Vector Ladybug - TuT

This TuT is done completely w/the PsP v9 Pen Tool. It is a long TuT and not really for Wee beginners. I think, however, that there are enuf step-by-steps and graphics that even a Weener One (which is a couple steps above a "Wee Beginner) with a lot of patience could give it a whack and whirl.

We will be using the Effects/Artists Effects/Balls and bubbles for the highlights on the body. You'll need to download these from HERE and put them in their appropriate folders in your My PsP Files folder (located under your My Documents...NOT...inside your PsP program). We will be using the "tp_BigClear" one.

NOTE: From the git, I want you to know that your Ladybug will not turn out exactly like mine. But that's the point... 'cause you're making your own from scratch!

All set? O...you're gunna learn A LOT in this one!

Remember to SAVE often throughout this project!

OK! Let's begin by bringing up a 400 x 400 vector canvas.

1. First I'd like you to turn on your ruler by right clicking on the top of your canvas and choosing Ruler.

2. Next go over to your material pallet and choose #a60606 (which is the red shown in the circle ex. below) for both foreground and background. You can just copy 'n paste the color # I put up there into your PsP Material Pallet.

3. Click on the Ellipse tool icon and hold down your shift key (which makes it draw a circle instead of an oval) while you draw out a circle this size:

We don't want it bigger than this because the illumination effect won't look right. It doesn't have to be eXactly, but close.

Now should you let go of your cursor and want to make changes to this vector object you just drew, go UP and get your Object Tool (see tool icon example above ^ I just showed you), click on the circle and that will put a bounding box around your circle which you can use to size or move your vector object. The "regular" deform tool will not work with a vector shape.

4. Now you can turn off your ruler if you wish by right clicking again on the top of the canvas and choose ruler.

5. Then go UP to Objects/Align/Center. Next go over to your layer pallet and right click on the vector and choose "Convert to raster layer".

6. Get your Magic Wand tool, click outside the red circle and go UP to Selections and Invert. You will have the little marching ants around your circle. We need to do this so that the Effects will know in what dimension you want them applied.

7. We will apply the highlights effects by going UP to Effects/Artists Effects/Balls and Bubbles. The option screen will pop up and at the very top, click the Presets: drop-down button and find and choose "tp_BigClear".

a. The first of the 4 tabs is Shape and tick off "Single ball or bubble" and "Maximum possible size":

b. Next tab is Surface and your settings are:

c. Maps is next and we won't be using the Bump or Envirnoments for this project. Make sure both options are NOT ticked off.

d. Our final tab, Illumination, is where we get to play!

~Apply the highlights~

1. Now with your last tab, Illumination, selected, we are going to apply two different Lights to our Ladybug body.

Here are your 1st settings to put in Light 1:

First Color is: #cc2b3f

Please note that there will be two different shades of red one for each light...a lighter red for the top one and darker shade for the second one. Also the Highlight size and Position are different.

2. To change the position of the highlight, see below:

There is no position co-ordinates that I am aware of so you'll have to eye-ball it and use your best judgement. You can always back out of it and try again if you're not at first pleased with your results.

3. Next Light 2 settings:

Light 2 color is: #a41f27

And this is the best example I can give you on where to place the 2nd highlight. Pull it down and to the right outside of the box. Look up at your option screen in the right hand panel and you can see how it's going to look.

Hopefully, it will look something like this:

4. Click OK and go UP to Selections/None.

5. Now right click and save to your computer this shape:

It's important at this point that we have the same size shape so that your legs, which we will be making soon will be in porportion.

6. Now that you have the black shape ^ on your desktop, copy and paste the red body as a new layer over the black shape. In your layer Pallet, reduce your red body layer opacity so that you can see the black through it. Get your deform tool and size it to match and then delete the black shape layer and increase your body layer opacity back to 100%.

7. To make the black line down the center, set your Material Pallet to both foreground and background = black. Get your pen tool set to straight line, width 3 and Draw freehand and click first at the top center and then straight down to bottom center. Right click on the canvas and choose Apply.

