Royal and Dignified Cats - Very Easy Tutorial

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This tutorial will be utilizing the following PSP Components:

Magic Wand
Flood Filling with a Texture
Cut and Paste
Copy and Paste
Resizing
Layers

Needed:

Tube Graphics of Choice. The adorable Gorjuss main tube graphic I am using was created by Suzanne Woolcott. Additional cat images of choice. In order to add the crown to a cat image on the tag, please select a clipart image. Many artists TOU will not allow adding any type of head gear to the original graphics such as crowns or hats.

All elements except for the Suzanne Woolcott licensed image are included and can be downloaded here.

Step 1
Open up a the dignified cat psp image. Go the the layer with the white circle. Left click the magic wand inside the circle to select it.

Step 2
Go to the layer with the black and gold tile. Go to Edit/Cut and Edit/Paste as New Image. Left click the top color box. When the color selection window opens up, left click pattern. Left click the down arrow and locate the black and gold tile setting the angle to 0 and the scale to 100. Flood fill the circle with this tile. Go to Selections/Select None.

Step 3
Select which elements you wish to use for your tag. Each element is on a different layer so that you can delete those you do not wish to use. The crown will fit exactly on the gray cat's head. But if you wish to use the crown on another graphic image, you may have to resize it by going to Image/Resize using the percent option, bicubic and resize all layers not checked.

Step 4
You can move the layers around. Move the elements to where you want them. Delete those elements you do not wish to use and add those that you would like for your tag.

Step 5
Add your main tube image and resize if necessary.

Step 6
Add your licensing information.

Step 7
Once you have everything in place, go to Layers/Merge/Merge Visible. The tag is very large, so do resize it by using the Pixel Option, Smart Size and Resize all Layers checked. Save your tag as a png without your text. This will be your template. You can add your text later and resave so that you can make multiple tags for friends and group members.

Step 8
To finish your tag, add your text and resave with a new name.

Comments and Sharing Your Results
Please do let me know how this tutorial worked for you. You can post your comments at the Blog and do email me your results so I can see!

Patterned Sweetheart Tag

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This tutorial will be utilizing the following PSP Components:

Weave PSP Effect
Kaleidoscope PSP Effect
Colorizing
Copy and Paste
Resizing
Layers
Cropping

Needed:
Either you can use the outside filter - DSB Flux - Bright Noise or if you do not have this filter, you can use the Adjust/Add/Remove Noise feature in PSP

Tube Graphic of Choice. The adorable Gorjuss tube graphic I am using was created by Suzanne Woolcott.

Included in the zip file is the Sweetheart Template and Happy Valentine Line Art created by me, and the Rainbow Coffi bows which you can download here. Should you wish to use to substitute and/or add your own scrap elements to the tag, please do!

Drop Shadow Settings:

(1)Vertical Offset 2, Horizontal Offset 2, Opacity 80, Blur 5, Color Black
(2)Vertical Offset -2, Horizontal Offset -2, Opacity 80, Blur 5, Color Black

Step 1
Open up the sweetheart template and your tube graphic.

Step 2
Go to Effects/Texture Effects/Weave and use these settings:
Gap and Width 1, Opacity 5, Weave and Gap Color Black, Fill Gaps checked.

Step 3
Go to Adjust/Hue and Saturation/Colorize and move the sliders over until you achieve a basic color for your tag that will work with your tube graphic.

Step 4
Go to Effects/DSB Flux/Bright Noise and use these settings:
Intensity: 28 and Direction: Mix

If you do not have DSB Flux/Bright Noise filter do this:

Go to Adjust/Add/Remove Noise/Add Noise and use these settings:
Gaussian, 22%, and Monochrome checked.

Step 5
Go to Effects/Reflection Effects/Kaleidoscope and use these settings:

Step 6
Go to Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow and apply the (1) drop shadow settings from above.

Step 7
Repeat Step 6 but apply the (2) drop shadow settings.

Step 8
Open up your tube image and go to Edit/Copy. Make your tag image active and go to Edit/Paste as New Layer. If the image is too large, go to Image/Resize using the percent option, bicubic and resize all layers Not checked.

Step 9
Repeat Step 6 applying the #1 drop shadow.

