Layers/Animation
 Paint Shop Pro� 8

First lets explain what a layer is and what it actually does. By placing layers over your original image, it protects the original while allowing you to make changes to new layers above it. Like laying a transparent sheet of plastic over you image and drawing on the plastic. You can lift the plastic up and still see the original without altering it in any way. Also allowing you to copy certain layers and saving them. Allowing you to rotate and filter newly added images without disturbing the background. There are many ways to use layers, this tutorial only covers a few.

This is going to be a long tutorial with many steps, please be sure you look at the control screen shots carefully especially when a problem occurs. First open any tube you wish to animate in Paint Shop Pro� 8.  This image will be referred to as the Main Image throughout the tutorial.  I used the stained glass pansies created using a Paint Shop Pro 7� tutorial.  Click on pansies and save to your hard drive, unzip to your Paint Shop Pro� 8 Picture Tubes folder.  Also open a tube you wish to use for the actual animation of your image.  This tutorial utilizes the 'sparkle tube'.  Click here to download and unzip to your Paint Shop Pro� 8 Picture Tubes folder.

Step 1:
Open your Main Image by going to File/Open/C:/Program Files/Jasc Software Inc/Paint Shop Pro 8/Picture Tubes/SG Pansies.  Add a new layer . . . Layers/New as shown in Screen Shot 1:

Click on picture to enlarge or use these settings:
Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100
Link set: 0
Layer is visible checked
Blend Ranges: Blend channel: Grey channel

 Screen Shot 2
Screen Shot 1
 
 

Step 2:
Choose your Picture Tube Tool Flood Fill Bucket and select your Sparkle tube.  Place the sparkles randomly around your Main Image.  You can also change the Scale to accommodate the Main Image or to your preference.  Making sure that the tube you use stays on the Main Image and not on the transparent background. 

Step 3:
Go to File/Export/GIF Optimizer.  Use settings as shown in Screen Shot 2:

Click on picture to enlarge or use these settings:
Existing image or layer transparency checked.
Hit OK, and save to your hard drive.

 Screen Shot 3
Screen Shot 2
 

Step 4:
Go to Image/Rotate/Free Rotate and use the settings as shown in Screen Shot 3:
OR you can simply delete the Sparkles on that layer by clicking your Delete key on your keyboard and adding Sparkles at your desired locations.  This method works best if you have a lot of background space.

Click on picture to enlarge or use these settings:
Direction: Right
Degrees: 90
All layers: unchecked

Repeat Step 3
Repeat Step 4
Repeat Step 3

 Screen Shot 4
Screen Shot 3
 
Step 5:
Write down the dimensions of your Main Image (Height and Width)
Go to File/Launch Animation Shop
File/Animation Wizard
Follow the below steps:
Click on the picture to enlarge
Screen Shot 4
Screen Shot 5
Change height and width to your Main Image's height and width.		 Screen Shot 5
 Screen Shot 6
Change the color to the color you wish to have your background.		 Screen Shot 6
 Screen Shot 7
Use default settings here if you wish.
Screen Shot 7
 Screen Shot 8
Timing can be changed here, the smaller the number, the faster the animation.  The higher the number, the slower the animation.		 Screen Shot 8
 Screen Shot 9
Browse to the folder you saved your images in, add all three.		 Screen Shot 9
 Screen Shot 10
Click Finish.

Lastly, save your image and compress it to your liking.  Giving you a final result similar to this: (Resized 50%)
Layers/Animation Result
Be creative, use your own ideas.  This would have been great with a bug or butterfly flying around or raindrops dripping down.  Depending on your Main Image, you could really make some great animations!!  Please feel free to email me your results.

: Home :  : PSP Tutorials :  : OE5 Stationery :  : Applets :  : Friends :  : Frames :
: Awards :  :Webrings :  : J's Web Design :  : Inspired Scripting :  : Web Sets :
: Sign the Guestbook :  : View the Guestbook :

Copyright � 2003 Jacinda's Web Design