layer. Save and close. This will update the tube in your tag.

Add the same drop shadow you did before.

If you would like to remove the excess shadows from around your tag, I have explained how to do that HERE. I do this with just about every tag, unless it is a really light tag, then it isn’t necessary.

Right click the tube in the layers panel and choose “New Smart Object via Copy.”

Move it up to the top layer, but still inside the group.

Double click the thumbnail of this copy to open it up in a new file. Hide the mermaid layer and unhide the seahorse layer. Save and close.

Position this tube where you would like.

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.

Duplicate this frame by clicking on the duplicate icon at the bottom of the panel (+).

Highlight the seahorse layer in the layers panel.

Grab your move tool. Hold the shift key and hit the UP key on your keyboard about 5-7 times. This will move the seahorse up on your canvas.

Highlight the first frame in the animation panel again. Over on the right side of the panel, you will see 4 horizontal lines at the top. Click that and choose “Tween…”

Now you should have 7 frames in your animation panel.

Highlight the last frame in the animation panel.

Let’s do another tween, but we need to change one key element.

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.

We aren’t going to tween this one the same as the other tags we’ve done. We want to vary it a little to give it a more natural motion.

This time, we are going to do each frame individually. At the bottom of the frames, you will see an arrow that will open a flyout menu. Let’s set our frame delays.

Ohhh wait! There is a delay that isn’t listed! This just means you have to put it in manually by clicking the “Other” option. Type the 0.05 and hit enter.

If you click play on your animation panel now, you can see the difference!