This tutorial was created March 19, 2006
Any resemblance to other online tutorials is purely coincidence
ŠN@thy 2007

This tutorial was written using PSP 9, but can be done in other versions

~ You will need ~
The picture I used is by Antje Darling. You can find her awesome artwork at Antje's Graphics.com
Paint Shop Pro, a 30 day trial can be downloaded here
Mezzy (Interlace), you can download here
Andrew's Filter Collection 57 (Colour Threads), you can download here
Mura's Seamless (Emboss at Alpha), you can download here
VM Toolbox (Motion Trail), you can download here
My supplies here. The zip includes the image

Open your picture in psp
Duplicate and minimize one copy for later use
Set your foreground color to #9DB5BF
Set your background color to #1F4355

Change your foreground to gradient with the following settings:



Selections, Select All
Effects, 3D Effects, Cutout and use the following settings:



Selections, Select None

Image, add border, 2 pixels in your dark color
Image, add border, 1 pixel in your light color
Image, add border, 2 pixels in your dark color
Image, add border, 2 pixels in your light color
Image, add border, 2 pixels in your dark color
Image, add border, 1 pixel in your light color
Image, add border, 2 pixels in your dark color

Selections, Select All
Selections, Modify, Contract, 12
Selections, Invert
Effects, 3D Effects, Inner Bevel and use the following settings:



Selections, Select None
Minimize for later use

File, New
Width 512, Height 350, Transparent background
Fill with your gradient
Effects, Plugins, Andrew's Filter Collection 57, Colour Threads and use the following settings:



Adjust, Hue and Saturation, Colorize and use the following settings:



Layers, New Raster Layer
Activate Selection Tool and use the following settings:



Click on Custom Selection (shown by the red arrow)
And use the following settings:
Top: 26, Left: 39, Right: 474, Bottom: 324
Fill with the gradient
Selections, Select None

Effects, Plugins, Cybia Mezzy, Interlace and use the following settings:



Adjust, Hue and Saturation, Colorize and use the following settings:



Effects, Plugins, Mura's Seamless, Emboss at Alpha and use the following settings:



Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow and use the following settings:



Repeat Drop Shadow but change Vertical and Horizontal for -3

Maximize the framed image we made earlier and copy it
Go back to the background and paste as new layer
Image, Resize
Dimensions: 75%, Resample using Bicubic, Lock aspect ratio checked and Resize all layers NOT checked
Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow and use the following settings:



Repeat Drop Shadow but change Vertical and Horizontal to -5
Layers, Merge, Merge Visible

Image, Canvas Size
Change the Height to 900 and make sure the Width stays the same (512)
Placement: Bottom 550
Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow and use the following settings:
Make sure Shadow on new layer IS checked!



Activate Raster Deform Tool
Move your mouse until the white double-headed arrow appears
(like in the screen shot)



Once you see it left click on your mouse, hold and drag it past the right side of the image
(like in the screen shot)



This will extend the Drop Shadow out past the strip getting rid of any seams
Do the same thing on the left side

Layers, New Raster Layer
Layers, Arrange, Send to Bottom
Selections, Select All
Maximize the duplicate image (NOT the framed image) and copy it
Back to the background and paste into selection
Selections, Select None

Adjust, Blur, Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 25
Adjust, Add/Remove Noise, Add Noise and use the following settings:



Effects, Plugins, VM Toolbox, Motion Trail and use the following settings:



Layers, Duplicate
Image, Mirror
Layers, Properties and set the Opacity to 50%

Layers, Merge, Merge All (Flatten)

Add your watermark and your tag is finished. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.