Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!
The results of this tutorial may be used as you wish.
The tutorial itself still follows my Terms of Use.

 
Pick Your
Poinsettia

BY...doing this tutorial you are agreeing to the Terms of Use
Please make sure you have read them.

You may select to do the poinsettia several different ways. I will give you a couple of guides, but you select your way of completion. More will be left up to your imagination.

This tutorial Loads from the Alpha Channels (not Selections).

Download Supplies HERE 

I left a background layer.  You may want to flood fill to help you see better.  You can delete this layer before merging.

Open Poinsettia ©2004 Carla Polston canvas
Duplicate this image (Shift D) and save the original.
Save As and name in PSP format.

NOTE: These were put in layers on the Layer Palette with each flower together so they could be merged. You will not go in order on the Layer Palette as you load and fill. We will do all the fills first, then go back to layers for detailing.

LEAVES
Click on leaf1-cp layer on Layer Palette
Selections – Load from Alpha Channel – leaf1-cp
Flood Fill #45743e or your choice
Click on leaf2-cp, leaf3-cp and leaf4-cp layers on Layer Palette and Flood Fill with the same color as the first leaf.
SAVE

POINSETTIA BOTTOMS
Click on poinsettia1a-cp layer on Layer Palette
Selections – Load from Alpha Channel – poinsettia1a-cp
Flood Fill #c40936
Click on poinsettia1a-cp, poinsettia2a-cp and poinsettia3a-cp layers on Layer Palette and Flood Fill with the same color as the first flower.
SAVE

POINSETTIA TOPS
Click on poinsettia1b-cp layer on Layer Palette
Selections – Load from Alpha Channel – poinsettia1b-cp
Flood Fill #6d171c or your choice. (Click several times.)
Click on poinsettia1b-cp, poinsettia2b-cp and poinsettia3b-cp layers on Layer Palette and Flood Fill with the same color as the first flower.
SAVE

CENTERS
Click on poinsettia4b-cp layer on Layer Palette
New Raster Layer
Paint Brush Tool
Foreground: #ffeb41 or your choice

  • Round
  • Size: 7
  • Hardness: 90
  • Step: 25
  • Density: 100
  • Thickness: 100 (v8 and v9)
  • Rotation: 0 (v8 and v9)
  • Opacity: 100

Put 3 dots in center without touching.
Effects - 3D - Cutout
  • Vertical: -2
  • Horizontal: 1
  • Opacity: 100
  • Blur: 3
  • Shadow Color: #a2271e
  • Fill interior with color: #ffe611
Repeat on a new layer twice
Right click on top layer on Layer Palette
View - Current Only
Click on the red X on the eye/glasses of the Layer Pallette for the two other center dot layers you created.
Right click on any of these 3 layers on the Layer Palette - Merge - Visible
Right click on the layer again on the Layer Palette - View - All
Right click on the layer (handy thing) on the Layer Palette - Duplicate (three times)
Use the Mover tool to place over the other flowers. You can mirror if you want to.
Drag each of the centers down to just above the matching poinsettia.

Your turn to pick what you would like to do. I'm just going to give you some ideas and settings I used.

CUTOUT METHOD.
Darken and Lighten Brush Method is below

Click on leaf layers on Layer Palette
Effects - 3D - Cutout
This is a setting you may want to use to get you started, but use whatever you like. I adjusted the Vertical and Horizontal some for each leaf.

  • Vertical: -4
  • Horizontal: 2
  • Opacity: 100
  • Blur: 20 - 22
  • Shadow Color: Black
  • Fill interior with color: #45743e
SAVE

POINSETTIA
Click on poinsettia1a-cp, poinsettia2a-cp, poinsettia3a-cp and poinsettia4a-cp layers on Layer Palette
Effects - 3D - Cutout
This is a setting you may want to use to get you started, but use whatever you like. I adjusted the Vertical and Horizontal some for each leaf.

  • Vertical: -3
  • Horizontal: 2
  • Opacity: 80
  • Blur: 10 - 12
  • Shadow Color: Black
  • Fill interior with color: #c40936
SAVE

DARKEN AND LIGHTEN BRUSH METHOD.
(This method takes lots of patience!)

Use the following settings to darken the leaf.
You may want to magnify some.
Brush Setting

Leaves
Click on one of the leaf layers on the Layer Palette.
Starting with size 8 go over the leaf a couple of times for dark areas.
Change to size 6 and go over some more.
Then change to size 4 and go over again.

You may want to go over a little more with size 8.
If you want to lighten a little, you can click the Switch Mouse Button off or just right click mouse and go over a couple of areas.

Mine shows the whole leaf, but you only have to darken the areas that show.
The leaf on the left was just with the size 8. Top leaf size 8 with size 6 going over it. Leaf on right has all three sizes.
Leaf
Click on the other leaf layers and repeat the same steps.

Poinsettia
Click on the poinsettia1a, poinsettia2a, poinsettia3a and poinsettia4a layers on the Layer Palette to darken poinsettia pedals.
You may want to hold down the Shift key and click back and forth from top to center of each pedal. I find this easier for me.
Use the same settings for the poinsettia, changing the sizes to 6, 4 and 2.
I used size 6 and 4 for center lines of each pedal.
To use size 2 from edge to center of each pedal.
You may want to hold down the Shift key and click back and forth from edge to center.
SAVE OFTEN

You may even want to add a cut out over the detailed layers. I did a cut out on just the poinsettia on this image.

MERGE EACH FLOWER
Complete both with this!

Hide all layers except for one of the poinsettias with leaves and center. (Click eye/glasses to hide layers on Layer Palette)
Right click on any visible layer on Layer Palette - Merge Visible.
Continue hiding and merging layers for each poinsettia with leaves and center.
You may want to resize the canvas, move apart a little and tube.
Use to build a plant, decorate sigs, for stationery or how ever you wish.
SAVE

WRAPPED POT AND BOW TO DISPLAY
If you would like to use the wrapped pot and bow display, you can get the Alpha Channel canvas HERE 
No directions. Complete it as you wish.

You may delete background and merge visible.
SAVE

Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.

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© 2004 Carla Polston All Rights Reserved