CT Tutorial for Contessa by Shining Star Art (Kaci McVay)

**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 – “Contessa” by Shining Star Art (Kaci McVay).  Get this tough poser at The PSP Project: http://www.thepspproject.com/designers-artists/kaci-mcvay/contessa

PTU Kit- “Steampunk Girl” by Graphics of Fantasy.  This kit is available for purchase at Graphics of Fantasy Store:

http://graphic-of-fantasy.de/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=36&products_id=125

FTU Mask – “Mask 05 – Dreamscape” by Aeval’s Art.  The mask is available for download on my blog:

http://aevalsart.blogspot.com/2014/05/mask-05-dreamscape.html

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 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 Paper 9 to the canvas.  Resize to fit the entire canvas.

Add the Mask to the canvas and resize if needed so it is the same size as the working canvas.  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. 

Add Element 77 to the canvas and resize it so it fits in the center of the canvas.  Add DS.

Add Paper 7 to the canvas and resize so that the mirror part of Element 77 is covered.  Position the paper so that the portion of the paper you want to display is showing over the oval area.

Make the Paper 7 layer invisible (click on the eye beside the layer).  Activate the Element 77 layer and use the Quick Selection Tool or the Magic Wand tool to select the entire Oval portion of Element 77.  Invert the selection (Shift + Ctrl + I).  Make the Paper 7 layer visible again and click on the layer to activate it.  Right click on the layer and select “Rasterize Layer” then hit the delete key on your keyboard.  It should delete any of the paper outside of the area you selected in the oval.  Use the eraser tool to touch up the remaining paper if needed.

Add the poser to your canvas.  Resize her to fit the canvas and position her to the left of the frame, slightly overlapping it.  Add DS.

Add Element 76 and drag it below the frame layer.  Resize to fit the canvas and position it on the right side of the canvas so it is slightly behind the frame.  Add DS.

Add Element 62 and resize to whatever size you like.  Position it so that it is in front of the balloon and behind the frame on the right side.  Add DS.

Add Element 80 to the canvas and resize to fit the width of the canvas.  Position toward the bottom behind the poser and over the frame.  Add DS.

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

Now decorate your tag with any of the 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 elements I used from the bottom layers up.

• Element 75 (X8)
• Element 42
• Element 40
• Element 74 (X2)
• Element 69
• Element 59
• Element 54 (X2)
• Element 45
• Element 68
• Element 67
• Element 78
• Element 38
• Element 6

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!