PI12-blend

And this is what we are making:

DESCRIPTION: Make a beautiful picture with PI.
Tutorial: Copyright © Inge Klement

PI Version: 12 (but you can use earlier versions too)
Level: Intermediate
Featured tools: None
Additional filters: Tramages, Virtual Photographer
Additional files: 1 tube and 1 mask.
You'll get them in the zip-file.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The tube I'm using is from a tube group - Top Design Tubes, (tuber: Yoka) -
the mask is from a site which doesn't exist anymore.
Tube: you are allowed to download the tube and use it for your private use,
but you are not allowed to change the name of the tube,
delete the watermark, offer the tube for sale or download
or use it for your own tutorials.
The copyright © belongs ALWAYS to the original artist/designer!
No copyright infringement is intended.

Remember to save often!

Before we start, you should open the mask, and store it into your Easy Palette. In case you need to freshen up your memory on how to save a mask into the EP - you can take a look at one of my other tutorials, where I explain a little bit more about how to use a mask in PI. You'll find the tutorial here. Important - in my tutorials my masks fit the chosen background/object ... you achieve this by right clicking any mask inside the original category Mask Library in your Easy Palette. Now you choose the option Fit Mask. Very important: Do NOT merge the picture before I tell you to do so!
	Open a New Image, 800x600 Pixels, color: White. Go to Edit/Fill/Gradient (white hand)/Magic Gradient (1), choose the Mode: 8 (white arrow), click the Edit button (red arrow) and choose Palette: 003 (2).

	Effect/Tramages (red arrow)/TeeWee (white arrow) and use the default settings (not the ones on the screenshot!): Input Channel: 11 Mode: 212 Your screenshot might look different, since I'm using Filters Unlimited 2 - but the settings are the same anyway. Click Apply. Choose the same filter one more time, but this time you choose the settings you can see on the screenshot (1): Input Channel: 57 Mode: 73 Click Apply.

	Open the tube - Yoka-MR2-120406 -, copy (Ctrl+C) the tube (1), activate our main picture (2), and paste (Ctrl+V) the copy of the tube on it. Right click the tube on our main picture/Properties/ Position & Size (3)/and go to Size. Check that you have ticked the box Keep aspect ratio (red arrow) and change the Width to 357 (white hand). Now we can change the position of the tube: Left: 235 and Top: 20 (white arrows). Click OK and close the original tube. The tube (from now on I will call this tube for tube 1) on our main picture should be activated now, right click and duplicate tube 1. Right click, Properties/Position & Size, and change the position of the duplicated tube to: Left: 28 and Top: 20. Click OK and leave the duplicated tube (from now on I will call this tube for tube 2) activated.

	With tube 2 activated, go to Effect/Tramages (red arrow) /TeeWee (white arrow) and use the default settings (2): Input Channel: 11 Mode: 212 Your screenshot might look different, since I'm using Filters Unlimited 2 - but the settings are the same anyway. Click Apply and leave tube 2 activated.

	Right click/Shadow, Color: Black and choose the 3rd alternative (red arrow). Use these settings: X-offset: 5 Y-offset: 5 Transparency: 50 Shadow size: 100 Soft edge: 10 Click OK and deactivate (Enter) tube 2.

	Activate tube 1, go to Effect/optikVerve Labs/Virtual Photographer and find the preset Dramatic (white hand). Change the settings to - 20 (red arrow) and 29 (white arrow) and click Process. With tube 1 still activated, right click/Shadow, and use the same settings as we used on tube 2. Deselect (Enter).

	Open your Easy Palette/Libraries (white hand) and double-click the mask 44gitmask (1), which you've downloaded, unzipped and stored into the EP. On the screenshot you can see that the mask applied on the image (2). Make sure the Background color is White (red arrow), and push 1 x the Delete button (alternatively - go to Edit/Fill/Color and choose White.) Do NOT deselect the mask - keep it activated.

	On the screenshot you can see that the mask (applied and filled with White) on the image (1). Go to Effect/optikVerve Labs/Virtual Photographer and find the preset Trendsetter (white hand). Click Process. Merge All.

	Add some text as you want. (Here I used the font Stylistic, Size: 96, Color: Black. After finding the right position for my text, I duplicated the text, activated the underneath text and used Neon 1 from the Easy Palette.) Merge All.

	Expand: 1 Pixel, Color: 200/191/200; Expand: 40 Pixel, Color: Black. Right click/All, right click/Convert to Object. Deselect (Enter). Expand: 20 Pixel, Color: White. Right click/All, right click/Border, and use these settings: Border width: 20 (white hand) Direction: Inward (red arrow) Shape: Box, and Anti-aliasing. Click OK.

	Go to Edit/Fill/Gradient/Magic Gradient (1), choose the Mode: 10 (2), click the Edit button (white arrow) and choose Palette: 032 (3). We have to change the colors of the palette to fit our picture. Right click each of the black squares (red arrows), choose Change Color and set the new color to 74/62/74 (dark shade from the picture). Now right click each green square (white hands), choose Change Color and set the new color to 200/191/200 (light shade from the picture). If you want to save your new palette, click the Add button (4), find a name for the new palette and click OK. Keep the border selected.

	Go to Effect/optikVerve Labs/Virtual Photographer and find the preset Ambience (white arrow). Click Process and deselect the border (Enter). Expand all sides equally: 1Pixel, Color: 200/191/200 and 1 Pixel, Color: Black.

	Activate the picture we had turned into an object (1), right click/Shadow, Color: Black, 1. alternative, and use these settings: 5/5 + 50/100/10. Click OK and Merge All.
Here's the result in the original size :))


That's it! A beautiful picture ... made with PI, one mask, one tube and some 3rd party filters. HAVE FUN!!!
If you need any help with this tutorial - or want to make suggestions to improve it - please email me!