Old Wounds Tutorial

This tutorial was written by Amber Howard on July 1, 2015. Any resemblances to other tutorials are completely coincidental. Scripting and translating of this tutorial is forbidden. Do not copy and paste this tutorial anywhere else on the internet. Please link back to the main blog instead.

In this tutorial I used the artwork of Susan Justice.

This artwork was purchased through Artistic Minds Inc., and may no longer be available.

Please do not use this or any artwork without purchasing a proper license first.

Supplies needed:
PaintShopPro — I used X7 but any version will work
Image of choice.
Frame created for this tutorial — downloadable here.
Fonts of choice — I used Harting and Race Fever Pen.
Big Mask 18 by Vix.

Plugins needed:
Artistic Effects — Halftone (standard PSP filter)
Eye Candy 4 — Gradient Glow
Eye Candy 6 — Perspective Shadow
Filters Unlimited 2 — Special Effects 1 — Aged Film
Filters Unlimted 2 — Special Effects 1 — Shiver
Penta — Jeans
Mura’s Meister — Copies

Ready? Set? Go!

Open a 400x400 canvas to start and flood fill with white.

Open the frame included with this tutorial.

Hit Shift+D on your canvas to duplicate.

Close the original.

Delete the information layer.

Resize the frame to 375 pixels high.

Copy and paste as a new layer on your canvas.

Colorize as needed.

Rename this layer Frame.

Selections – Select All – Float – Defloat.

Selections – Contract by 2 pixels.

Add a new raster layer above the frame layer.

Flood fill with a color that compliments your image.

Selections – Select None.

Adjust – Add/Remove Noise – Add Noise at 50%,

with Gaussian and Monochrome checked.

Rename this layer Frame Noise.

Duplicate the Frame layer.

If you colorized the original frame layer,

go to Adjust – Brightness and Contrast – Brightness and Contrast

with the settings Brightness: -255, Contrast: 0, Linear Mode: checked.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 4.00.

Rename this layer Frame Shadow.

Open your image of choice,

copy and return to your 400x400 canvas.

Paste as a new layer below the Frame Shadow layer.

Arrange part of your image that you want visible in the first box of the frame,

resizing as needed.

Select the Frame layer in the layers palette.

Grab your magic wand tool with the following settings:

Mode- Add, Match- RBG, Tolerance- 20, Contiguous checked, Anti-Alias checked, Outside.

Click inside the first frame once.

Selections – Expand by 4 pixels.

Return to the image layer.

Selections – Invert.

Hit the delete key on your keyboard once.

Rename this layer Image 1.

Paste your image as a new layer beneath the Image 1 layer.

Arrange the portion of the image

that you would like to be visible in the second box of the frame.

Select the magic wand tool once again.

Make sure the Frame layer is active,

and click inside the second frame.

Selections – Expand by 4 pixels.

Return to the image layer.

Selections – Invert.

Hit the delete key on your keyboard once.

Rename this layer Image 2.

Paste your image as a new layer beneath the Image 2 layer.

Arrange the portion of the image

that you would like to be visible in the third box of the frame.

Select the magic wand tool once again.

Make sure the Frame layer is active,

and click inside the third frame.

Selections – Expand by 4 pixels.

Return to the image layer.

Selections – Invert.

Hit the delete key on your keyboard once.

Rename this layer Image 3.

Hide all layers except for Image 1, Image 2, and Image 3.

Duplicate each of the layers, and then hide the duplicates.

Merge visible.

Rename this layer Base Image.

Duplicate the Base Image layer.

Apply Filters Unlimited 2 – Special Effects 1 – Aged Film at default settings.

Change the settings of this layer to Multiply, or one that is suitable to your tag.

Rename this layer Base Aged.

Unhide the original Image 1 layer.

Apply Artistic Effects – Halftone with the following settings:

Change the settings of this layer to Multiply,

or one that is suitable to your tag.

Rename this layer Toned Image.

Unhide the original Image 2 layer.

Apply Penta – Jeans with the default settings.

Change the settings of this layer to Multiply,

or one that is suitable to your tag.

Rename this layer Jeaned Image.

Unhide the original Image 3 layer.

Apply Filters Unlimited 2 – Special Effects 1 – Shiver at default settings.