Step 10
Open up the Rainbow Coffi bows. Using the freehand selection tool, make a selection around the bow you want. Copy and paste the bow to your tag. Colorize, if necessary. Repeat Step 6 applying the #1 drop shadow to the bow.

Step 11
Go to Layers/Duplicate. Left click the mover tool and place the duplicate bow on the other side of the tag.

Step 12
Add your copyright and licensing information

Step 13
Add any other elements you wish to your tag and go to Layers/Merge/Merge Visible.

Step 14
Go to Image/Canvas Size and leave the width at 600 but change the height to 700. This will give you enough room to add the Word Art and enough room to add text at the bottom of the tag.

Step 15
Open up the Word Art and copy and paste it as a New Layer.

Step 16
Crop your tag but do leave enough room at the bottom of the tag to add your text.

Step 17
If the tag is too large for your taste, go to Image/Resize, using the percent option at 95% or smaller, bicubic and resize all layers checked.

Step 18
Save this file as a png file (with a transparent background). This way you can use it on all color backgrounds. You are saving the tag without text as a template so you can make multiple tags for friends and group members.

Step 19
Add your text to the tag and resave with a new name.

Comments and Sharing Your Results
Please do let me know how this tutorial worked for you. You can post your comments at the Blog and do email me your results so I can see!

What To Do When You Are Unable to Remove Your Header Banner from Your Blog

If you have a header banner that you are unable to remove by regular means, this is what you need to do:

Removing the Header Gadget

Step 1
Go to Dashboard>Layout>Edit HTML.
Look for the following lines (or something similar) in your HTML codes:

<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no >
<b:widget id='Header1' locked='false' title='TitleOfYourBlog(Header)' type='Header'/>

Step 2
To remove the header gadget, just delete the line <b:widget...>

Step 3
When asked to confirm Header widget deletion, press Confirm and Save.

Installing New Header Gadget

Step 1
In the <b:section...> line, change showaddelement='no' to showaddelement='yes'. Changing this will add an Add A Gadget link in the Page Elements page.
Then click Save Template.

Step 2
To install a new header, go to Layout>Page Elements, click Add A Gadget and choose Page Header.

Step 3
Now proceed to add your new header html code from your storage area.

Pet Frame - Very Easy Tutorial

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This tutorial will be utilizing the following PSP Components:

Colorizing
Magic Wand
Resizing
Copy and Paste
Layers

Needed:
Tube Graphic of Choice. The adorable Gorjuss tube graphic I am using was created by Suzanne Woolcott.

For those who are pet lovers, you will need to provide tube graphics that either have kitties or puppies as part of the graphic. On the pet frame, you will find two layers of word art. One layer says, I love my cat and the other layer says, I love my dog. Any optional scrap elements you wish to add to your tag, please do!

The only supply being provided is the pet frame which you can download here.

Magic Wand Setting:
Mode: Add/Shift, Match Mode: RGB Value, Tolerance 24, Continguous checked and Feather: 0.

Step 1
Open up the pet frame and your tube graphics. All layers of the pet frame will need to be colorized. To colorize, go to Adjust/Hue and Saturation Colorize and move the sliders over until you find a color that will work well with your tube graphic. Go to the background layer, frame layer and paws layer and colorize.

Step 2
Because I added a gradient glow (the white stroke) around the two big paws (big paw 1 layer and big paw 2 layer) and also around the paws of the word art, to colorize, you will need to do the following:

For the big paws: left click the magic wand using the setting from above and left click the magic wand inside the areas of the paw. Now colorize the selected area. Do this for each paw. When finished colorizing, go to Selections/Select None.

For the Word Art Layer: Select the Layer of Choice (either cat or dog). Delete the layer which you will not be using. Left click the magic wand, and left click the magic wand inside each of the paw areas of the word art and then colorize. For the letters O and A, you will also need to click inside those letters as well and colorize. When you are finished colorizing, go to Selections/Select None. By doing it this way, you will maintain the white stroke around the word art.

Step 3
Open up the tube graphic you will be using. Copy and paste the tube graphic to the inside of the frame. If the image is too large, go to Image/Resize using the percent option, bicubic and resize all layers NOT checked.

Step 4
If you have graphic elements to add, do that now. To resize the elements, go to Image/Resize using the pixel option, smart size and resize all layers NOT checked.

Step 5
On a separate layer add the copyright and licensing information.

