JWG PSP7 Tutorials:
Adding Sparkles
Installing the sparkle tubes
First of all, you need some sparkles to put into your PSP tubes folder. Click here to download a zip file of sparkles I have made, to start you off. { More sparkles can also be found at this site } You will need to unzip them into your PSP tubes folder. If you have not created a separate tubes folder outside of PSP, your Tubes folder will probably be located in C:Program Files:Jasc Software Inc:Paint Shop Pro 7:Tubes (Make sure PSP is closed when you do this). If they dont appear in your tubes when you open PSP and click on the picture tube icon:
It may be because some sites offer tubes for download in .psp format, or they could be older tubes that wont work in PSP7 or later. In that case, you will have to unzip them to a folder on your computer, open them individually in PSP, like any normal picture, and then export them as tubes. Click here for my tutorial on how to do this. You need to use an unzipping utility to open zip files that you download to your computer. The most well known is WinZip but there are others that do the job just as well. I like WinAce and WinRar myself, but all these are shareware products. If you are looking for a free utility, try PowerDesk® 5. This is actually a File Manager with an zipping/unzipping capability, and it has a freeware version as well as a professional one you can purchase. **New** ZipCentral another freeware zipping program!
Adding the sparkles
Right: now that you have your sparkles poised and ready to use, on with the tutorial!
Open a new graphic in PSP. Let us assume we are going to make a sparkly name.
Make sure your background is transparent, and choose the size required. Our image is 200x100 pixels. Click on the large letter A to insert your text. Please see Making Simple Backgrounds and Banners and Logos for details on the text entry box, fonts, colours and gradients etc... When you have decided on your text, click OK and your text will be selected (marching ants).
Keep selected and go to Effects:3D Effects: Inner Bevel
Choose one of the presets available, or play around with the settings until you find a Bevel you like and click OK. Go to Selections: Select None: the marching ants will disappear:
Then right click on your image and click Copy.
Open Animation Shop, and right click in the main window, where "Paste as New Animation" will appear.
Left click on that, and your graphic arrives from PSP. Duplicate your image to 3 frames. Click twice on the icon shown in the shot:
You will see the number of frames appear in the bottom right hand corner of your screen.
Open out your animation so that you can see all the frames:
Click on the first frame, and then hold down Shift and hit X on your keyboard. Your frame will have been taken back to PSP for you. I find sparkles look better a bit sharper than the rest of the graphic, so I add a new layer, and put the sparkles on that. (Layers: New Raster Layer) (you can just add the sparkles directly to the frames if you wish, of course) You can add several new layers, and put separate sparkles on each new layer. This allows you to move the sparkles around, or change their size, without disturbing any other sparkles as you do so. Click on the picture tube icon on the left hand toolbar, and your picture tubes open.
Click on the side of the box to display your tubes, and click on the one you want to use: (in this case jewelsparkle1)
You then need to adjust the scale of the tube to achieve the size of sparkle that you want:
I have shown several different sizes of sparkle for you here:
Just keep adjusting the scale and trying out different sizes until you are happy with the effect. (Click undo after each attempt, if it is not right) When you have got the size adjusted to suit you, and have added your new layer if you are doing so, start clicking on your frame in the areas that you want the sparkle to appear. (Dont put too many on this one frame, as you will be adding more in each frame separately). When you are happy with the sparkles on each layer, go to Effects: Sharpen: Sharpen or Effects: Sharpen: Unsharp Mask:
with these settings:
Sharpen each layer of sparkles individually, but not the name or main graphic, (unless you think it needs it) and then go to Layers: Merge: Merge Visible. (It is important that you merge your layers before sending your frames back to Ani Shop, or you will end up with empty layers in your final animation). Click on the X in the corner of your frame to close it. A dialog box will come up asking if you want to update back to Animation Shop before closing. Click Yes (!) and the frame goes back to Ani Shop with your sparkles added to it. Now click on Frame 2 and use Shift X to take that back into PSP. Add new layers to this frame for your sparkles as you did on Frame 1, and sharpen and merge layers as before. Try and add the sparkles to different parts of your graphic, than the ones you did in Frame 1. If you can't remember where you put them, (and this often happens!) Switch back to Ani Shop whch is still open of course, and check on Frame 1 to see where they are. When you have finished with this frame, (and merged layers visible!) click on the X in the corner again to close it, and click yes again to update back to Ani Shop. Repeat this procedure for Frame 3: (and indeed for any amount of frames that you may be moving back and forwards between PSP and Ani Shop when you are attempting more complex animations in future!) When you have added sparkles to each frame, and they are all updated back into Ani Shop: Run your animation to see what it looks like:
Hopefully it should look something like this:
You may find the animation seems to run rather faster than you want: If so, close the animation preview, click on your image and select all the frames (Ctrl+A), then go to Animation: Frame Properties:
The default time used is 10, but you can make your animation slow down by increasing that number:
I rather like 15 for sparkles, but it is not an exact science, as some graphics look better with 10, others with 20 etc... As always, experiment until you are happy. All you have to do now is save your animation: Go to File: Optimization Wizard for best results: {Click here if you would like some help in using the Optimization Wizard}
We have made a sparkly name on a transparent background here; but you can add sparkles to any image you choose really... Dolls: Banners: Logos: Backgrounds..etc...But do remember..with sparkles and noise..less is more!!
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