Glitter Borders

Hi everyone, some people were asking about glitter borders, so i made this tutorial for you guys.

The fun thing about making graphics is there are just so many ways to be creative and work around things. This tutorial is just one of thousands of ways of going around making an animated border. Its pretty basic, and hopefully will help you also understand some of the tools available so that you can add your own creative ideas. For this tutorial, you will need:

1. Paintshop Pro (any version, but 9.0 preferable)
2. Animation Shop (if you bought PSP, then this program comes with the PSP...however if you download a demo, then you will also need to upload this program separately).

If you just want to try out the effects, you can download a demo version of PSP from the company's website "corel". Or if you are serious about graphic design, you can purchase it.

* I am currently writing and posting the tutorial...please no comments until i have finished...ill let you know when i have posted everything *


*** PLEASE DO NOT COPY AND POST ON ANOTHER SITE WITHOUT CREDIT...IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO DO ***

* I will be making an avatar of aishwarya rai today. At the end, your avatar should look something like:




1. Select the image you wish to use. I will use this picture of aishwaryia rai for my tutorial:

2. Look to your left (or in case if you have version 8.0 or lower, above), and you will see a list of tools. Select the "crop" tool. Click and drag the amount of image you want to use for your avatar. Once selected, double-click within the picture to crop the rest out:

Crop tool:



This is what you should end up with:

3. You must now resize your image. First think about how much you want your border to be. resize your image with that in mind. For example, i want my avatar to be 100*100, with a 3 pixel border on each side. So i should resize my image to 94*94, so that i will have room to add the border.

Here is how you do this:

* Select from the toolbar above: "Image > Resize"



* resize your image to your desired size:

* we will now be working with layers. if you are new to this, and are having problems, ill be glad to help *

4. Because your image is either a "gif, jpg, or bmp", it is a "background" layer. You dont want this because you will not be able to do much with it. You need to change it into a "raster layer".

To do this, go to the toolbar and select "layer > Promote background layer". This will make the image into a raster layer, which means you will be able to add your effects.

(I would highly recommend you rename your layer because you will be adding more later and will be going back and forth between them. To rename your image layer, go to "layer > Properties". Here, in the option of "name" rename your image. For my example, i renamed my layer "aish" so that i will be able to tell the difference)

5. OK...time to add more layers

first, you need to expand your image so that you can add a border. Head for "Image > Canvas Size". This is where you will resize the image to what you REALLY want your avatar to be (for mine, i want 100*100).



As you can see, at the top, you put the size of your avatar that you want it to be. Below, you adjust how much you want on either side. Since i wanted a 3 pixel border, i will put 3.

My image should now look like this:

6. Now to add border!!!

First you need to add a new layer. In the toolbar, click "Layer > New Raster Layer". You will be prompted with the layer properties for this new layer. Make sure you rename your layer to something you can remember later. for mine, i renamed my new layer "background1".

*** Note: You should have 2 layers now. One with your image, and another blank one that you just created ***

With this new layer, select a color you want your background to be. I picked red for mine. Use the fill tube tool to fill in the color into the new layer:

Fill tube tool:

Your image should look something like this:

7. Now it is time to become creative! Add the glitter effect you want. you can do practically anything! For this example, since its very basic, i will just use the "paintbrush tool" to add dots here and there. Make sure you make more effect on the sides, since thats the part that will be the border.

Another neat trick is if you want a sort of glitter look, you can head to "adjust > add noise" and this will make it look like glitter! (if you have 8.0 or lower, it should be under "effects")

your image should look something like this:

8. Now repeat steps 6 and 7 to add another layer for glitter. Rename your layer. For mine, i renamed the new layer "background2". You can make as many as you want, but 2 layers is more than enough.

Again, add dots and effects, but make sure they look different than your first ones. For mine, i added stars to my second one.



*** Now you should have 3 layers. One will have your image, the other 2 will be your borders. Here is the two layers that will become your border:

9. Now this step is VERY important. If you are new to PSP, PAY ATTENTION! if you still have problems, PM me and i will help you as best as i can.

Remember naming all your layers? this is where it will come into use. Right now, your layers are in this order "aish, background1, background2" with "background2" all the way to the top, and hiding your other two layers in the back. you need to move your layer with the image to the top!

(8.0 or lower): Go to "Layers > (name of layer with image)". Once you select that, again go to "Layers > Arrange > Bring to Top". This will move your layer with the image all the way to the top!

(9.0) To your right, you will see a "layer pallete". Here you will see your list of layers. Just click on the layer with your image and drag it to the top of the list. Your image should now look like this: