If you can't see the animation, please click HERE.

This tutorial was written on September 16, 2013. I used Corel X5, but it should work in other versions as well.
Any similarity to any other tutorial is purely coincidental.
Please look at my TOU for more info.

The supplies you need:
An tube of choice. I used a tube by Gaetano DiFalco. Unfortunately he isn't selling tubes anymore..
A font of choice. I used a goth font called “Bastarda-K”.
Mask of choice or the mask I made:

(rightclick and save to your computer)
​
Materials used:
Redfiled Plugins: Craquelure 3D
Alien Skin Xenofex 2 – Lightning
Xero – Porcelain
Eye Candy 6 – Perspective Shadow (Optional)
Animation Shop

Make a new image 600x250. Create a gradient with two colours from the tube, with these settings:

Duplicate this layer and add Redfields Craquelure 3D at default settings and change the layer properties to Luminance (L) or another suitable option.

Make a custom selection with these settings:

 and hit Delete on the top layer.
Keep selected and add a closeup of your tube. Place it inside the selection, Expand by 1,  Invert and hit Delete. Deselect and change the layer properties of the closeup to Soft Light.

Go to the layer with Craquelure on it. With your Magic Wand, click inside the rectangle, expand by 1. Go to the bottom layer and Promote the Selection to layer. We’ll get back to this layer soon.

Keep selected and add a new raster above the Craquelure layer. Expand by 2 and floofill with a dark colour from your tube. Contract by 5, hit Delete and Deselect.
Add a drop shadow: 0, 0, 100, 10, Black.

Add a new raster and floofill with the dark colour you used earlier. Add mask from image but remember to inver it in the settings. Merge group.
Now, we don’t want to ruin the closeup with claw marks all over it, so set your Selection too to Rectangle, draw out a rectangle around the claw marks on the right side and hit Delete. Deselect.
Add a drop shadow: 0, 0, 100, 10, Black.

Add a new raster, go to Effects – Alien Skin Xenofex 2 – Lightning and go with these settings:

Repeat this process 2 more times, each on a new raster layer and hit Random Seed each time.
Hide the top 2 layers for now.

Activate the top layer and add your tube. Move it towards the left. Duplicate it. On the bottom tube, add Gaussian Blur at a radius of 3. On the duplicate, add Xero Porcelain at default settings and change the layer properties to Luminance (L). Add a drop shadow to the bottom tube layer or use Eye Candy 6 – Perspective Shadow – Blurry setting.

Crop your creation with Merge Opaque.
Add a new raster and floodfill with the dark colour you used earlier. Select All and Contract by 3. Delete and Deselect.
Add a drop shadow: 0, 0, 100, 10, Black.

Go back to the promoted layer you made earlier and duplicated this twice, for a total of 3 layers.
On the top one, add Poolshadow with these settings:

On the layer below, use the same settings but change the top Diagonal and Center to 60.
On the bottom layer, change the Diagonal and Center to 70.
Hide the top 2 rectangles for now.

Add your name ond proper copyright.

Animation:

Make sure that the top two lightning layers and the top two rectangle layers are hidden and copy merged. Paste as a new animation in AS. Go back to your PSP, hide the bottom rectangle layer and lightning layer, unhide the next rectangle layer and lightning layer and Copy Merged again. Paste it after the first frame in AS.

Repeat this for the last rectangle layer and lightning layer.

Change the frame properties to s suitable speed (approx 20-30) and save as a gif.

Hugs Lithy

Go HERE to see the animated version if you can't see it above.
This tutorial was written on September 14, 2013. I used Corel X5, but it should work in other versions as well.
Any similarity to any other tutorial is purely coincidental.
Please look at my TOU for more info.

The supplies you need:
An tube of choice. I used a tube by Mischa Marple.  At the time I wrote this tutorial, she was selling at My Tubed Art. I don't know where she is selling now, but I will update the tutorial when I find out.
Template 129 by Spawn. You can download it from his blog HERE. Don’t forget to check out all his other templates as well. They are awesome!
A font of choice. I used “Black Asylum”.

Materials used:
Animation Shop
Toadies – Living Sine (Circular)
Xero – Fritillary
Eye Candy 6 – Perspective Shadow (Optional)

Drop shadow used in this tutorial: 2, 2, 70 7, Black.

Open the template in your PSP and press Shift D. Close the original template.
Delete the credits layer on the template.
Activate the background layer. Add Toadies Living Sine (Circular) with the default settings.

If you use a different tube, please feel free to play with the settings so you get colours that match your tube. Alternatively, you can make a gradient with colours from your tube and floodfill with that instead.
Add Xero Fritillary with these settings on the Main Background:

Go to Effects – Edge Effects and choose Enhance.

Activate the Edges Spirals. Go to Adjust – Brightness/Contrast and move the Brightness bar all the way to the max.
Add a drop shadow.

