Wouter's Designs - Animated American Dream Tutorial

Animated " American Dream " Tutorial PhotoImpact 10 and Gif Animator 5.05

Description: Create an animated patriotic design for your stationery or web page.
Skill Level: Beginner / I assume you know where the tools are in PI 10.
Featured Tools: Text Tool, Selection Tool, Fill Tool and several tools in Gif Animator.
Additional Files: an image, I used one from the © Dover Sampler, and the American Dream font. I have also included the Vivaldi font for you. Please download the zipped files here. Put the unzipped folder on your desktop. We will save to this folder when we finish each part of this tutorial.
Author: © Wouter's Designs 2005.
Terms of Use: Please read here
NOTE: This is a very simple tutorial. But I suggest you read the entire tutorial, before you start. and if you need help, don't hesitate to contact me at wouter@demoet.nl Thank you and have fun!

Instructions:
Don't forget to save your work often. Open the American Dream font that you downloaded to your desktop folder and minimize it. Open your copy of PhotoImpact and create a new white image of 600 x 400 pixels, we will crop later. Right click on your foreground color box and select the red as shown below -- #ff0000 Right click on your background color box and select the blue as shown below --#0000ff Click on your Text Tool and please use these settings: Apply your text as shown below: I am using the word America with a return after the e Right click: Align - Center Both With your text selected, click the Split Text tab of your Text Panel, which in version 10 is called: Tool Settings: Of course you could have typed your text with each character as an object, but I think this is a nice feature and it works much faster as we need to edit the characters individually. Your Layer Manager should look like this now: Save your work to your desktop folder. Deselect. Select the bottom layer with the capital A. Change to the Standard Selection Tool with these settings in the Attribute Toolbar. We need to make clean, sharp selections, so the SoftEdge should be 0. Click on Options and make sure that Anti-alias has a check mark. With your A still selected go to View in the menu Bar and click on Show Marquee to get rid of the "marching ants". (Note: The above step is optional, but it helps me to make my selections more precise). From now on we need to check our Layer Manager to see if an object is selected or not. Selected Objects are always on a darker background in the Layer Manager. Click the Select on Object button on the Attribute Toolbar. Select that part of the letter where the stars are. Maybe you need to zoom in to get good results. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to fine tune your selection. When you are happy with your selection, right click and Convert to Object. It will show in your Layer Manager as the top layer and it will be selected. Go to Edit: Fill -- Color and fill the object with your blue background color like this: Press the Ctrl key on your keyboard and select the bottom layer with the capital A, so both objects are selected. Right click: Merge as a Single Object. Save your work Repeat all these instructions for all the remaining letters. Save your work after you finished each letter. Don't forget to click the Select on Object button before you make the selection. When you have done it correctly, your text should look like this: and your Layer Manager like this: Deselect. Go to View again and check the Show Marquee box if you have disabled it earlier on in this tutorial. Save your work. On to Page 2 Site map

Instructions:

Don't forget to save your work often.

Open the American Dream font that you downloaded to your desktop folder and minimize it.
Open your copy of PhotoImpact and create a new white image of 600 x 400 pixels, we will crop later.
Right click on your foreground color box and select the red as shown below -- #ff0000
Right click on your background color box and select the blue as shown below --#0000ff

colorboxes

Click on your Text Tool and please use these settings:

Apply your text as shown below: I am using the word America with a return after the e
Right click: Align - Center Both

preview

With your text selected, click the Split Text tab of your Text Panel, which in version 10 is called:
Tool Settings:

Of course you could have typed your text with each character as an object, but I think this is a nice feature and it works much faster as we need to edit the characters individually.

Your Layer Manager should look like this now:

Save your work to your desktop folder.

Deselect. Select the bottom layer with the capital A.
Change to the Standard Selection Tool with these settings in the Attribute Toolbar.

We need to make clean, sharp selections, so the SoftEdge should be 0.
Click on Options and make sure that Anti-alias has a check mark.

With your A still selected go to View in the menu Bar and click on Show Marquee to get rid of the "marching ants".
(Note: The above step is optional, but it helps me to make my selections more precise).

From now on we need to check our Layer Manager to see if an object is selected or not. Selected Objects are always on a darker background in the Layer Manager.

preview

Click the Select on Object button on the Attribute Toolbar.

Select that part of the letter where the stars are. Maybe you need to zoom in to get good results. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to fine tune your selection.

When you are happy with your selection, right click and Convert to Object. It will show in your Layer Manager as the top layer and it will be selected.
Go to Edit: Fill -- Color and fill the object with your blue background color like this:

Press the Ctrl key on your keyboard and select the bottom layer with the capital A, so both objects are selected. Right click: Merge as a Single Object.

Save your work

Repeat all these instructions for all the remaining letters. Save your work after you finished each letter.

Don't forget to click the Select on Object button before you make the selection.
When you have done it correctly, your text should look like this:

and your Layer Manager like this:

Deselect.

Go to View again and check the Show Marquee box if you have disabled it earlier on in this tutorial.

Save your work.

On to Page 2

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