Step 6
Once you have all your images and licensing information added to the frame, left click the mover tool and position the large paws. If the paws need to be resized, resize them using the percent option, bicubic and resize all layers NOT checked.

Step 7
Go to Layers/Merge/Merge Visible. Save this file as a png tag template.

Step 8
Lastly, add your text and resave this file with a different name. This way you will still have your template intact to reuse again so that you can make multiple tags for friends and group members.

Comments and Sharing Your Results
Please do let me know how this tutorial worked for you. You can post your comments at the Blog and do email me your results so I can see!

Dotted Steam Tag

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This tutorial will be utilizing the following PSP Components:

Colorizing
Copy and Paste
Resizing
Animation
Pasting Images on Frames in Animation Shop
Propagate Pasting Images and Text on Frames in Animation Shop
Changing Frame Property

Needed:
Tube of Choice: The lovely tube image I am using is a Gorjuss image created by Suzanne Woolcott.

The adorable snowman was created by Rainbow Coffi. The dots and line design template was created by me. All supplies for this tag can be downloaded here.

This steam image effect, by itself, I thought would make for a very fun animation and would work with a variety of tag themes.

The Basic Tag

Step 1
Open up the template and open up the tube image you will be using. Go to Adjust/Hue and Saturation/Colorize and move the sliders over until you have a color that will work well with your tube image. This will be the color of your basic tag.

Step 2
Open up your tube image and copy and paste it to the template on a new layer. If the image is too large, go to Image/Resize using the percent option, bicubic and resize all layers not checked.

Step 3
Open up the snowflake border. Copy and paste it to the tag on a new layer.

Step 4
Open up the snowman and copy and paste it to a new layer.

Step 5
Add your copyright and licensing information on a separate layer.

Step 6
Open up your layer palette and on the template layer, left click the eye to close the layer off. (You will see a red X). Go to the layer directly above the template layer and go to Layers/Merge/Merge Visible. Left click the red X on the template layer to re-open that layer. You should now have 2 layers. The bottom layer is the template layer. The top layer is the layer with your images and copyright/licensing information.

Step 7
Go to the bottom layer (the template layer) and go to Edit/Copy. Open up Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 8
Go back to Paint Shop Pro and go to the top layer (image and licensing information layer) and go to Edit/Copy. Go back to Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

You can close Paint Shop Pro now. The tag creation will be completed in Animation Shop.

Creating the Tag in Animation Shop

Step 1
Make the template layer active. Go to Effects/Insert Image Effect and use these settings:



You should now have a total of 19 frames. Click the Control and A keys to activate all the frames.

Step 2
Open up the dotted frame file. Go to Edit/Duplicate Selected. Continuing duplicating until you have a total of 19 frames (the same number of frames as the template). Click the Control and A Keys to activate all the frames.

Step 3
Make the template file active and go to Edit/Copy. Make the frame file active and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down your left mouse button, go to Frame 1 of the dotted frame file and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Carefully place the template file inside the frame. Once placed, release the left mouse button. The template should now be inside all 19 frames of this animation.

Step 4
Make the image and licensing file active and go to Edit/Copy. Now go to Edit/Propagate Paste. Holding down your left mouse button, go to Frame 1 of the animation that contains both the frame and template with steam effect and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Carefully place the image and licensing file exactly where you want it and release the left mouse button. Your images and licensing information should be in all 19 frames.

Read about Propagate Paste

The Propagate Paste function works as a control or switch that has been turned on. Once you have used the Propagate Paste function one time, and want to continue pasting one image or text file on all the animation frames, you can continue to do so. BUT, DO NOT GO TO EDIT/PROPAGATE PASTE. Instead, just go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. As long as you continue to have Animation Shop open, all pasting is done by Edit/Paste into Selected Frame.

Changing the Frame Property to Slow Down the Animation

Step 1
Click the Control and A keys to activate all the frames of your animation. Go to Frame 1, right click, and go to Frame Properties and left click. Type in 2o.

Step 2
Go to the very last frame and make it active. Right click this frame, go to frame properties and left click. Type in 125.

Saving the Animation

Step 1
Before we save the animation, click the Customize button to make sure you have all the correct settings for this animation. You should see two tabs: Colors and Optimizations.

Here is what each setting should be under the two separate tabs:

Colors
255 Colors, Optimized Median Cut and Error Diffusion should be checked.

