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Make the Most of Your Backgrounds |
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| Download a background. You can download a free background at my commercial site to experiment with. |
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| Open the background image and start playing. Whether you've made your own background, downloaded one for free or paid for a commercial product, it makes sense to make the most of what you have. Any page background can be used for many other things, in this tutorial we'll look at a few ways to make the most of what you've made or collected. |
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Create a tag. To make a tag out of your background, you will first need a preset shape in the shape of a tag. Lori Davis has an excellent tutorial on making your own tag preset shapes, her Simple Tag 1 is a squared top type tag and her Simple Tag 2 is a round top type tag. When you complete these tutorials, you will have two preset shapes that you can use over and over again. To use the shapes is very simple, open your background image. Click on the  Preset Shape tool. Find your tag shape in the drop down list on the tool ribbon. Set the background swatch to a solid color and the foreground to null, it doesn't matter what color you use. Drag out the shape. You can lower the opacity of the layer if you want to be able to have an idea of what part of the background is behind the shape. When you're happy with the area that is covered, Selections-> From Vector Object. In the layer palette, click on the Vector layer, Layer-> Delete. You will now only have the Background Layer in the palette, right click and choose Promote to Layer. Selections-> Invert. Hit your Delete key. Selections-> Invert again to get the tag selected. Edit-> Copy. Edit-> Paste as New Image. |
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A unique alpha. A simple way to create unique lettering is to use pieces of pre-made background. Open your background image again. Click on the  Text Tool. Choose a fun font and set the Create As to Vector. Click on the image and type a letter. You can grab the corners of the bounding box around the letter to make it larger or smaller. We'll do the same thing that we did with the tag, when you're happy with the placement of the letter, Selections-> From Vector Object. Go to the layer control palette and click on the Background Layer. Edit-> Copy (not Copy Merged). Edit-> Paste as New Image. To do another letter, go back to the original image, Selections-> Select None. In the layer control palette, expand the vector layer, double click on the sub-layer and enter another letter. You will want to drag this around so that each letter has different patterning from each other. |
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Another alpha. This time we'll use our background to make a shape with an alpha stamped on it. Click on the  Selection Tool. In the drop down on the tool ribbon, choose the shape that you want to use, I'll use a circle here. Drag out the selection on the background. Edit-> Copy. Edit-> Paste as New Image. With the new image active, click on the Text Tool, Create As set to Vector and type an alpha. Again, you can drag the corner of the bounding box to make the alpha the size you want. Objects-> Align-> Center in Canvas. Go to the layer control palette and drag the opacity of the alpha layer down slightly if you want the alpha to look like it's been printed onto the background. Go back to the original image, click on the  Mover Tool, right click and drag to move the selection to another spot in the image to make another alpha. |
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Photo corners. Click on the Selection Tool. In the drop down on the tool ribbon, choose the Square shape. Drag out a square on your background. Edit-> Copy. Edit-> Paste as New Image. Layers-> Duplicate, do this three times so that you have a total of four layers. In the Layer Control Palette, hide the visibility of all but the top layer. Switch to the the  Freehand Selection Tool. In the tool ribbon set it to Point to Point. Click on the top left corner of the image, then the bottom right, top right, back to the top left. Right click to close the selection. Hit the Delete key. Hide this layer and make the next one down active. Repeat the selection procedure, starting at a different corner to make the next corner. You can add cutouts to each layer if you like to add a bit of depth to each piece. |
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Buttons. Click on the Selection Tool. In the drop down on the tool ribbon, choose the Circle shape. Drag out a circle on your background. Edit-> Copy. Edit-> Paste as New Image. Selections-> Select All. Selections-> Float. Selections-> Defloat. Use any method you like to bevel the button. Here I've used PSP's Inner Bevel filter, but you could use EyeCandy or do it by hand using PSP's cutout filter. Drag out a smaller circle for the first hole in the button. You can use the Mover tool with right click dragging to move it into place if you don't get it right on the first try. Hit the Delete key. Layers-> New Raster Layer. Effects-> 3D Effects-> Drop Shadow. You want a thin, white drop shadow on the hole. I've used Offsets of 1, Opacity 100%, Blur of 3 here. Adjust the Opacity of the layer to suit. Repeat this process to make another hole. Layers-> Merge Visible. Apply a black dropshadow to the button if you like. |
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