This tutorial will teach you how I create an animated Christmas wreath. Once you learn the technique you can apply it to
other things you would like to try. Use your creativity and expand your knowledge and talent.
Please keep the following in mind:
My tutorials are offered for you to learn or enhance your PSP skills and may not be posted anywhere online or shared at
any group or forum.
They are for your personal use only. However anything you create from the tutorials is yours to do with as you please.
You may not re-write the tutorials in any way or copy the methods and settings used in them for your own tutorial.
This tutorial requires:
Jasc PSP and Animation Shop.
A basic knowledge of PSP tools.
Tubes or images you would like to use to decorate and a sparkle tube.
I have included basic ones for use with this tutorial.
Please note the included graphics are not to be used outside of this tutorial and are copyright LJG Design and Folkart Treasures.
A couple of things to keep in mind - always save your work and edit/undo is your friend :)
- Open your Paint Shop Pro and set up your work space the way you like it.
- Click file/browse and go to the folder where you unzipped the tutorial.
Click that folder and find the image called "ljgd-wreath.pspimage" - open that image.
Since this is the image you will be working on I suggest making a duplicate so you can keep the template as is.
So click "shift" and "D" on your keyboard and that will make a duplicate image.
Now you can close the original one for another time and work on the new one.
- Click layers/new raster layer and add a new layer to your wreath. You can call it "bow" if you like.
Open the image called "ljgd-anixmasbow.pspimage", click edit/copy then make the wreath image active and click edit/paste.
Now you have the bow on your wreath and it is on it's own layer so you can drag it to where you want it.
- Now one of the most important things to remember when working in PSP. Save, save, save.
Save this image so far, that way if your program crashes or your power goes out or heaven forbid the
kids come along and close it then you know your work is safe until you can return to it.
- Go back to that file folder and open the images that you would like to use to decorate your wreath.
Using the same method as above, add a new layer to the wreath image and paste the images onto your wreath.
Be sure that each image is on it's own layer so that you can move it and turn it freely without disturbing the initial work.
Remember to save after each step and if you make a mistake you can click edit/undo and it will earase your last step.
- Once you have the wreath decorated the way you like it, layers/merge visible and merge all the layers together.
Now crop the image closer to it so you don't have all that dead space around it.
You can stop here and have a non animated wreath or you may continue to animate it with lights.
Before we start the animation you need to make sure you have a sparkle tube in your tubes folder.
If you do not then you can take the one I have included and in psp click
file/export/picture tube
name the file and it will save to your tubes folder.
- Now you need to duplicate your image 3 times so click "shift" and "D" at the same time on your keyboard.
Do this 3 times. We will NOT be working on your original image so you can save and close that one.
- Clicking your tube tool you need to find the sparkle tube and set it to scale size 40 or 50.
The sparkle tube will represent the lights on your wreath so watch where you place them and be sure you dont over sparkle.
- Go to the first image and randomly add sparkles onto it. Then save it as "aniwreath1.psp" to a file of your choice,
but remember where it is. Be sure you click options in the save table and set it to psp 6 compatible so it works in animation shop.
- Go to the second image and do the same but in different locations. Then save it as "aniwreath2.psp" to the same
file as you just saved image 1. Be sure you click options in the save table and set it to psp 6 compatible so it works in animation shop.
- Do the same on the third image but again in different locations. Then save it as "aniwreath3.psp"
to the same file. Be sure you click options in the save table and set it to psp 6 compatible so it works in animation shop.
- Once you have your 3 images sparkled and saved you need to click file/Jasc products/launch animation shop.
With animation shop open you will need to click the first icon, which is Animation wizard and set it as follows:
Same size as first image - checked - Centered in frame - with canvas colour - Yes repeat - time of 20
- Now you need to "add image" and find the file where you saved your 3 sparkled images.
Add the first then the second then the third. Once you have all images in the window click next, then finish.
- Now you will see your 3 images. click view on the task bar up top then animation. You will see the animation.
If you like what you see, click save as, then name the image and select the folder where you want to save it.
Leave the settings as is and click next - next again - next again - then finish.
There you go!
You are done and have an animated Christmas wreath :)
NOTE: Once animated you should not change anything on the wreath or you will ruin the final image.