Pretty Flowers



~ This tutorial assumes you are familiar with the tools in PSP ~
  It was written on March 21, 2008, using PSP 9, but it can be completed in most versions
Tutorials are only guidelines, it's always fun to experiment with different settings on your own : )

- This tutorial may not be suitable for a beginner -

Supplies needed:

Corel Paint Shop Pro
MuRa's Filter Meister - Copies
My Supplies - HERE

Tools we will be using:

Paint Brush:      -    

Retouch Brushes:


Step 1:
Unzip MuRa's copies to the PSP Plugins folder.
Unzip the teardrop shape to the PSP Preset Shapes folder.
(If you don't already have this shape)

Open the pearl in PSP and minimize it. 


Step 2:
Create a new file: 300x300, white background.


Step 3:
Grab your preset shapes tool (or hit the letter ‘p’ to activate it).
Load the teardrop shape, and set the options as shown below:

Anti-alias & Create as vector; Checked - Ignore line style - Width: 0.00



Step 4:
Go up to your materials palette and set it to the following:

Foreground/Stroke Color:  #d5857e
    Background/Fill Color:  #904242

Change the Background to the Foreground/background gradient,
angle 0, repeats 0, Invert: Unchecked, Style: Linear.


Step 5:
Draw out a small teardrop and center it in the canvas by going
up to Objects > Align > Center in canvas, name this layer ‘petal’.

Here is what mine looks like:



Step 6:
Right click on your petal layer and convert it to raster.
Selections > Select all / Selections > Float / Selections > Defloat. 
Keep selected until otherwise noted.


Step 7:
Create a new layer, change the blend mode to ‘screen’, and name it ‘paint effects’.
Go up to your materials palette and change your Foreground color to #f8c2be and
your Background color to null (transparent).


Step 8:
Grab your paint brush and plug in the below settings.


 

These next few steps are hard to explain in detail, they really are a matter of preference.
Basically, we are going to add some paint to our petal, then use the retouch brushes to push and soften
the effect of that paint.  The selection we made in Step 6 will keep the paint from going outside the shape. 

We will then add some detail using the retouch brushes.

------ Remember to save your work often ------



Step 9:
  On the ‘paint effects’ layer we created in Step 8, add some paint to your selection.

Below is an example of where I put my paint, I changed my
background to black to make it easier to see.



Step 10:
Ok, let’s set up our retouch brushes - Hit the letter ‘j’ to activate them. 

Select the Smudge brush and plug In the following settings in the tool options palette:


Hit the letter ‘j’ again, and select the Push Brush.  Plug in the following settings in the tool options palette:



Step 11:
Using the Push brush, move the paint around so that it covers the bottom and right side of your shape. 
Switch to the Smudge brush to soften the effect.  You may need to change your settings to get the effect you want.

Here is how mine turned out:



Step 12:
  Selections > Select none.  Duplicate the ‘paint effects’  layer. 
Change the blend mode on the duplicate Layer to ‘hard light’.

Here is how your layers should look at this point:



Step 13:
Click on the eye next to your background layer to hide it.
Right click on any other layer and select 'merge visible', name this layer 'petal'.

Now go up to Image > Image flip
(we want the point of our petal to be pointing down)


Step 14:
Unhide your background layer.

We are going to use the Burn Brush to create some line details on our petal,
then we'll use the Smudge Brush to soften the look of those lines.

Hit the letter ‘j’ to bring up your retouch tools and select the 'Burn' brush.

Plug in the below settings:



Step 15: 
Lock the transparency of the petal layer by clicking on the red X located
at the far right of the layer.  The red X will tun into a 'lock' icon.

  (refer to the image in step 12 to see where the red X is located - you may
need to use the scroll bar at the bottom of your layers palette)

With your Burn brush, starting at the bottom of your petal, add some shadow lines.
You may need to go over your lines a couple of times to get the effect you want.  Don't worry about
getting them perfect.

When you are happy with your details, select your Smudge Brush, change the size to 8 and use
it to soften and blend in your lines.  Again, this is a matter of personal preference, you can keep
alternating between these 2 brushes until you get an effect you like.

Here is how my petal turned out:



Step 16:
We're almost done!

Duplicate your petal image by holding down the shift key and hitting the letter 'd'.
You can save the duplicate image for later use, or delete the background layer
and export it as a tube.  When you are done, close the image and go back
to your original petal image.


Step 17:
Now the fun part begins, making the flower!

Center your petal in the canvas and unlock the layer by clicking on the 'lock' icon.
  Add the following drop shadow:
(or one of your own)

Vertical:  3
Horizontal: 1
Opacity: 23
Blur: 1
Color: black
Shadow on new layer: unchecked


Step 18:
  Effects > Plugins > MuRa's Meister > Copies

Enter in the settings below & hit OK:



Step 19:
Duplicate your flower layer, go up to Image > Rotate > Free rotate
and rotate it 20 degrees to the right.

This is how your flower should look at this point:




Step 20:
Delete your background layer and merge visible.
Add the pearl center to your flower, or use one of your own, and you're done!

Save your flower as a .pspimage file or export it as a tube.
Try my tutorial on Changing Element Colors in PSP and you can have a whole garden of pretty flowers.



Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed doing this tutorial.  I would love to see your results!