This tutorial was written September, 2002 using PSP7.04 and Auto FX Dream Suite Series plugins. It is assumed that you have some working familiarity with the tools in PSP7. If you would really like to learn more about these tools and how to use them correctly - and have a fun time while doing so - I would highly recommend that you consider taking the LVS Online classes. It was through the PSP, Filter Frenzy and Digital Photography classes that I learned not only about vectors but also about so many filters and plugins and how to use them. These classes are at LVS Online and you can get more information HERE.

If you do not already own Paint Shop Pro, you may download a trial version. If you own an earlier version of PSP, you can download or purchase the upgrade to PSP7.04. You can find and download them HERE.

Today more and more people are adding the Auto FX Dream Suite series of plugins to their plugins collections. However, there are still few tutorials available to show people how to work with the various effects while creating graphics images. Therefore, the primary purpose of this tutorial is to show how to use some of the Dream Suite plugins as you create a graphic object in PSP. The tutorial begins with the use of one of the free plugins from Auto FX Software, Dreamy Photo. While I've also used Dream Suite effects in Series 1 and Gel, similar effects can be achieved by using Eye Candy Glass and Super Blade Pro (or Blade Pro).

All of the Dream Suite effects are available through Auto FX Software. You can find and download them or demo versions HERE. You can also download the fully functional free Dreamy Photo plugin HERE.

The images in this tutorial are best viewed with a screen resolution setting of 1024 x 768.

Most of the screen shots used have been resized by 75% and optimized.

The PSP7 tools that you'll be using are:
The Selection tool:
The Retouch tool:
The Mover tool:
The Preset Shapes tool:
The Object Selector tool:

OK, let's get started....

Find a photo or graphic that you would like to use on your ornament. First make a duplicate (Shift-D) and close the original. Then resize your graphic so that the width is 400. Next go to Effects|Sharpen|Unsharp Mask with Radius: 1; Strength: 75 and Clipping: 3. Or, if you prefer, you may use my photo which I shot on Christmas day, 2001. Just right click on it and save it to your hard drive. I've already resized it, and also applied the unsharp mask to it. Once you've got your image ready, start by saving it in PSP format - and remember to save often.

Go to Layer Palette, right click and promote your background to a layer.

Open Dream Suite Dreamy Photo and click to accept the default, or you may make a selection from one of the presets.

For my photo I want to lighten the Tint Color a Bit. The original setting was at 25. Since I like the reddish tint, I'm going to keep that color but just move the blue slide to the left until it's at 15. (You can change the tint color by clicking on the red square. A full color palette will pop up.) The effect of my change is shown on the screen shot of the control, with the result to the right of it.

When you are satisfied with your dreamy effect, click OK. You will now be returned to PSP to continue working on your ornament.

Get your Selection Tool, Ellipse shape, Feather 0, Antialias checked, and make a circular shape over the area you want on your ornament. If you want a perfect circle, simply select the Circle and draw out your circle.

Go to Edit|Copy then Edit|Paste as New Image.

Go to Image|Canvas Size|Increase and increase the width a little and the height enough so you can add a topper to hang your ornament. We'll make that in a little bit. I will show you how to finish it in Dream Suite, but if you prefer you may also use another plugin, such as Super Blade Pro. My canvas is now 350 by 400, but yours does not have to be the same size.

Move your ornament down a bit on your canvas. Let's add the mouth to the top. Get your Selection tool, Rounded Rectangle, and find an area on the ornament which you'd like to add to the top of the ornament. Do not be too concerned with the exact match to the top of the ornament as most of the mouth area will be covered by the topper. Once you find the part you want to use, lay out a Rounded Rectangle the size of the mouth. With the ants marching, go to Edit|Copy, Edit|Paste as New Layer. Use your Mover tool to position the ornament mouth on the top. Then go to Selections|Select None. You can see in the following screen shot the area I used as well as the approximate size I've selected for the mouth, or neck, of the ornament.

Before adding any Dream Suite effects, go to Layers|Merge all Visible. Get the Retouch tool, Smudge, with the settings shown below, and use small strokes to try and blend the mouth into the ornament. Your ornament should now look something like the one shown on the right.

