Tutorial: Cupcake Pop

This tutorial was written by Amber Howard on March 7, 2016. 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 Amy Brown.

You can purchase this artwork and a license through CDO. 

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

This tube was a bonus for CDO's Diamond Club and is no longer available.

Supplies needed:
PaintShopPro — I used X8 but any version will work.
Tube of choice.

Shape of choice.
Font of choice — I used Just Realize and Playlist.

Plugins needed:
Eye Candy 4 — Gradient Glow
Eye Candy 5 Impact — Perspective Shadow
Lokas Artistic Effects —Gel

Mura’s Meister — Copies
Penta- Color Dot

Penta- Jeans

***Please be aware that some of the layer settings of this tutorial may not work with every tube. Feel free to play with the settings to really make this tutorial your own!***

Ready? Set? Go!

Open a 600x200 canvas.

Open your tube of choice,

and resize as needed.

Copy and paste your tube as a new layer on your canvas,

and arrange towards the bottom center.

Be fair warned the placement will very on the type of tube chosen.

Once happy with the placement,

apply a drop shadow of choice.

I used V:0, H:4, Opacity: 25%, Blur: 5.00.

Apply the same drop shadow again,

changing the H value to -4.

Duplicate the tube layer, and hide the duplicate.

On the original tube layer,

apply Mura’s Meister – Copies with the Line preset,

changing the number from 8 to 4.

Duplicate this layer.

Hide the duplicate for now.

Rename the original lined layer Background.

Apply Mura’s Meister – Copies with the Wallpaper (Rotate) preset. 

Adjust – Blur – Radial Blur with the following settings:

Duplicate the new background layer.

Image – Mirror on the duplicate layer.

Change the settings of the duplicate layer to Overlay.

Merge the two background layers together.

Duplicate the background layer again.

Apply Penta – Jeans at the default settings.

Change the opacity of this layer to 40%.

Rename this layer Jeans.

Unhide the duplicate of the line layer.

Duplicate again.

Rename the duplicate TubeLine.

Make the original line active again,

Rename Line Shadow.

Go to Adjust – Brightness and Contrast – Brightness/Contrast with the following settings:

Brightness: -255, Contrast 0.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

Make the TubeLine layer active,

and duplicate again.

Rename the Duplicate TubeBlur.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Hard Light,

and the opacity to 60%.

Make the duplicate of the original tube active and visible again.

Rearrange the tube so that it is in between two of the other tubes.

Apply Mura’s Meister – Copies with the Line preset,

changing the 8 to 2.

Change the settings of this layer to Luminance (L.)

Rename this layer SecondLine and duplicate.

On the duplicate:

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Color.

Rename this layer Colors.

Hide the Line Shadow, background and jeans layers.

Edit – Copy Special – Copy Merged.

Paste the copied image as a new layer,

and re-align with the proper layers.

***If you’re using PSP X8, simply right click the topmost layer

and choose Merge Visible to New Layer.***

Rename this layer Hard Dots

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

Apply Penta – Color Dot at default settings.

Change the settings of this layer to Hard Light,

And the opacity to 30%.

Grab the rectangle preset shape tool.

Width: 10, Foreground: Black, Background: Null.

Draw a thin rectangle from the top to bottom of your canvas,

making sure there is plenty of overhang.

When happy with the size and thickness,

right click the layer in the layer palette,

and convert to raster layer.

Image – Free Rotate – Rotate by 45 degrees Left, all boxes unchecked.

Apply Mura’s Meister – Copies with the Line preset and default settings.

In the layer palette,

drag the retangles layer to just above the Jeans layer.

Change the settings of this layer to Overlay.

Duplicate this layer.

Rename the duplicate BackLine.

Rename the original Squiggles.

Making sure the Squiggles layer is active,

change the opacity of this layer to 25%.

Effects – Distortion Effects – Wave with the following settings:

Make the topmost layer active again.

Grab the Symmetric Shape tool,

or use a preset shape of choice.

I used the star for both examples.

Width: 10, Foreground: Black, Background: Null.

Draw out a shape large enough to fit inside the corner of your canvas,

please see either example for…an example.