Optimizations
The middle three selections should be checked.
The top and bottom selections - unchecked.

After customizing the animation settings, click Ok and click Next and you will get the following screens:

Screen 1 Animation versus output Size - just click next.
Screen 2 Optimization process - just click next.
Screen 3 Optimization preview - just click next.
Screen 4 Optimization results - click finish.

Step 2
Save the file as a gif file. This is your template file. We will now add the signature text in Animation Shop as well.

Adding Text in Animation Shop

Step 1
Go to File/New. For width use 400 and height 175. Check where it says transparent and click ok.

Step 2
Click the Text Tool at the top of the screen. When the Add Text window opens up, select your Font, Style and Size and type your text. Go to Edit/Copy. Make the animation file active (making sure all the frames are activated), go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Go to the Frame 1 of the tag and holding down your left mouse button, place the text exactly where you want it and release the left mouse button. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control. Resave the animation with a new name.

Comments and Sharing Your Results
Please do let me know how this tutorial worked for you. You can post your comments at the Blog and do email me your results so I can see!

Kaleidoscope Tag

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This tutorial will be utilizing the following PSP Components:

Cutting and Pasting
Selections/Float and Selections/Defloat
Duplicating Layers
Kaleidoscope Filter in Paint Shop Pro
Colorizing
Animation
Propagate Pasting Images and Text into Animation Files
Creating Text using Patterns

Needed:

Tube of Choice: The lovely tube image I am using is a Gorjuss image created by Suzanne Woolcott.

The patterned kaleidoscope template, topper and word art are included in the supplies which you can download here.

The kaleidoscope settings for this tag are based on those found in Cathy's wonderful Kaleidoscope Tutorial which you can find here.

Creating the Kaleidoscope Tag Effect in Paint Shop Pro

Step 1
Open up the Kaleidoscope Template and go to Selections/Select All. Now go to Selections/ Float and Selections/Defloat.

Step 2
Go to Layers/Duplicate. Duplicate the layer 7 times so you now have a total of 8 layers.

Do not deselect at any time until after all Kaleidoscope Effects are applied on each layer.

Step 3
Go to layer 1 and go to Effects/Reflection Effects/Kaleidoscope and use these settings:


Step 4
Go to Layer 2, and again apply the Kaleidoscope effect but change the rotation angle to 50.

Step 5
Go to Layer 3, again apply the Kaleidoscope effect with the rotation angle changed to 60.

Step 6
Go to Layer 4, again apply the Kaleidoscope effect with the rotation angle changed to 80.

Step 7
Go to Layer 5, again apply the Kaleidoscope effect with the rotation agle changed to 90.

Step 8
Go to Layer 6, again apply the Kaleidoscope effect with the rotation angle changed to 100.

Step 9
Go Layer 7, again apply the Kaleidoscope effect with the rotation angle changed to 110.

Step 10
Go to Layer 8, again apply the Kaleidoscope effect with the rotation angle changed to 140.
Go to Selections/Select None.

Step 11
Save this file as a psp or psd file.

Step 12
Open up the topper file. Colorize the topper layer by going to Adjust/Hue and Saturation/Colorize and select a color that works with the kaleidoscope colors.

Step 13
Go to the topper layer. Go to Edit/Copy. Open up Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 14
Open up the Line art layer in Paint Shop Pro. Go to Edit/Copy. Go to Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 15
Open up your tube image in Paint Shop Pro. Copy and paste it on your kaleidoscope tag as a new layer. Resize as necessary, going to Image/Resize using the percent option, bicubic and resize all layers NOT checked. Go to the layer with your image and go to Edit/Copy. Go to Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 16
In Paint Shop Pro, open up your copyright/licensing information and go to Edit/Copy. Go to Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 17
In Paint Shop Pro, close all your open files. Do not resave any of them.

Animation Shop to Complete the Tag

Step 1
Open up the Kaleidoscope Tag and go to View/Normal Viewing. You should see 8 frames. Click the Control and A keys to activate all the frames.

Step 2
Make sure all the Kaleidoscape Tag frames are activated (Control and A Keys). Make the topper active and go to Edit/Copy. Now go to Edit/Propagate Paste. Make the Kaleidoscope Tag active and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down your left mouse button, go to Frame 1 of the Kaleidoscope tag and place the topper exactly where you want it and release the left mouse button. The topper should be in all 8 frames.

