Mac OS or Plastic Text - Paint Shop Pro (PSP) Tutorial

Create a new image , 800x800 with a white background. Click on the text tool , and create the letter or letters you want to add the effect to. Make it big. I used Times New Roman at 1000pt. Make sure there is no stroke, and the fill is the color #186AAF. Create it as a vector and click ok. When you have moved it to the center go to Layers | Convert to Raster Layer . Name this layer "text". Using the magic wand , select the text, and go to Selections | Save as Alpha Channel , and press ok twice. Keep the selection active.

Now create a new raster layer , and name it highlight. With the selection still active, go to Selections | Modify | Contract and enter 16. Using the flood fill , fill the selection with white. Now press Ctrl-D to deselect. Next, go to Effects | Blur | Gaussian Blur , and enter 16. Then do the same thing, but this time enter 8. Now change your layers blending mode to dodge, and the opacity to 60.

Next, create a new raster layer and name it "screen". Load the selection of the text by going to Selections | Load from Alpha Channel . Using the fill tool , fill the text with light gray, or #C0C0C0. Next, feather the selection by going to Selections | Modify | Feather , and enter 8. After that, go to Effects | 3D Effects | Cutout , and enter these settings .

With the selection still active and working on the same layer, make your foreground color white, and your background color dark gray (#808080). Now go to Effects | Artistic Effects | Hot Wax Coating . Now do it again so you have applied that effect twice.

Now, with the selection still active, go to Colors | Adjust | Brightness/Contrast , and enter the brightness at -80, and the contrast at 0. It should now be dark gray. Next, on the layer you have been working on(the screen layer), set the blending mode to Screen. Last, to smooth it out, go to Effects | Blur | Gaussian Blur , and enter a value of 2. Deselect, and go to the last step.

Last step! Click on the "text" layer, and go to Effects | 3D Effects | Drop Shadow . Enter these settings . Done at last! If you have any questions or comments be sure to e-mail me at kingzasz25@netscape.net. Keep experimenting with the screen layer. Add chrome, more hot wax, etc. Remember, the darker the gray, the brighter the blue shows through.