::Light Bars Effect Tutorial (Using PSP7 and AS3)

A Tutorial for making an icon like this (USING PSP7 & AS3):

01) Either create a new image (100x100... or whatever size you need for your icon) and make it pretty with brushes, or open a pre-made background. screen shot

02) Make a 20x100 selection from pixel #1-1 (top left corner) to pixel number #20-100 (bottom-20 pixels over) using the rectangular selection tool. screen shot

03) Brighten that selection by pressing Shitf+B or going to Colors~>Adjust~>Brightness/Contrast. 20 in each usually works best for me. screen shot

04) Press Control+D to quit the selection of that area, copy the image, and paste it as a new animation in Animation Shop. (need a screen cap?)

05) Press Control+Z twice (to undo the selection and brightness/contrast adjustmends), Control+D (to quit the selection) once, and then repeat steps 2-4, only this time the selection goes from pixel #1-20 to pixel #40-100. When you get to step 4, paste it after current frame, not as a new animation. Repeat this step for the rest of the icon.. Pixel #1-40; #60-100.. Pixel #1-60; #80-100.. Pixel #-80; #100-100. screen shot

06) Once you've completed step 05, Animation Shop should look like this screen shot.

07) Select ALL of those frames (Control+A) and paste them as a new image **not multiple frames** into PSP.

08) Get the picture you want, size it to 100x100, and paste it as a new layer over the image you just pasted in step 7.

09) Use the free hand selection tool to erase any parts of the picture you don't want. Select the parts you wish not to use, and press the "delete" button on your keyboard (usually located to the right and down one from the backspace key). Your image should look something like this now screen shot.

10) Add a drop shadow (Effects~>3D Effects~>Drop Shadow) and set each to -1. screen shot. Depending on what side of the canvas your image is on, you may need to do a positive 1 as well, so just repeat the beginning of the step, but change -1 to 1.

11) Add any words you wish, for mine, I'm not going to, but you can, it's up to you!

12) Click on all the little glasses except the top two layers (which would be your picture, and the last layer of your animated image) and then copy them (merged) and paste them in Animation Shop as a new image.

13) Repeat the step for each frame of your background image. screen shot, screen shot, screen shot, and so on...

14) When you paste those images in Animation Shop, you're doing the reverse of what you did in step 5, you're going to paste it BEFORE the current frame. It should look something like this (screen shot). In mine, you can't see the lightbars in the last two frames because his head's in the way >_<.

15) Save the animation with the optimizations shown here (screen shot).

16) You have a cool new icon with cool lightbars. //the end.

I hope it helped! <3. Let me know if you need something explained more clearly.