8. Now to make the dots go UP to Layers/New Vector Layer and get your ellipse tool. Hold your shift key down and make some little cirlces similar to these:

At any time you can move these little vector circles you're making by going over to your Layer Pallet and clicking open the little +sign next to the Layer name.

That will open up and show you each little vector dot you created. To make changes to the size or position of any of these dots, get your object tool and either click on the dot itself or click on one of the "New Ellipses" in your Layer Pallet. That little bounding box will appear on whichever one you choose.

When you are done moving things, click on the move tool to remove the bounding box.

8. Go over to your Layer Pallet and right click on the Dot Vector (which in example above ^ would be Vector 2...the one in black) and choose "convert to raster layer".

NOTE: You can not apply bevels and shadows to a vector layer.

9. Next go UP to Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel and use these settings:

11. Merge all visible layers.

~Make the head and feelers~

1. Working on the same canvas as your body, set your Material Pallet both to black and then click on your Ellipse Tool and make sure your have these settings:

Note that I have the little ^ blue circle chosen and Create On Vector.

Now pull out a head circle:

2. Go over to your Layer Pallet and right click on the head layer and choose "convert to raster layer".

3. To add the 2 bevel highlights, go UP to Effects/3D Effects/Inner bevel and use these two settings. Note you will be applying each bevel separately.

Left Bevel Right Bevel

NOTE: The only difference in these two settings is the Angle.

Next we'll create the little feelers.

4. Get your Pen Tool and use these settings:

5. Go over to your Material Pallet and leave the foreground black make the background Null.

You have the body on one layer and the head above it. In your layer Pallet, click on the body layer and as you create your feelers, they will automatically be designed UNDER the head, if you have the "Create as Vector) ticked on as shown in Ex ^ above.

6. I have done the next steps in example form. The only thing I want to add to these is in Step 1. (below) after you left click and set your first node, you right click on the node you just made and choose Node type/Cusp. If the Cusp node is greyed out, it means that it is already in Cusp.

7. Go over to your Material Pallet and make your null background black again. Get your Ellipse Tool/circle and draw out a little ball at the end of the feeler. Then right click and Apply:

I want to show you something neat next. How to "merge" vector layers. Only PsP calls it "group".

We want to do this "grouping" now because...let's say you want to move the feeler and ball shape around and use the bounding box to turn it some more. If you did that after you changed it to a raster layer, it would blur. If you turn it while it is still in vector form, it stays nice with crisp edges...no need to sharpen after the turn!!

So here's how you do that:

7a. Go over to your Layer Pallet, click on little + and open up the Vector layer you wish to group some layers in and left click on the first "new path". The type will darken indicating that it is chosen.

7b. Hold your Shift key down and select the next "new path" layer you want to group together. (btw: I've named my layers in the example for clarification purposes. Your's will say, "new path")

7c. You can keep holding down your shift key and select as many v-layers as you want to in what ever order in your particular project. After you have all the v-layers you want selected, DO NOT LET GO OF THE SHIFT KEY and right click on any of the chosen v-layers.

A screen will come up and chose "Group". Viola! If you then get your Object Tool, they will now move on your canvas as a single unit.

7d. Alrighty then! Now that you have your feeler and ball just as you like it, go over to your Vector Layer and right click it and chose "convert to raster".

7e. Make a duplicate copy of the feeler and go UP to Image/Mirror. Then move that 2nd feeler next to the other feeler so it matches.

7f. In your Layer Pallet, Right click on the top feeler layer and choose Merge Down.

7e. Go UP to Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel and apply these settings:

At this point, I want you to make a duplicate copy of your entire project by going UP to Window/duplicate and save in psp form naming it WC-ladybug. We're doing this because we haven't put on the important shadows yet (which I always try to save as the last thing I do before the final).

I want you to have a copy of the LB head and body when you make the legs on your canvas so you can tell porportions. So with the one you still have on your work space, go UP to Layers/Merge/Merge visible.