Read about Propagate Paste

The Propagate Paste function works as a control or switch that has been turned on. Once you have used the Propagate Paste function one time, and want to continue pasting one image or text file on all the animation frames, you can continue to do so. BUT, DO NOT GO TO EDIT/PROPAGATE PASTE. Instead, just go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. As long as you continue to have Animation Shop open, all pasting is done by Edit/Paste into Selected Frame.

Step 3
Make sure all the Kaleidoscape Tag frames are activated (Control and A Keys). Make the line art active and go to Edit/Copy. Make the Kaleidoscope Tag active and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down your left mouse button, go to the very first frame of the Kaleidoscope Tag and place the line art directly on the topper and release the left mouse button. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control.

Step 4
Make sure all the Kaleidoscape Tag frames are activated (Control and A Keys). Make the tube image active and go to Edit/Copy. Make the Kaleidoscope Tag active and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down your left mouse button, go to the very first frame of the Kaleidoscope Tag and place the tube image exactly where you want it and release the left mouse button. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control.

Step 5
Make sure all the frames are activated (Control and A Keys). Make the Licensing information active and go to Edit/Copy. Make the Kaleidoscope Tag active (making sure all frames are activated). Go to the very first frame and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down the left mouse button, place the licensing information exactly where you want it on the tag and release the left mouse button. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control.

Adding a Background to the Animation

Step 1
In Animation Shop, go to File/New. For the width and height use the same dimensions as your tag. For canvas color, select Opaque. Left click the color box and when the color selection window opens, type in the html color code for the background of the blog, forum, or web site where you will be posting your tag. Click ok.

Step 2
Go to File/Duplicate Selected. Duplicate the background as many times as you have frames in your tag. For this tag, you would duplicate the background 7 times for a total of 8 frames.

Step 3
Left click the Control and A Keys to activate all the background frames.

Step 4
Make your tag file active and also click the Control and A Keys to activate all the frames. Go to Edit/Copy. Make the background file active and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down the left mouse button, go to Frame 1 of the background file and place the Kaleidoscope Tag into that frame. Release the left mouse button and your Kaleidoscope tag should now have a background in all of its frames.

Saving the Animation

Step 1
Before we save the animation, click the Customize button to make sure you have all the correct settings for this animation. You should see two tabs: Colors and Optimization.

Here is what each setting should be under the two separate tabs:

Colors
255 Colors, Optimized Median Cut and Error Diffusion should be checked.

Optimizations
The middle three selections should be checked.
The top and bottom selections - unchecked.

After customizing the animation settings, click Ok and click Next and you will get the following screens:

Screen 1 Animation versus output Size - just click next.
Screen 2 Optimization process - just click next.
Screen 3 Optimization preview - just click next.
Screen 4 Optimization results - click finish.

Step 2
Save the file as a gif file. This is your template file. We will now add the signature text in Paint Shop Pro and copy into Animation Shop. We will apply the text by the propagate text function.

Adding Text in Paint Shop Pro

Step 1
Open up the kaltext pattern tag. At the Material palette, left click the bottom color box. When the color selection window opens, select pattern, locate the kaltext pattern with angle set to O and scale set to 100.

Step 2
At the top color box, select the color black.

Step 3
Type in your text, selecting your font, size and stroke. You can add a drop shadow for effect (I added a white one). Once your text is completed go to Edit/Copy.

Step 4
Open up Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 5
Go to Edit/Copy. Have your tag image open and go to the very first frame. Go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control. Resave this file with a new name.

Comments and Sharing Your Results
Please do let me know how this tutorial worked for you. You can post your comments at the Blog and do email me your results so I can see!

New Year Tag

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This tutorial will be utilizing the following PSP Components:

Resizing
Animation
Propagate Pasting Images and Text on Frames in Animation Shop
Replacing Color in Animation Shop
Changing Frame Property

Needed:

Tube of Choice: The lovely tube image I am using is a Gorjuss image created by Suzanne Woolcott.

The animated clock template and the champaigne tube are included in the supplies which you can download here:

Making the Basic Tag in Animation Shop

The steps to create the tag will be mostly done in animation shop. But to size the images to go with the tag will be done through Paint Shop Pro.

