Ribbon Tutorial
Open a transparent image. The size is up to you, but for the purpose of this tutorial, let’s make it a 600x 230 pixels image.
Choose your foreground and background colors.
Choose the Rectangle Drawing Tool and choose the following settings.
Now draw a rectangle across your image.
Now pull the nodes near the edge of your image just off the canvas.
Effects>Texture Effects>Blinds
Chose these settings.
If I am making a really textured ribbon, I like to add some noise. Do this now – as much or as little as you like.
Next select the top and bottom empty space around your ribbon by holding down your shift key, while clicking the transparent space with your magic wand tool.
Invert selection.
Selection > Modify> Select Selection Borders.
Set this to 10. Note: This always needs to be the size of the Line Style Width you chose to begin with. In our case it was 10. If you changed the settings you need to change it here too!
Keep the selection active (keep the ants marching) and create a new Raster Layer.
Effects>3D Effects>Cutout
Still keep the ants marching and create another new Raster Layer. Repeat Effects>3D Effects>Cutout but change the settings to the following.
Next you need to play with your opacity sliders. Depending on what color you chose for your ribbon, adjust your opacity on the white and black cutout until you have the bevel effect you like.
Merge when you are happy with your result.
With some ribbons the process stops here. However, you can give your ribbon a more realistic effect, especially if you are trying to do a silk or satin kind of ribbon, by using a free plugin filter. You can download it here.Scroll all the way to the bottom where it says “Greg’s filters” and download both. To install, unzip and extract into your PSP plugins folder.
Once installed, go to Effects>Plugins>Greg’s Factory Output Vol II>Pool Shadow
Choose the following settings.
You can of course adjust to your own liking. Just play with the sliders and see what effects you like !
Now to the task of making this ribbon longer, ie seemless.
Select an area on your ribbon with the rectangular selection tool, where you just hit one of the darker shadows of the crossgrain.
Image>Crop to Selection
Copy your remaining ribbon onto a much bigger image – the height has to be at least 230 pixels and the length depends on how long you want your ribbon.
Paste your ribbon bit again as a new layer and drag it to join the first ribbon part.
Select Image>Mirror and join both parts at their seems. They should match up seamlessly. Continue to Paste as new Layer and join, then Paste as new layer – Mirror and join at the seams until you have the desired length of ribbon.
Merge all your layers (merge visible layers) and apply a drop shadow if you so choose.
Here is your finished realistic ribbon !
