Bird in Nest
Tutorial

PSP X

Filters and programs used in this tutorial :-
Paint Shop Pro
Dragonfly's Sinedot II filter
Render 2D Hyperclouds, or Mura Meister's 'Cloud'

Materials :-
My sg_bird and nest.cfg, the Leaves tube and Shredded Wood
and Phone Pole BMPs from psp7 Here

some images have been made smaller to shorten file size

step 1.
Open a new image 250 X 200 transparent, flood
fill with black to make it easier to see the sinedots,
add a new layer and name it 'body' go to
Effects...Plugins...Sinedots...
open the sg_bird and nest.cfg choose the bird_body preset.
if you are new to sinedots and don't know how to open
the .cfg file click HERE for more information
Some presets use different 'blend' settings and it is
important for this tutorial to make sure that the blend
in the sinedots setting is set to 'screen' like this:-

Change it in the drop down list if you need to,
otherwise the sinedots image will be on a black layer
instead of a transparent one. Click ok

Step 2.
Go to Image...Mirror...this will turn the body in the
opposite direction. The canvas needs to be enlarged so
go to Image...Canvas size...change the canvas size to
400 x 400 placement=left centre

Make the bottom layer active and flood fill with black

Step 3.
For the head, open a new image 200 x 150 transparent
I have flood filled so that you can see the sinedots
easily. Add a new layer, then go to
Effects...Plugins...Sinedots...
choose the 'head' preset, (there is another preset
there called 'bird_head2' which you can use instead
if you prefer, I used that one in the picture at
the end of the tutorial). Change the
blend to 'screen' and click ok

go to Edit...Copy...
this image can be closed

Step 4.
Make the body layer active, add a new layer,
name it 'head' and paste as a new selection
positioning approximately as the screenshot
then de-select

Step 5.
With the freehand (lasso) tool type=point to point draw a
selection around the beak, as in this screenshot, the
inside of the selection line runs along the join between
the face and the beak

Go to Selections...Promote to layer...the beak will be on
the promoted layer, but will also still be in place on the
head layer, we need to delete this, so make the head layer
active, hit the delete key, then de-select

The beak can now be coloured seperately from the head
The colouring method I used in this tutorial, I found
in a great 'Caterpillar tutorial' at B J Webart there
is a link to B J Webart at the bottom of the page.

I'm going to use the method found there to colour
the beak, bird, nest and tree branch

Step 6.
Make the foreground colour on the palette
yellow #ffff00 and the background orange #E07824
and change the foreground and stroke properties to gradient,
with these settings
Foreground-Background
Angle=90
Repeats=0
Style=Linear
Invert=unticked

Make the 'promoted selection layer' active
go to Selections and select all,
then Selections...Float...
use the paintb4rush with these settings :-

Shape=Round
Size=50
Hardness=100
Step=25
Density=100
Thickness=100
Rotation=0
Opacity=100
Blend mode=Normal

Paint the selection. De-select. If it needs
another coat of paint just repeat the select all,
float, paint and de-select.

Step 7.
Before colouring the birds head and body I
merged those two layers together. Make the head the
active layer, the body layer should be just below it

Go to Layers...Merge...and Merge Down
name the layer 'bird'

For my bird I changed the foreground colour to
#E8C986 and the background to #FFFFE3 with the
same gradient style as before this makes my bird's
tail area slightly darker than the head.

Use the same select all, float, paint and de-select,
if you prefer you can use another colour,
colour combination, or leave unpainted.

Step 8.
To make an eye add a new layer and use the
Selection tool type=elipse to make an elipse
positioned where you want the eye. It can be moved
with the mover tool when its finished if it's not
quite right. Change your palette style to Color
and the colour white. Flood fill the selection.
Effects...3D Effects...Inner Bevel...
using these settings :-
Bevel=#2
Width=10
Smoothness=73
Depth=3
Ambience=-15 (minus 15)
Shininess=38
Colour=white
Angle=8
Intensity=41
Elevation=40

Add a new layer and make a smaller elipse for the
inner eye, flood fill with black and go to
Effects...3D Effects...Inner Bevel...
I used the round preset, this is one of Psp 7's supplied
settings I don't think it came with version X, so here
are the settings, in case you haven't got it.

Bevel=#2
Width=14
Smoothness=15
Depth=12
Ambience=0
Shininess=50
Colour=white
Angle=315
Intensity=41
Elevation=30

To merge all of the bird layers together
Turn off the visibility of the background layer
by clicking the 'eye' of the layer in the layers palette
Go to Layers...Merge...Merge Visible
Then turn visibility of the background layer back on.

Step 9.
For the nest open a new image 250 x 150 transparent
flood fill with black and add a new layer, go to
Effects...Plugins...Sinedots...choose the nest preset
change the blend to 'screen' and click ok

Step 10.
I painted the nest in the same way as the body and beak
select all, float and paint, instead of using a gradient
fill, I used a shredded wood pattern, that came with PSP7
I've included this patter in the materials zip file.
Change the palette foreground to pattern and choose
Shredded Wood with a scale of 50
This is the nest

the nest will need to be squashed down a bit with
the Deformation Tool but the amount will be easier
to judge when the nest is under
the bird, so go to Edit...Copy...
this image can be closed

Step 11.
On the bird image make the top layer active and
add a new layer. Paste as a new selection underneath
the bird and de-select.

Click on the Pick Tool (you'll find it with the Move Tool)
and lower the depth to about two thirds by moving down
the centre top node.

When you have finished your adjustments, just click on
another tool to remove the adjustment box

Step 12.
Now a branch to sit the nest on
open a new image 400 x 300 transparent
flood fill with black and add a new layer
go to Effects...Plugins...Sinedots...
choose the branch preset, making sure that
the blend is 'screen' click ok

go to Image...Flip...

Step 13.
To make it look more like a tree branch I used the
same painting method as before (select all/float/paint)
with the pattern fill called 'phone pole' this is one
of psp 7's patterns and I've included it in the zip file.
I used a scale of 50%
(I liked the twisty look it gave to the branch)
To make it a little darker go to
Adjust...Brightness and contrast...Brightness/Contrast...
brightness=-10(minus 10), contrast=21.

go to Edit...Copy...
this image can be closed

Step 14.
Make the bottom layer active and paste as a new layer

If you need to, use the Mover Tool to adjust
the position of the bird, nest and the branch.
I moved mine nearer to the centre.

To make the tree less bare put a few leaves
on the branch. I used Psp's 'Summer Leaves' tube, which
is a tube that came with psp7, I have included it
in the materials zip file.
You can experiment with the sizes, I used Scale=50
Put each leaf on a seperate layer so that they could
be moved with the Mover Tool
I deleted those I didn't want, some I flipped,
mirrored or rotated before re-positioning,
you can use as many, or as few as you want.

Step 15
For a sky background make the bottom layer active,
make your palette foreground and background the colours
that you want your clouds and sky to be, then go to
Effects...Plugins...Render 2D hyperclouds...
adjust the settings until you find an effect that you like.
Alternatively you could use Mura Meister's cloud,
choosing appropriate background and foreground colours.

Turn off the visibility of the background layer
make one of the other layers active and merge visible
go to Effects...3D Effects...Drop Shadow...
and use these settings :-

Vertical=-1, Horizontal=6, Opacity=75, Blur=15

Finish with a frame
This is a version I made using the other head preset

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
I would like to give a big thankyou to Suz
for testing this tutorial for me