Gold Mesh Tag

I wrote this tutorial on my own.  Any similarity to another tutorial is purely coincidental.  I claim the copyright to my tutorial.  You are free to do whatever you please with what you make, but please do not take my tutorial.  Do not send the tutorial through email.  Only share my link.

This tutorial is intended for a beginner to learn about alpha selections.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

To do this tutorial you will also need Photoshop CS.  I used CS 2.  You may download a free trial at Adobe.

Remember to save as a .psd file often!

You will need to download the template.  The template looks blank, but it actually contains an alpha selection that you will need.

1.  Open up the template.  Image > Duplicate.  Close the original.

2.  Edit > Fill.  Set to background  Color (Black).

3.  Layer > New > Layer

4.  Select > Load Selection.  Choose Channel = Mesh.

5.  Choose the Gradient tool.  Right-click on the paint-bucket if necessary to choose the gradient.

6.  Set the gradient to a gold gradient.  Draw the gradient from top left to bottom right.

7.  In the Layer Palette, set the Opacity to about 50%. 

8.  Layer > New > Layer

9.  With the Selection tool, draw a rectangle selection in the middle of the image.

10.  With the gradient tool, fill the box will gold gradient.

11.  In top menu, click Select > Modify > Contract by 3. 

12.  Edit > Fill.  Fill with black again.

13.  Open up an image that you wish to use.  Edit > Copy

14.  Click back on your Mesh image.  Edit > Paste Into.

15.  With the  layer palette set to the black rectangle (one layer down) and with the magic wand, select the area outside of the black rectangle.

16.  On the layer palette, click back on the top image layer and press the Delete key .  This removes the rest of the image that you cannot see.  Select > None

17.  Right-click on the top image layer and choose Duplicate  Layer

18.  Duplicate the black rectangle layer. 

19.  In the Layer Palette, HIDE the bottom layer, the mesh layer, one black rectangle layer, and one image layer.  Hide a layer by clicking on the eye.

20.  In top menu, click Layer > Merge Visible.

21.  Now hide that merged layer.  UNHIDE the second black rectangle layer, and the second image layer.

22.  Slide the opacity of the second image layer to about 40%

23.  Layer > Merge Visible.

24.  Edit > Transform > Scale.

25.  In the top menu, in the scale toolbar, change the width = 65% and Height = 65%  (you may need to adjust these percentages depending on the size of your rectangle)

26.  In the Layer Palette, slide this merged layer below the other merged layer.  You want the Large rectangle on top. 

27.  With the mover tool, move the smaller rectangle up to the top left corner as so.

28.  In the Layer Palette, right-click on the small rectangle layer and choose Duplicate.

Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal

29.  Move this small rectangle to the lower right corner.

30.  Layer > New >Layer

31.  Select > All

32.  Select > Transform Selection.  In the Selection toolbar.  Set the width = 392. px  (you must type px)  and height = 294 px

33.  Select > Inverse.

34.  Choose the Gold Gradient.  Draw the gradient from top left to bottom right corner.

35.  Now save this image as a JPEG.  File > Save As

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