Change the settings of this layer to Multiply,

or one that is suitable to your tag.

Rename this layer Shiver Image.

Copy and paste your image as a new layer, above the white background.

Apply Mura’s Meister – Copies – Wallpaper Rotate at the default settings.

Repeat Copies.

Next, Adjust – Blur – Motion Blur with an angle of 300,

and a strength of 100%.

Repeat twice.

Selections – Select All – Clip to Canvas.

Image  – Crop to Selection.

Apply Vix Big Mask 18 to this layer,

Source Luminance, Fit to Canvas, and Hide all Mask checked.

Right click on your Mask group, and choose Merge Group.

Resize by 85%, all layers unchecked.

Rename this layer Mask.

Hide the following layers in your layer palette:

Background, Toned Image, Jeaned Image, Shiver Image, Base Aged.

Unhide the following layers in your layer palette:

Frame, Frame Noise, Frame Shadow, Base Image, Mask.

Edit – Copy – Copy Special – Copy Merged.

Paste the new layer at the top of your layer palette.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 10.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Soft Light.

Rename this layer Soft Image.

Unhide all of the layers in your layer palette except the Background layer.

If everything is to your liking thus far, right click a layer and Merge Visible.

Rename this layer Tag.

Unhide the Background layer.

Make sure the topmost layer is active, and grab the font tool.

Foreground, null.

Background, color that compliments your tag.

I used Harting for the font, and #cc0505 for the color.

Using a sans serif or typewriter font,

add the beginning of a phrase.

I wrote “your love scars.”

DO NOT CONVERT TO RASTER.

Image – Free Rotate – Rotate by 90 degrees left,

all layers and single layer unchecked.

Arrange the first line of text along the left side of the Frame layer.

Make sure that the text does not go too far above or below the Frame layer.

Once happy with placement and sizing, convert to raster layer.

Rename this layer Base Text 1.

Duplicate the Base Text 1 layer.

Working on the duplicate,

add a thick 3.00 gradient glow in a color similar to the one used for your phrase.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 4.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Hard Light.

Lower the opacity of this layer to 75%.

Rename this layer Text Blur 1.

On the original Base Text 1 layer,

add a thick 3.00 gradient glow in black or a color that suits your tag.

Lower the opacity of this layer to 75%.

Apply a drop shadow of choice, or the following using Eye Candy 6 – Perspective Shadow:

Make sure the topmost layer is active,

and grab the text tool once again.

Color – white, or one that suits your tag.

I used Race Fever Pen, color white.

Add the second part of your phrase.

I added ‘my heart.’

DO NOT CONVER TO RASTER!

Image – Free Rotate – Rotate by 90 degrees left,

all layers and single layer unchecked.

Arrange the second line of text along the first line of text.

Once happy with placement and sizing, convert to raster layer.

Rename this layer Base Text 2.

Duplicate the Base Text 2 layer.

Working on the duplicate,

add a thick 3.00 gradient glow in the same color used for the first line of text.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 4.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Hard Light.

Lower the opacity of this layer to 55%.

Rename this layer Text Blur 2.

On the original Base Text 2 layer,

add a thick 3.00 gradient glow in black or a color that suits your tag.

Apply a drop shadow of choice, or the one used for the first line of text.

Lower the opacity of this layer to 75%.

If all is suitable and in place,

hide the white background layer.

Right click the top most layer,

Merge Visible.

Unhide the white background layer.

Choose a pixel font of choice, add your copyrights, license, and tagger’s mark.

Choose another font of choice, color – white.

Add your name.

When you’re happy with the placement, convert to raster layer.

Duplicate the name layer.

Working on the duplicate of the name layer,

apply the same 3.0 gradient glow in the color used for the first line of text.

Adjust – Gaussian Blur at 4.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Hard Light.

Change the opacity of this layer to 55%.

On the original apply a 3.00 gradient glow with the same color used on the Base Text 2 layer.

Add a drop shadow of choice, or the one used on the text layers.

Change the opacity of this layer to 75%.

Merge the two name layers together.

Crop away excess canvas,

delete the white background layer,

save as .png and you’re done!

Thank you so much for trying my tutorial, I would love to see your results!

Below there is another example using the artwork of Martin Abel, which can be purchased through CDO. This example shows colorization of the frame and different settings to the image layers.