This tutorial is for the following signature, and was created by Su a good friend of mine.
The sig does use Eye Candy for the drop shadow effect, however this can be missed off if you do not have Eye Candy.
You can download the balloon tube that is used in this tutorial by clicking on the following link:
NikBalloon3.psp
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The first step is to open PSP and go to File --> Open and find the NikBalloon.tub on your computer.
To reduce the size of the tube go to Image --> Resize and set the size to 55% (see screenshot below):
Now go to Adjust --> Sharpness --> Sharpen. And then minimise the tube to use later on.
Go to File --> New to start a new image, and have the settings as follows:
Now you're ready to add your text. Click on your text tool (A). And have your settings as follows:
Font Style - Any fat chunky font
Font Size - 72 pixels
Stroke/Foreground Colour - #58294C and Stroke set to 1
Fill/Background Colour - #DB7FC0
When you write in your text, be sure to leave out the letter that you want to float, and leave a big enough gap to fit it in later (about 2 spaces).
Now to add an inner bevel to your text go to Effects --> 3D Effects --> Inner Bevel and apply the following settings:
Now go to Effects --> Plugins --> EyeCandy 3.1 --> Perspective Shadow. And apply the following settings:
Open a new image again, and set the dimensions to 150 x 150 this time.
Using your text tool, add the missing letter to this new file. And then add the inner bevel exactly as you did in step #7, but do not add the shadow yet.
Select your NikBallon3.tub again, and go to Edit --> Copy.
Now click back on your new document with your single letter, and go to Edit --> Paste As New Layer. Move your balloon and position it above your letter so it looks like the string is wrapped round it. You may need to erase some of your string for it to look like the balloon is tied to the letter.
Now go to Edit --> Copy Merged. And then on your first document with the rest of your text in, go to Edit --> Paste As New Layer.
Move your letter and balloon so they are in line with the rest of your name, and then you can go ahead and add the same perspective shadow as you added in step #8.
Now go to Edit --> Copy Merged. Open Animation Shop and go to Edit --> Paste As New Animation.
Back in PSP move your letter with the balloon up slightly. Go to Edit --> Copy Merged. And back in Animation Shop, go to Edit --> Paste After Current Frame.
Now back in PSP repeat step 16, moving your balloon and letter slightly higher again.
Repeat this one last time, but this time, move your letter and balloon back down a little.
Back in Animation shop
You now need to crop your sig down by clicking on the following tool:
Draw a box around the sig, making sure that you don't cut off the top of your balloon, and when you are happy, hit Crop.
Go to Edit --> Select All --> Animation --> Frame Properties. And set the Display Time to 66. This slows it down a bit.
And finally, this is a quite large sig, but it resizes well. So if you would prefer it to be smaller, just go to Animation --> Resize Animation, and reduce the percentage to something you're happier with.
Preview your animation to make sure you're happy, and then just save it, and you are done.
If you would like to try this sig in different colours, then you can change the colour of your balloon easily. When you open your NikBalloon3.psp in PSP, just go to Adjust --> Hue and Saturation --> Colorize, and play with the levels to get the colour you would like.
I hope you have enjoyed this tut, and I would like to say a big thank you to Su for creating this fab sig and allowing me to add her tutorial to my website. Thanks Su!
Tutorial written by Ally at www.madlassgrin.co.uk