I claim the copyright to this tutorial.  You are free to do whatever you please with the tag you make, but please do not take my tutorial.  Do not send the tutorial through email.  Only share my link.

This tutorial was created for some friends of mine who wanted to begin learning more about PSP.  It is intended for intermediate to learn how to work with vector shapes and the retouch tool.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

To do this tutorial you will also need Paint Shop Pro.  I used Paint Shop Pro 7.0.  You may download a free trial at Jasc.

Remember to save as a psp file often!

Before we begin, you might want to study the PSP tool bars.  I have labeled the tools on another page.  Click on the link and it will open a new page.  You may want to keep this page open while you work on the tutorial, to refer to the names now and then.  PSP Tools

Now that you have studied the tools, let's begin!

1.  Set your foreground color to #AF9371, and your background color to #CAAC8C.

2.  Open a new image, 200 X 200, transparent.

3.  Select the preset shapes tool, and choose the ellipse.  In the Tool Options box, width = 1, check create as a vector, and check anti-alias.  Draw an ellipse.  Make it fairly large.  We will resize later.

4.  In the left tool menu, click no Node tool, then click Node Edit in the Tool Options Box.

5.  Click on the left  node, and the arrow will appear.  Pull the top of the arrow.out about 1/2 of a square.  Do the same thing to the right node.  Pull the bottom node down a little bit to make the chin more angular, face more elongated. When you are happy with the shape of your face, right-click and choose quit editing.

6.  In the Layer Palette, right-click on the layer and convert to raster layer.  Right-click on the layer again, and click RENAME.  Call this layer face.

7.  In the Layer Palette, right-click on the layer and add new raster layer, call it brow1.

8.  Choose the pen tool from the left menu.  In the Tool Options box, set the pen to size = 2, freehand.  Foreground color = #CAAC8C  Draw in an eyebrow.  If you're not happy with it, click undo and try again.

 

9.  When you are happy with that eyebrow, In the Layer Palette, right-click on the brow1 layer and choose DUPLICATE.

10.  In the top menu, click Image > Reflect.  Choose the mover tool from the left tool menu and move the reflected eyebrow into place.

 

11.  When you are happy with your eyebrows, hide the blank layer and the face layer, by clicking on the eyes for each of the layers and turning the eyes into Red X's.  All you should see are your 2 eyebrows.  Click on the top layer.  Then right-click and choose merge visible.  Right-click on the merged layer, and click RENAME, call th layer eyebrows.

12.  Right-click on the eyebrow layer and click add new raster layer, call it nose.  With the pen tool, still set to the same settings, draw in the nostrils.

13.  Right-click on the nose layer and click add new raster layer, call it mouth.  Get the paint brush tool from the left menu.  Foreground color still #CAAC8C.  Set the paintbrush to size = 2.  Draw in a mouth.

14.  Right-click on the mouth layer and click add new raster layer, call it eye1.  Change the foreground color to white.  Use the paintbrush to draw the white of an eye.

15.  With the magic wand click on the white of the eye.  Change to the paint brush tool. Change the foreground color to the color you want to use for the iris of the eye.  I chose green.  Draw in a circle in the eye.  Use a darker shade of the eyecolor to add some depth to the iris.  Just place some spots here and there.

16.  Change the foreground color to black.   Draw in the pupil of the eye.  Change the paint brush size = 1, and outline the top of the eye, and draw lashes if you like.

17.  When you are happy with your eye, right-click on eye1 layer and click DUPLICATE.  In top menu, click Image > Reflect.  With the moving tool, move the reflected eye into place.

18.  Hide all layers but the 2 eye layers.  Highlight one of the eye layers, right-click, and choose merge visible.  Right-clcik on the merged layer and choose RENAME.  Call it eyes.

 

19.  Unhide the layers, click on the Face layer.  Right-click on the face layer, and choose DUPLICATE.  Now we're going to shade the face, but we're working on a copy in case we mess up and don't like what we shaded.  *S*

MAKE sure that the copy of the face is highlighted.

20.  In left  tool menu, choose the retouch tool.  Set it to Darken RGB, Size = 10, hardness = 9, opacity = 10, step = 25, density = 52.  Shade the hollows of the cheek, and the edges of the chin.  Shade the side of the nose to shape it.

21.  Change the Retouch tool to Lighten RGB, size = 11, hardness = 10, opacity = 10, step = 25, density = 100.  Highlight the forehead above the eyes, and the top of the nose.

22.  Change the Retouch tool to Soften, size = 15, hardness = 10, opacity = 80, Steop = 26, density = 100.  Soften the areas that you highlighted and darkened.

23.  Click on the original face layer to activate it.  With the magic wand too, click on the area outside of the face. 

24.  Click on the copy of the face layer to activate it.  Press DELETE on the keyboard.  This will clean the edges of the face layer that we retouched.  Selections > None

24.  Make sure that all layers are NOT hidden.  In top menu, click Layers--merge--Merge visible.  Save the face as a .psp tube.

 
 

 Please do not remove this tutorial from my site.  Share my url.