- First lets open up a new image in PSP. I've chosen 400x200 and a white background. I always default my images to 16.7 million colors.
- Now lets choose our colors. For wooden text, I want to start with a chocolate brown color. Just click on the foreground area of the color palette on the right side of the screen to bring up the color selection window.
You can choose colors any of the available ways. You can set RGB and HSL numbers, or the HTML number code (which is a really handy feature!) or just maneuver around the color window with the cursor.
- Next, select the fill tool (paint bucket) and fill the new image window with the foreground color by left clicking on the new image window. Note that the left mouse button will fill with the foreground color and the right mouse button will fill with the background color.
As for the settings in the controls window, be sure to set the Opacity to 100 and to use Solid Color for the Fill Style. I almost always keep the Match Mode set to RGB Value. Since the window that we are filling is a solid color, the Tolerance is irrelevant as it will fill the whole window whether we set it to 0 or 200 (max).
- After we have filled out new image window with the brown color we selected, go back to the foreground color and open up the color selection window again and choose a lighter color. The best way to do this is to move around color square in the center of the window. I sure miss the vertical shade scale on the 4.x versions of PSP for this.
- Now click on the airbrush tool (spray can) and get back to the Controls panel. On the Tools Control tab, choose Woodgrain from the drop down menu. On the Brush Tip tab, choose the following settings. Opacity 20, Density 50, Size 200, Hardness 0 and Step 1. It doesn't matter too much what shape brush you us if you set the size big enough. What happens when you set the size really big and the opacity pretty small, you will be able to keep the color flow light and even. Just like using a real airbrush, its better to use a little color at a time and make several passes until the color builds up to the point you want it. That is why we set the Opacity on the low side. Go ahead and spray over your image with the lighter color until you get a good woodgrain look. Don't worry about getting every nook and cranny as we are going to take a cutout of the best section from the center of the image.
 
- After you have a pretty good looking wood grain area on your image window, choose the Selection tool next. On the Controls panel I have chosen to use rectangle for the Selection Type, and keep the Feather set to 0.
- With you selection indicated on the woodgrain image, go to Edit|Copy. This copies the selection to the windows clipboard. Now, go to Edit|Paste|As New Image. This will open the selection from the clipboard as its own new image. You can now X the original woodgrain image we copied the selection from.
- Open second new image with the same settings as our first one. After you have your new image window, choose a bold color for the foreground color. Blue works well with our browns. We want to have a color that won't be too close in RGB value to our working colors. This will be the temporary color of your text and then we will fill it with our woodgrain texture later.
- Choose the Text Tool from your tools palette and click on your new image to open the Text Window. I would suggest Floating and Anti-Alias but other than that, what text styles etc, are up to you. For this example I would use something that is rather wide to show off our wooden texture. Leave the text selected when you are through.
- Next step is to again select the Fill Tool and go back to the Controls panel. For Fill Style select Pattern. Keep the Opacity at 100 and the Tolerance at 200, their maximums. We would not be able to use the Tolerance this high without the selection of the text. A tolerance of 200 will fill all colors where a tolerance of 0 will only fill the particular color (one of 16.7 million) that you click on.
Now click on the Options button to get to the Flood Fill Options window. You should have Pattern for the Fill Style and Normal for the Blend Mode. From the drop down menu under New Pattern Source, find your woodgrain image and click OK.
- Go ahead and fill the lettering (which should still be selected) with your woodgrain texture by left clicking on the blue letters inside the selection. When the fill was finished, my images looked a little too washed out so I added some contrast to the text. I did this by going to Colors|Adjust|Brightness/Contrast, and increased the contrast until I was happy with the look of the woodgrain of the text.
- Now, to add a little 3D to the wooden text go to Image|Effects|Cutout to open up the Cutout window. I've chosen white for the Interior color and black for the Shadow. Set Opacity to 50 and Blur to 3 and both Vertical and Horizontal Offsets to -2 and click OK.
Here is our wooden text at this point. Don't deselect your text yet...I just did this to give you a look.
- To improve the 3D look, go to Image|Effects|Drop Shadow to open up the Drop Shadow window. I've chosen to use a black shadow color, with the Opacity 100 and Blur at 10. I've set both Offsets to 2, notice this is exactly the oppisite of our Cutout Offset settings earlier. This is done intentionally to get the shadows on the same side.
- All thats left to do is crop the image down a bit using the Selection tool and Copy|Paste| As New Image like we did earlier. And to display it in a fitting table of course. =8)
Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!
Brad
|
