CT Tutorial for Mikka and Darkness Falls

**This tutorial was written using Photoshop CC. I believe the instructions should work with various other versions, but they are not tested on any other version.  This tutorial is my own creation.  Any similarity to any other tutorial is not done purposely or knowingly (aside from the fact that the process is pretty similar in most tutorials).  If you do not know how to do some of the things I mention here (like mirroring an image, adding a drop shadow, resizing elements, etc.), check out my “Tips and Tricks” tutorial. **

Supplies:

PTU Poser – “Mikka” by Designs By Norella.  You can purchase the tube at Design by Norella store

PTU Kit- “Darkness Falls” by Whispy's D'zines.  Available at any of the following stores: Dzines From the Heart, Treasured Scraps,  Mystical Scraps,  and Whisprd Designz.

FTU Mask - “Mask 13 – Cloudy” available for download from my blog.

 

Abbreviations:

DS – Drop Shadow

Settings I use:

DS Settings - Blend Mode set to Multiply, Opacity set to 75%, Angle set to 120 degrees, Distance 5, Spread 0, Size 5

Ready…..Set….Tag!

Open Paper 2 in a new canvas.  Double click on the layer to unlock it.

Add the Mask to the canvas and resize if needed so it is the same size as the paper.  Then drag the mask layer below the paper layer.

With the mask layer selected, select all (Ctrl + A) and copy the entire canvas (Ctrl + C).  You will see dashed lines surround the canvas. 

Click on the paper layer to activate it, then turn on quick mask (Press the Q key on your keyboard).  The dashed lines will disappear and that is ok.  Next Paste onto the paper (Ctrl + V) and turn your Quick Mask off (Q again). 

You will now see a dotted outline of the mask on your paper.  Press the button on the bottom of layers side bar that is a rectangle with a circle cut out of it.  The mask will now show. 

Right click on the paper layer and select Convert to Smart Image.  This releases just the mask.  The background layer of the mask will become invisible on its own. 

Open a new canvas (Ctrl +N) 700 x 700, transparent background.  This will be referred to as the working canvas in my directions when switching between canvases.

Add the combined mask from above and resize to the fit the canvas.  Make sure this becomes your bottom layer.  It will stay the bottom layer of the tag.

Add Element 22 to the canvas.  Resize to fit the width of the mask.  Position at the bottom of the canvas.  Add DS.

Add Element 27 to the canvas. Resize to fit the open space of Element 22.  Add DS.

Add your poser to the canvas on top of all your layers.  Resize her so she fits on the left side of the canvas. Add DS. 

Switch to the PSD file of your tube. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to draw a box around the head area of the poser.  Copy (Ctrl + C) the selection and return to your working canvas.

On your working canvas make sure the paper layer is selected then paste (Ctrl + V) the copied selection.  Resize the selection so that the head fits to your satisfaction in the left upper corner of the canvas.  Add DS.

Voila!  The focal point of your tag is now created.

Now decorate your tag with any of the elegantly dark elements from the kit.  Resize the elements as you add them so fit the proportions of your tag.  Experiment with rotating them and mirroring them for more variety.  In addition duplicate elements and use multiple times to fill in holes and add more pizzazz.  In this tutorial to indicate when I used more than one of the same element I will add (X#) by the name to indicate how many versions of the element I used. 

Here are all the additional elements I used from the bottom layers up.

Element 9

Element 17

Element 18

Element 4 (x2)

Element 5 (x2)

Element 6

Element 13

Element 16

Element 15

Add your license and copyright info to the tag.

Add name and any other text of choice.

Save as PNG and go share with all your friends!

Thank you for trying my tut! I’d love to see how your tags turn out so if you like what you made, please post a copy here or show me on Facebook!