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Tutorial on Stained Glass Effect

fleur.jpg (1182 bytes)This tutorial covers the steps needed to achieve the stained glass effects shown above.

Required:

  • Paint Shop Pro Version 5. (PSP5)
  • Blade Pro
  • Some sort of dingbat font or 1-bit graphic.
  • Blade Pro settings found on this site in zipped format.

 

Step 1Create a layer which is the background for the stained glass.  Call it Detail to distinguish it from the PSP background layer. This will be the design seen through the stained glass.  You need to strike a balance between too much and not enough detail in the background.  The one I used is 300 x 300 pixels, and is based on the cutout graphics tutorial at the "Web Graphics on a Budget" site.

background.jpg (2859 bytes)

Step 2Create the other layers you are going to need:
  • Bevel
  • Face

fleur.jpg (1182 bytes)

Step 3Go to the Frame layer, and drop some text. I used "G" from monotype sorts.  Check floating and anti-alias. I don't think the color really matters. What matters is the kind of image you use. It needs to be either a dingbat or 1-bit GIF with an outline and an "interior".  This is going to be the "frame" for the stained glass.  If you want to use a shape which is not an outline, please see the Mouseover Buttons tutorial for some ideas.  I prefer to put the frame in place, first, because it gives me an idea of where I'm heading.  You can turn it on and off as you go.

fleur.jpg (1182 bytes)

Step 4Make sure your "frame is selected.  Now, apply BladePro. I used  "gold, basic" from the settings that come with Blade Pro.  You can use whatever takes your fancy.  There are some nice pewter and lead presets out there which also give good results.  Save the selection to the alpha channel as "Frame".   Turn off the visibility of the Frame layer.

gold-frame.jpg (5098 bytes)

Step 5Go to the Bevel layer and load the Frame selection.  Invert this selection and flood fill with your stained glass color.  (I used RGB = 0, 0, 255.)   With the magic wand, select just the blue interior of the diamond.  Save this selection to the alpha channel as "Interior".  Invert the selection and clear.  You should have something which looks like the picture, at right.

bevel-b.jpg (3946 bytes)

Step 6Invert the selection again, and apply the BladePro preset "stained-glass-a.q9q" to the blue diamond.  Deselect the diamond.

bevel-c.jpg (3823 bytes)

Step 7Use the magic wand to select the central portion.  Save this selection to the alpha channel as "Face".  Now you have a new selection which is only the face.  Promote the selection to a new layer called "Face".

fleur.jpg (1182 bytes)

Step 8Go back to the Bevel layer, and clear the selection.  This is what you have with all of the layers visible except for the Face layer.bevel-d.jpg (5915 bytes)
Step 9Now, you can vary the opacity of the bevel and the face of the stained glass independently.  I used about 95% for the bevel and about 80% for the face. Play with it to see what suits. You can stop here, or ...

face-a.jpg (5134 bytes)

Step 10The face looked a bit to flat.   Keeping the face selected, apply the BladePro preset stained-glass-b.q9q.   I used a bumpy texture, but there are plenty more which would probably work well.

face-b.jpg (5229 bytes)

Step 11Since the effect is meant to be a piece of glass above the background surface, I deselected the Face, made the Frame the active layer, and added a drop shadow to suit.

final.jpg (5183 bytes)

NoteThe settings provided work well for the diamond shape and blue glass.   Other shapes and colors may require tweaking the settings, especially the direction and color of the light sources.

fleur.jpg (1182 bytes)

fleur.jpg (1182 bytes)      E-mail me with any questions or comments.

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This page was last modified on 09/09/98 08:27 AM CDT.