Learning Curve

This tutorial was written by Laura Emch on June 6, 2007. You may link to it through your groups and print it out for future use, but nothing, including my ideas, are to be removed from this site. I used the awesome work of Rion Vernon. You much purchase a license to use it, please visit CILM to do so. You will need the following supplies:

Tube and fonts of your choice
Nailed font
Two scrap papers; I used two by Sandra – thank you!
Embellishments of choice
VM Extravaganza
DSB Flux

1. Open a new transparent canvas, 700x600. Flood fill with white to give you a better idea of what you’re working with.

2. Copy and paste your tube as a new layer. Resize as needed, being sure that “resize all layers” is unchecked.

3. Give it a drop shadow. I used Loka’s 3d, but any will do!

4. Activate your font fool with a line width of 2. Have your foreground set on white, and your background one of your scrap papers or a color of your choice, with both vector and anitalias checked. Type “LIFE” and then hit ok. I used the font 2peas Crazy Pooch, sorry that I can not provide it.

5. Use the nodes to stretch it to your liking, then layers/convert to raster layer. Drop beneath your tube.

6. Duplicate the text. On the bottom layer, NOT the copy, effects/blur/Gaussian blur with a radius of 10.

7. Effects/VM Extravaganza/Transmission with the default settings.

8. Give the top copy the following drop shadow:

9. Grab your preset shape tool with a line width of 2, foreground black and background null. Draw a large ellipse in the general shape on which you would like your text to curve. Image/flip and move it back up. (This makes your text curve inwards.)

10. Find your font tool and hover above the ellipse until you see a curve underneath the “A.” Type in the words “is a learning curve” in a font and color of your choice. I used 2peas Rubber Ducky.

11. You will see that your text is upside down. Use the curve node to flip it around and adjust to your liking! On your layer palette, click the “+” sign on the raster layer. Hide the ellipse and then convert to raster layer.

12. Give your text the following drop shadow:

13. Grab your preset shape again with a line width of 3; foreground color white and background either a color of your choice or a suitable scrap pattern. Draw a horizontal rectangle at the bottom of your tag and convert to raster layer.

14. Font tool again! Find your “nailed” font, or one you prefer, and add the text “There is no pass or fail.” Convert to raster layer and give it the same drop shadow as above.

15. Activate your preset shape tool once more. Have your line width set at 2 and line angle “repeating arrows;” foreground color one from your tube and background null.

16. Holding down the shift key, draw a circle to the left of your tag and drop underneath all of your layers. Convert to raster layer. Duplicate this layer and place the copy on the other side.

17. Draw another circle in a different color in the middle of these two. Image/mirror so that the arrows on this one are going in the opposite direction. Give them all a slight drop shadow.

18. Make the circle on the left the active layer and duplicate it on your layer palette. On the bottom layer, NOT the copy, go to effects/dsb flux/blast with the following settings:

Apply the blast effect twice.

19. Repeat these steps on your right hand circle, but change the blast direction to left.

20. Copy and paste any embellishments to your tag that you would like. I used the staples from Sandra’s kit, but be creative!

21. Add your name in a font and color of your choice. I used 2 peas Chicken Shack with a kerning of 500 to space the letters farther apart.

22. Add the appropriate copyright information and your watermark so that you both receive credit for your work.

Crop your image, save as a png file, and you’re finished! I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Thanks for stopping by!