Thatched Cottage
This tutorial was written with PSP 7. All you need are the thatchcottage.zip and thatchcottage1.zip files.The terms of use are here
If you would rather make this variation, use the fieldstone.jpg file from the download, and colourise the windows, shutters, and doors by going to Colors - Colorise - Hue 255 - Saturation 159.
For this variation, just follow the tutorial, merge all layers, and go to Effects - Artistic Effects - Sepia and use any number for the Amount to Age that pleases you!
If you aren't familiar with using the Colour Pallette for patterns, there is a short explanation here
1. Open a new image, 525 x 400. Name this layer Chimney.
Go to Selections - Load from Disk, and get 01chimney.sel. Flood-fill with Landscape Rocks (50%), or one of the Brick patterns. If you want light-coloured bricks, flood-fill with the colour you want (I used #EBEBD3) and then go to Effects - Texture Effects - Textures and use the chimneybricks.bmp pattern (25%).
After the chimney is filled, go to Selections - Invert and use the following Drop Shadow, with black as the colour for the Rocks, or #564714 for light-coloured bricks:
2. Chimney Side layer. Get 02chimneyside.sel, flood-fill, Invert the selection (Selection - Invert) and apply the same Drop Shadow, changing the Horizontal to +3.
3. Chimney Top layer. 03chimneytop.sel. Flood-fill with dark grey, or the colour of one of the stones.
4. Ell Back Roof layer. Get 04ellbackroof.sel. Open the backellroof.psp image by clicking on it. Copy (CTRL-C), go back to your cottage image, and past into selection (SHIFT-CTRL-L)
5. Ell layer. 05ell.sel. Flood-fill #EBEBD3. Go to Effects - Textures - Texture and use stucco.bmp, change the Size to 25%. Go to Selections - Invert and keep selected.
Now, add a drop shadow with the following settings:
(With different colours, you probably would have to change the Opacity and Colour.)
6. House Side layer. 06houseside.sel. Flood-fill with your colour, apply the stucco.bmp again, and then Selections - Invert, and apply the same drop shadow.
7. Ell Side layer. 07ellside.sel. Flood-fill, apply texture, invert, and add the drop shadow.
8. Ell Roof Guide layer. We'll come back to this layer later.
9. Ell Roof Ridge layer. 09ellroofridge.sel. Open the thatchtop.psp image you downloaded, by clicking on it. Copy (CTRL-C) and then open your cottage image again and paste (SHIFT-CTRL-L or Edit - Paste - Into Selection). Keep selected, and add the following Drop Shadow:
10. Main House layer. 10mainhouse.sel. Flood-fill, apply texture, invert the selection, and add the Drop Shadow
Apply the Drop Shadow again, changing the Horizontal to minus 10.
11. Windows layer. Make a new layer, Windows, since we'll be putting three windows on this layer. First get 11leftfrontwindow.sel. Open the window1.psp file. If you're going to use the blue colour, right-click on a layer in the Layer Pallette and Merge Visible. Then copy (CTRL-C) and paste it into place (SHIFT-CTRL-L).
If you want a different colour, Colourise the Frame layer, Merge Visible, and then proceed copying and pasting.
(The window image will remain copied, so you don't have to go back to the window image and copy for the next windows.) Then get 12rightfrontwindow.sel, and paste (SHIFT-CTRL-L) the window again. Get 13ellwindow.sel, and paste the window into your image.
12. Door and Steps layer. Open the door.psp file, Copy, and Paste (CTRL-E) into your image, lining the top of the door with the top of the windows. Then open the stairs.psp file, copy and paste into your image.
13. Side Window layer. Get 14sidewindow.sel. Paste the window into the selection, and then click on the Deformation Tool
. Holding down the SHIFT key, click on the lower right-hand square, and drag it down, just a bit, so the bottom of the window slants a little like the bottom of the wall.
14. Open the file, frontshutters.psp, copy (CTRL-C), and paste (CTRL-E) in place on your cottage image.
15. Thatch Roof layer. 15thatchroof.sel. Flood-fill with #564714. Then open and copy the thatchsized.psp file. On your cottage image, paste (CTRL-E) and place it over the coloured rectangle, starting on the left side and lining it up with the top of the rectangle. Keep pressing CTRL-E and lining up each thatch piece.
When you get to the end, the last thatch piece will go past the rectangle. That's o.k. Get 16roofsizer.sel, invert the selection, and hit delete. We'll come back and shape the roof after the Roof Ridge is in place.
16. Roof Ridge layer. 17roofridge.sel. (This looks too short, but we're going to resize the roof in the next step.) Copy (CTRL-C) and paste (SHIFT-CTRL-L) the thatchtop.psp image. Go to Effects - Sharpen - Sharpen More. Add a Drop Shadow:
17. Click on the Thatch Roof layer in the layer pallette then, to shape the roof, click on the Deformation Tool
. Holding down the CTRL key, click and drag one of the upper outside boxes to the middle until the edge is under the Roof Ridge.
The green arrows show where the roof side should end up, although if they go in a little more and the Roof Ridge is a bit longer, that's fine. :-)
To select the re-sized roof, go to
Selections - Float, and then
Selections - Defloat
Now add a Drop Shadow:
18. Dormer Shadow layer. Click on the Roof Ridge layer and make the new layer, Dormer Shadow, above it, and get 18dormershadow.sel. Invert the selection and apply this drop shadow:
19. Dormer Window layer. 19dormerwindow.sel. Open the window1.psp file again, and copy and paste into the selection.
20. Dormer Roof Guide layer. 20dormerroof.sel. Flood fill with #EBEBD3.
21. Dormer Roof layer. Copy and paste the thatchsized.psp file, this time matching the bottom of the rectangle on the lower layer. You don't want to cover the bottom of the rectangle, just bring the bottom of the fringe down. However, you can adjust it with the Mover Tool, if necessary. It does look strange!
Get 21dormerroof.sel again, invert the selection, and hit delete.
Go to Selections - Select all, then Selections - Float, and Selections - Defloat, and add this drop shadow:
Then go back to the Dormer Roof Guide layer, right-click on the layer in the Layer Pallete, and delete.
22. Go back down to the Ell Roof Guide layer we made earlier, and get 08thatchroof.sel. Flood-fill with a dark colour (you will delete it later, it's just a guide).
Make another layer, Ell Roof, right above the Ell Roof Guide Layer, and using the same technique as for the Dormer Roof, copy and paste the thatchsized.psp image, matching to the lower part of the rectangle--the dark colour will show in places along the bottom.
Get 08thatchroof.sel again, invert the selection, and hit delete.
Once more, use the Deformation Tool to bring in the left side of the roof under the Ridge. When you're finished, delete the Ell Roof Guide layer which has the coloured rectangle.
This has been a long tutorial. Congratulations! I hope you like your cottage.
If you have any questions or comments, our email contact is here.
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