Now let's add some Dream Suite effects to make this look like a round glass ornament. Fire up Dream Suite Gel and select Liquid Crystal. Use the following settings for the Effect Controls Tab (I've circled it in Red.)

Then skip the Surface Controls and Environment Controls tabs as we're going to accept the default settings. Click on the last tab, the Lighting Controls, and use the following settings:

When you are satisfied with the way your ornament looks, click on OK and you will be returned to PSP. The result of using those Liquid Crystal settings is shown on the ornament:

Go to Effects|Dream Suite and this time click on Gel - Crystal Painter. Use the settings in the following four screen shots. When you are done, click on 'OK'.

Let's make a topper now which we can also tube to save for use on other ornaments. We're going to make it first using vectors so we may also save it as a Preset Shape. Get your Preset Shapes tool, Rectangle, line width does not matter. Set your Foreground to Null and your Background to White. Now lay out a Rectangle topper over the mouth of your ornament, just a bit wider than the mouth, and a little above the top of the mouth, but not all the way down the mouth. This is how mine looks at this point:

To make the hanger part, change to the Preset Shape, Ellipse, line width 2. Change your Foreground to White and your Background to Null. Lay out a circular or ellipse shape on top of the topper base, but make sure the ring does not go beyond the sides of the topper base. If it does, just push the sides of the bounding box in on both sides so the Ellipse lines up with the edges of the topper. Once this looks right, get your Object Selector tool and click on the topper base and while holding down your shift key, click on the Ellipse hanger. Now Right Click, click on Group, and go to your Layer Palette. Click on the + beside the vector layer and then Right Click on Group, Rename and give the topper a name. I've named mine topper01 in the Layer Palette. Then go to File|Export|Shape and you'll first see a notice about what will be saved (click on OK) and then you'll get a box to enter the name. I start with my initials so that all of my Preset Shapes are together, then add the exact name I used in the Layer Palette. In this case, the name saved with the Preset Shape topper is now bjw_topper01.

Now that the topper is safe in the Preset Shapes folder - you did go check, didn't you, just to make sure it worked? - we can move on. (Oh, when you looked for that topper it was hard to find because we made it in white and white is the background color used for the Preset Shapes. But, the name of the shape should be visible.) First, in your Layer Palette convert the vector layer to a raster layer by right clicking on the vector layer. Then click on Convert to Raster Layer.

With your topper layer active, go back into Dream Suite. This time select Series 1, Dimension X and use the following settings to get the same look I have for my topper. Actually, your effects may vary a little because I lost the Surface Control screen shot and had to try and re-create it! But, I would encourage you to play with the various settings anyway and make the topper the way you would like it. In fact, now that you have your Preset Shape you can make as many different toppers as you want!

Before we merge the layers for our ornament with the topper, make sure you are on the topper layer. Then go to Edit|Copy, Edit|Paste as New Image. Make sure the new topper image is active then go to File|Export|Picture Tube and name your topper. Again, I name all my tubes starting with my initials as I do with the Preset Shapes. The reason for the 01 at the end is so I can continue to export toppers and just change the number.

All that's left to do now is merge the layers visible, and if you want to export the completed ornament as a tube, follow the same procedure we did with the topper. Next you can add a raster layer and move it in the Layer Palette below the merged ornament. You can create a background for your ornament and perhaps frame it.

My completed ornament using the Dream Suite plugins is shown on the left. I even made the frame using Dream Suite Series 1, Metal Mixer. The ornament on the right was made by my good friend, Mon, who tests most of my tutorials and lets me know where I've left something out or have typos. She used a photo of her tree and did a great job with the ornament! Thank you, Mon!

I hope you've enjoyed making your Christmas ornament using some of the Auto FX Dream Suite Series plugins. More importantly, I hope you are now a little more comfortable working with the Dream Suite controls. Just keep on playing with the controls, sliders, presets and effects until you get an image that you like!

To give you some more ideas of the ornaments you can make using Dream Suite, and some tips on things you might try, please see the next page. Just click on the 'Next' ornament below.

Thank you for trying my tutorial! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.