In Paint Shop Pro

Step 1
Open up the template. Open up your tube image and copy and paste it to the template. If the image is too large, go to Image/Resize using the percent option, bicubic and resize all layers not checked. Once you have the correct size of the image, go to Edit/Copy and then go to Edit/Paste as new image. You can close the template now without resaving it.

Step 2
Open up the champaigne image and resize 85 to 80 percent.

Step 3
Make your tube image active and go to Edit/Copy. Open up Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 4
Go back to Paint Shop Pro and make the champaigne image active and go to Edit/Copy. Go back to Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

Step 5
If you save your licensing information as a PSP or PNG file, then go back to Paint Shop Pro and open up your Licensing Information file. Go to Edit/Copy. Go back to Animation Shop and go to Edit/Paste as New Animation.

You can close Paint Shop Pro now. The tag creation will be completed in Animation Shop.

Creating the Tag in Animation Shop

Step 1
Open up the New Year Template and go to View/Normal Viewing. You should see 15 frames. Click the Control and A keys to activate all the frames.

Step 2
Go to Animation/Replace Color. Where it says replace color in, select ALL frames. Where it says Old Color, left click the dropper tool and left click it on the color of the clock. Where it says tolerance, type in 1. Where it says Match Mode, select RGB Value. And the bottom, select New Color. Left click the color box and select the color you want for your clock.

Step 3
Make the tube image active and go to Edit/Copy. Now go to Edit/Propagate Paste. Holding down your left mouse button, go to the very first frame of the New Year Template and place the tube image exactly where you want it and release the left mouse button. This image should be in all 15 frames.

Read about Propagate Paste

The Propagate Paste function works as a control or switch that has been turned on. Once you have used the Propagate Paste function one time, and want to continue pasting one image or text file on all the animation frames, you can continue to do so. BUT, DO NOT GO TO EDIT/PROPAGATE PASTE. Instead, just go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. As long as you continue to have Animation Shop open, all pasting is done by Edit/Paste into Selected Frame.

Step 4
Make the champaigne image active. Again go to Edit/Copy. Make the tag image active (making sure all frames are activated). Go to the very first frame of the New Year Template and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down the left mouse button, place the champaigne image exactly where you want it on the tag and release the left mouse button. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control.

Step 5
Make the Licensing information active. Again go to Edit/Copy. Make the tag image active (making sure all frames are activated). Go to the very first frame of the New Year Template and go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Holding down the left mouse button, place the licensing information exactly where you want it on the tag and release the left mouse button. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control.

Changing the Frame Property to Slow Down the Animation

Step 1
Click the Control and A keys to activate all the frames. Go to Frame 1, right click, and go to Frame Properties and left click. Type in 50.

Step 2
Go to the very last frame and make it active. Right click this frame, go to frame properties and left click. Type in 150.

Saving the Animation

Step 1
Before we save the animation, click the Customize button to make sure you have all the correct settings for this animation. You should see three tabs: Colors, Optimizations and Partial Transparency.

Here is what each setting should be under the separate tabs:

Colors
255 Colors, Optimized Median Cut and Error Diffusion should be checked.

Optimizations
The middle three selections should be checked.
The top and bottom selections - unchecked.

Partial Transparency
Convert Pixels less than 20% and yes blend with this color. The color in the box should be #FFFFFF.

After customizing the animation settings, click Ok and click Next and you will get the following screens:

Screen 1 Animation versus output Size - just click next.
Screen 2 Optimization process - just click next.
Screen 3 Optimization preview - just click next.
Screen 4 Optimization results - click finish.

Step 2
Save the file as a gif file. This is your template file. We will now add the signature text in Animation Shop as well.

Adding Text in Animation Shop

Step 1
Go to File/New. For width use 500 and height 175. Check where it says transparent and click ok.

Step 2
Click the Text Tool at the top of the screen. When the Add Text window opens up, select your Font, Style and Size and type your text. Go to Edit/Copy. Make the tag image active (making sure all the frames are activated), go to Edit/Paste into Selected Frame. Go to the very first frame of the tag and holding down your left mouse button, place the text exactly where you want it and release the left mouse button. Remember - DO NOT USE Propagate Paste since you already used it and opened that control. Resave the animation with a new name.

Comments and Sharing Your Results
Please do let me know how this tutorial worked for you. You can post your comments at the Blog and do email me your results so I can see!