Now we'll make the legs.

~Legs~

At any time, after you Apply, you can edit your vector by clicking on the edit icon in your Pen Tool option bar and then left click on the line or the path in your Layer Pallet you want to change. When you have it as you like it, right click and Apply.

Let's begin creating your first leg. I'm hoping that my example below explains the steps. If not, please let me know!

1.

OK...now that you have the parts of your first leg created, look at your Layer Pallet. It should look like this:

Your LB Raster layer may be under your Vector layer. You can left click on the Raster layer and push it up over the Vector layer. That way, when we move the leg to see how it looks, it will be under the body of the LB.

...and that's just what we're going to do next. Move your LB leg.

2. In your Layer Pallet, hold down your Shift key and click on each of the 3 "new paths". The type will darken indicating they are chosen. Continue holding the Shift key and right click on one of the "new paths" and choose "Copy". Left go of your Shift key.

3. Right click on the top of your canvas and choose "Paste as new layer". Do this twice. Now you have 3 vector legs!

4. Open up each vector layer by clicking on the + and make sure that only your first leg vector has all three "new paths" darken (chosen). If any other "new paths" in the other vector layers are darkened, hold down your Shift key and click on it.

We only want to work with one leg at a time.

5. Now that you have one vector leg isolated and all the "new paths" darken (chosen), go up and get your Object tool. The bounding box will appear around all of the leg and you can position and turn the leg as you like it under the LB body.

6. When you have one leg as you like, undarken all the "new paths" by holding down your Shift key and clicking on each layer and move the the next leg.

Select all the "new paths" in the next vector layer and move and position the next leg.

Do the same to the last one.

NOTE: When working w/Vector layers, you can use your "normal' Move Tool to slide the object around on your canvas, but you can NOT turn it using the Deform Tool. You must use the method I just described above^.

You may also, at this point, want to go over to your Layer Pallet and double click on the Vector Layer and name each one so that you don't get confused. For example, Leg 1, Leg 2, Leg 3, LB body...etc. It's not crucial to this project, but vector design can get very "layery" and training yourself to name each layer as you go along is a good thing!

7. OK...let's make the last leg:

Go UP to Layers and add New Vector Layer for the 4th leg.

Now do the same technique to the last leg as described in Steps 4-5 to move it around and position it as you would like it to be under the LB body.

8. In your Layer Pallet, X-out the LB body and Merge Visible all 4 legs.

9. Apply the Right Bevel with these settings:

10. Duplicate the legs and mirror them. Un-X the ladybug body and position them under it.

11. When you have your legs positioned correctly, go over to your Layer Pallet and right click on the top set of legs and chose Merge/merge down.

12. Now bring the copy of WC-ladybug that you saved onto your workspace.

Whew! Almost done!! If you've stuck w/this TuT this far...you deserve a reward!!!

~Putting it all together~

1. On your leg canvas, right click and chose copy then right click on your WC-Ladybug and Paste as a new layer.

2. Move the legs layer under the body by clicking and holding the leg layer and pulling it down. Your workspace and Layer Pallet with the layers in this order should look like this:

3. In your Layer Pallet, click on the head and apply a shadow using these settings:

Vertical: 2 Horizonal: 0 Opacity: 50 Blur: 5.00 Color: Black

4. Apply a shadow to the feelers, body and legs using these settings:

Vertical: 1 Horizonal: 1 Opacity: 50 Blur: 5.00 Color: Black

Basically your Ladybug is COMPLETE!!! You can add anything more you'd like to it. But for this TuT...just Merge all visible layers crop and save!

Hope you learned a lot doing this TuT and ENJOY your very own hand drawn Ladybug!!!

Please link only to this tutorial. You may save a personal copy to your own computer, but do NOT pass it on. Please give out a link back to this site to others who might want to try it.

Any resemblance to any other tutorial similar to this is purely coincidental. This tutorial was written on the November 6, 2007 ©MaMaK