Go to the Left Spiral Background. Select All – Float and Defloat. Add Toadies Living Sine again, using the same settings as before. Deselect.
Repeat this with the Right Spiral Background.

Activate the Left Spiral Background and duplicated this 4 times, so you have a total of 5 copies of it.
On each of these layers, go to Image – Free Rotate and with these settings:
Leave the original Left Spiral Background as it is.
Duplicate 1 – 72.00 degrees to the left.
Duplicate 2 – 144.00 degrees to the left.
Duplicate 3 – 216.00 degrees to the left.
Duplicate 4 – 288.00 degrees to the left.

Do the same with the Right Spiral Backgrounds, but rotate them to the RIGHT instead.
Once you’re done, move the layers on the right side so the layers look like this:

With ”Copy (4) of Right Spiral Background” active, merge that down to Copy (4) of Left Spiral Background, so that one left side and one right side is merged together. Do this for the other Spiral Backgrounds as well.
Hide all the Spiral Backgrounds except for the first layer.

Add  a close up of the tube or a tube in full size. Place it on the left side, on top of the Left Spiral Background. Change the Blend Mode on the tube to Luminace (L), duplicate and mirror. Merge these two tubes together.
Go to the layer below, Select All – Float – Defloat – Invert, go back to the tube layer and hit Delete.

Once you’re done, go to the Left Spiral and add a drop shadow. Do the same for Right Spiral.

Now it’s time to add your tube again. Place it in the center.
I resized mine to 80% but it depends on the tube.
Add drop shadow. I used Eye Candy 6 – Perspective Shadow with the Blurry setting.

Activate the Border layer. Go to Adjust – Brightness/Contrast and move the Brightness bar all the way to the left.

Add your name and copyright info.
I added a Gradient Glow to the name, but this is optional.

Time to animate!

Make sure that all the Spiral Backgrounds are closed off except the bottom one. Copy Merged and paste it as a new animation in Animation Shop.
Go back to your PSP, hide the first Spiral Background and unhide the next. Copy Merged, go back to AS and Paste After Current Frame. Continue like this until you have done it to all the Spiral Background layers.
Once you’re done, still in AS, press Ctrl and A to select all the frames. Go to Animation – Frame Properties and change it to 20. Save as a gif.

Thanks for trying my tutorial.
Hugs Lithy


Here is one for Spawn as well. Thanks for the awesome template my friend!
HERE is the animated version.

This tutorial was written on September 10, 2013. I used Corel X5, but it should work in other versions as well.
Any similarity to any other tutorial is purely coincidental.
Please look at my TOU for more info.

The supplies you need:
An image of choice. I used an image by Ella Jeans. I purchased this when she was selling at MTA. You can purchase her art at her website.
A font of choice. I used “A Gentle Touch".

Materials used:
Toadies – What Are You?
VM Toolbox – Motion Trail
Eye Candy 4000 – Gradient Glow

Drop shadow used in this tutorial: 2, 2, 50, 5, Black.

Create a new image 600 x 300 and paste the image you are going to use. You might have to resize it if it’s too big, or move it around so that you get the part of the image you want to use. I rotated mine and resized it with the pick tool so it’s a little bit bigger than the canvas size.

I tubed some of the flowers from the image to make them pop out more. This is optional.

Activate the Rectangle Tool, set it to Square, line with 5. Draw out a square. See my siggie for placement and size.

Duplicate it 3 times and move in to position. Merge the frames and move underneath the tubed flowers (if you did this).

Duplicate the image layer so you have a total of 4 (1 original and 3 duplicates).

With your Magic Wand active, click inside all the 4 frames, Expand by 5, Invert

Go to the top duplicate of the image hit Delete. Deselect.

On the duplicate below, put Toadies – What Are you at default setting, lower the opacity to about 50 (depending on your image).

On the layer below that, put VM Toolbox – Motion Trail at default settings. Change the layer properties to Luminance (L) or another suitable effect. Edge Effect – Enhance.

If you haven’t tubed bits from your image, you can add any embellishments you want now. Place these above the frames and add a drop shadow. My settings are mentioned at the beginning of the tutorial. Add the same drop shadow to the frame layer.

Activate the top layer and add a new raster layer. Floodfill with a dark colour from the image. I chose black.
Select all and contract by 7. Hit delete. Do NOT deselect. Invert the selection, contract by 1 and floodfill with the same colour you used for the frames earlier. Deselect and add a drop shadow : 0, 0, 100, 10, Black.

Add your name and copyright info. I used Gradient Glow at the default setting with these numbers; 3, 25, 100 and a contrasting colour from the image.

Save as jpg.

Avatar:

Click Shift D on the siggie you just finished. Activate the crop function and change the size to 150x150 px. Move it around to find a suitable piece you want to keep and crop it. Delete the blank layers and add the same outer frame and drop shadow  as you did on the siggie. Add your initials or name, copyright info and save.

Thanks for trying my tutorial.

Hugs Lithy