Metal Letters Effect
Created by: The Alb

The tutorial on this page only works for PSP version 6. Version 5 doesn't use the same "Hot Wax Coating" technique as PSP 6 does, so it doesn't look right!

Open a new picture File || New:

400 x 200 pixels
resolution 72 p/inch
background white
16.7Million Colors
foreground white

Check the color tab on the right side of the Paint Shop Pro window. Foreground and background color should be set to white. This is important for the functions we want to use later in this tutorial.

Activate the text tool. You may want to use a font Times-Bold, or American Classic Extra Bold- (if you do not have Times-Bold, select any wide font you might have), size 120, color white. Since you write white on white I selected the line afterwards to make it show. Write a few letters, ABC will do perfectly. Set to "Floating".

Center the floating selection so you have sufficient space around it in your graphic.

Click Image || Other || Hot Wax Coating. Redo two to three times so you get real thick lines.

Click Colors || Negative Image to invert the color information inside the selection.

If we would now try to use Image || Effects || Outer Bevel we would see it's not available. Therefore we invert the selection twice:
Click Selection || Invert so that the ants are running around the whole picture and the letters. Click the same function again and the ants are running only along the borders of the letters. Now the Outer Bevel function is available.

Click Image || Effects || Outer Bevel to bring up the function window. Choose Metallic from the drop down box at the top.

Use these settings if your Metallic is set differently:
Presets: Metallic
Width: 1
Smoothness: 10
Depth: 5
Ambience: 0
Shininess: 80
Color: White
Angle: 315
Intensity: 25
Elevation:40

Now click ok

After that the graphic looks like this:

The next step brings up the final effect to what still looks flat.
Click Image || Effects || Sculpture:

Please use the settings as follows:

Pattern: #3
Size: 100%
Smoothness: 23
Depth:66
Ambience: -8
Shininess: 60
Light:
Color: White
Angle: 315
Intensity: 56
Elevation:25

Apply the effect and you get this result:

Metal Letters Effect Created by: The Alb

Metal Letters Effect
Created by: The Alb