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A VECTOR APPLE IN PSP 7
Part 2 of 2

Adding some depth...

That doesn't look too bad, but it needs some depth to make it look more realistic. We're finished with the vectors part of this lesson, so let's get organized; name our layers and convert our vector layers to raster.

14. Open the Layers palette and hold your cursor over the title Layer1 for a moment. A miniature picture of the apple shape should pop up. See it? Double click on that layer and rename it to "apple" or "stem" or "leaf" depending on which little picture pops up. Do the same for each layer except the background.
    
    
    
15. Right click on each layer in turn and choose "Convert to Raster Layer"
    
    Ok, now that we've renamed our layers to make it easier to work, we'll continue on and add some depth to our apple.
    
    
16. Arrange your layers if necessary so that apple is on top, then stem, then leaf. Click and drag a layer name to change it's stacking order.
    
    
17. Click on the apple layer (at the top of the stack) to make it the active layer then click on the "create new layer" icon in the top left corner of the Layer Palette or go Layers/New Raster Layer. Name your new layer "highlight". Be sure that this is the active layer before moving on.
    
    
18. Activate the selection tool.
    
    
    1. Open the Tool Options palette and use the following settings:
       
       Selection type = Ellipse
       Feather = 8
       Antialias = checked
       
       
    2. Draw a small circle on the left upper part of your apple. It will expand after you stop drawing due to the feather. That's what we want.
    
    
    
19. Activate the Flood Fill tool.
    
    
    1. Open the Tool Options palette and use the following settings:
       Blend mode = Normal
       Match mode = None
       Tolerance = will be grayed out
       Opacity = 100
       Sample merged = Unchecked
       
       
    2. . Set the foreground color swatch to white, background swatch to Null.
       
       
    3. Left click inside your selected area. If your selection was very small, the flood fill may not be bright enough for your liking. If that's the case, left click one more time.
    
    
    
20. Go Selections/Select None
    
    
21. Go Image/Blur/Gaussian blur.
    Set the blur between 3 and 5 depending on how bright your highlight is.
    OK
    
    
22. If your highlight is an ellipse shape like mine rather than a circle, go Image/Rotate and use the following settings:
    
    Direction = Right
    Degrees = Free : 45
    All Layers = Unchecked
    OK
    
    
23. Open the Layer palette and click once on the apple layer name to make it the active layer.
    
    
24. Activate the magic wand.
    
    
    1. Open the Tool Options palette and use the following settings:
       Match mode = RGB Value
       Tolerance = 0
       Feather = 0
       Sample merged = UNchecked
       
       
    2. Click on the red part of the apple. You should see marching ants around the outside edges of the apple. Leave your apple selected until I tell you to deselect it. :)
    
    
    
25. Create a new layer and call it "depth". Make this the active layer in the Layer palette. We'll place a cutout effect on this new layer to make our apple look round. This layer must be above the apple layer in order for you to see the cutout.
    
    Go Effects/3D Effects/Cutout and use the following settings:
    
    Fill interior with color = Unchecked
    Interior color = doesn't matter
    Shadow color = Black
    Opacity = 25
    Blur = 35
    Vertical = -10
    Horizontal = -25
    OK
    
    
26. Click on the stem layer then on the create new layer icon. Call the new layer "shadow". Make this the active layer in the Layer palette. The apple shadow will be placed on this layer because it is below the actual apple shape.
    
    
    1. Go Selections/Modify/Contract. (We're doing this to avoid white jaggies along the shadowed side of the apple)
       Set to 1
       OK
       
       
    2. Go Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow:
       
       Color = Black
       Opacity = 50
       Blur = 30
       Vertical = 8
       Horizontal = 12
       OK
    
    
    
27. Go Selections/Select None
    
    
28. Check your layer palette and arrange your layers if necessary so that they match this capture.
    
    
29. Almost done. :) Activate the leaf layer by clicking on it's name in the Layer palette. Activate the magic wand and click on the leaf.
    
    
    1. Go Selections/Modify/Contract.
       Set to 1
       OK
       
       
    2. Apply a drop shadow to the leaf using the same settings that we applied to the apple.
    
    
    
30. Activate the stem layer by clicking on it's name in the Layer palette. Activate the magic wand and click on the stem.
    
    
    1. Go Selections/Modify/Contract
       Set to 1
       OK
       
       
    2. Apply a drop shadow to the stem using the same settings again.
       
       Voila!! A very edible looking apple!
    
    
    
31. Save a copy in psp format if you think you might want to do something else with it in the future.
    
    
32. Crop away any excess canvas being careful not to crop any of the drop shadow. Resize your image if it's too large and save as jpg or gif.

If you enjoyed this tutorial or need clarification please drop me a line.
Vikki

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