When happy with the size and placement,

right click the shape layer and convert to raster.

Duplicate the shape layer.

Image – Mirror.

Image – Flip.

Merge the two shapes together.

Rename this layer Shape.

Grab the magic wand tool,

and click inside each of the shape layers.

Selections – Modify – Expand by 3 pixels.

Make the background layer active again.

Selections – Promote Section to Layer.

Selections – Select None.

Arrange the new shape background

in the layer palette so that it is below the Shape layer.

Rename this layer Shape Back.

Duplicate the Shape Back layer.

Rename the original Shape Shadow.

Go to Adjust – Brightness and Contrast – Brightness/Contrast with the following settings:

Brightness: -255, Contrast 0.

Make the Shape layer active once again.

Duplicate and arrange the original in the layer palette below the Shape Back layer.

Merge into the Shape Shadow layer.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

Make the Shape layer active again.

Selections – Select All – Float – Defloat.

Selections – Contract by 3 pixels.

Make the Jeans layer active.

Selections – Promote to layer.

Make the Background layer active.

Selections – Promote to layer.

Selections – Select None.

Arrange both of these new layers at the top of the layer palette,

so that you have Jeans (Shape), Background (Shape), and Shape.

Merge the Jeans (Shape), and Background (Shape) together.

Adjust – Add/Remove Noise – Add Noise at 100%, Random and Monochrome checked.

Make the Shape Back layer active.

Grab your text tool.

Font: Just Realize

Size: 30

Foreground: Null

Background: Black

Type out a word of choice to suit your tube.

For the first example I used ‘cupcake’ and for the second ‘chocolate.’

Objects – Align – Center in Canvas.

Convert your text to raster layer.

Apply Mura’s Meister – Copies with the Tiling (Angle) preset,

changing the tile gap to 1.

Make the Shape Back layer active again.

Selections – Select All – Float – Defloat.

Make the text layer active again.

Selections – Invert.

Hit the delete key on your keyboard once.

Selections – Select None.

Change the settings of this layer to Overlay.

Rename this layer Text.

Edit – Copy Special – Copy Merged.

Paste the copied image as a new layer,

and re-align with the proper layers.

***If you’re using PSP X8, simply right click the topmost layer

and choose Merge Visible to New Layer.***

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Overlay,

And reduce the opacity to 55%.

Make the topmost layer active again.

Add a new raster layer.

Selections – Select All.

If need be, clip to canvas and crop to selection.

Once that’s done,

flood fill the new raster layer with black.

Selections – Contract by 1 pixel.

Hit delete on your keyboard once.

DO NOT DESELECT.

Make the Jeans layer active again.

Selections – Promote section to layer.

Make the Background layer active again.

Selections – Promote section to layer.

Selections – Modify – Contract by 3 pixels.

Make the promoted Jeans layer active.

Delete.

Make the promoted Background layer active.

Delete.

DO NOT DESELECT.

Make the raster layer at the top of the canvas active again.

Flood fill with black.

Selections – Modify – Contract by 2 pixels.

Delete.

Selections – Select None.

Arrange the promoted Jeans and Background layers

below the raster layer in the layer palette.

Merge the three layers together.

Image – Mirror.

Duplicate the frame layer twice.

On the original go to Adjust – Brightness and Contrast – Brightness/Contrast

with the following settings: Brightness: -255, Contrast 0.

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

On the topmost duplicate

Adjust – Blur – Gaussian Blur at 7.00.

Change the settings of this layer to Overlay.

Choose a pixel font of choice.

Add your copyright, license, and tagger’s mark.

Choose a script font of choice,

Or Playlist.

Foreground: null

Background: Color of choice.

Add your name.

When happy with size and placement, convert to raster layer.

Duplicate the name layer.

On the duplicate, apply Lokas – Artistic Effects – Gel with the default settings,

Remembering to turn off the color overlay.

On the original,

add a thick gradient glow in a dark color of choice,

and a drop shadow of choice.

Or one with Eye Candy 5 and the following settings:

Once finished, merge as visible, save as .JPG and you’re done!

Here is a secondary example using the artwork of Carina Reis and a license through My Tubed Art.