Banner Tutorial for PSP (Paint Shop Pro)

In this tutorials I am going to be teaching you, step by step, how I made the logo at the top of my old page. This is my first mega tutorial and would appreciate any feedback. Thanks! Here is the psp file if you want to download it.

The first step is to create a new image . My image size is 700 x 150. Set the background color to #2D5A82, a nice blue color. The next step is to create a grid. Now go to Layers- New Raster Layer to create a new layer. Name this layer "grid".

The next step is to use my grid tutorial to create a 10 pixel black grid. Your image should now look like this. You can download the grid pattern here . Now go to Masks- New- From Image and enter these values:

Source Window: This window
Create mask from: Source Luminance
Invert mask date: Checked

Last, turn down the opacity to 16. This should give you a nice, light grid.

Now we need to add some clouds to the image. Make a new layer by going to Layers- New Raster Layer , and name it "clouds". To do this you need a plugin which you can download here . The clouds aren't necessary though so you can skip this step if you want. After you have installed the plugin, go to Effects- Plugins- MuRa's Meister- Clouds. Use these options . Now go to Masks- New- From Image and enter these values:

Source Window: This window
Create mask from: Source Luminance
Invert mask date: Checked

Now adjust the opacity of the layer down to 18.

Now we have a nice, textured background with a grid. The last thing we are going to add to the background is scanlines. Make a new layer by going to Layers- New Raster Layer , and name it "scanlines". Now follow the scanlines tutorial to add scanlines to the background. Create a new mask using the same steps as steps 3 and 4, and adjust the opacity of the "scanlines" layer down to 16.

Now you have created the background for the banner. The next step is to add the text, hexagons, and lines.