"Prefab" Italianate Victorian House Tutorial
As you can see, this house was quite elaborate to make. However, like a prefab house, it comes in three ready-made sections, and all you have to do is to put them together.This is a good tutorial for beginners and gives practise in using alpha selections, layers, pasting into selections, placing curtains in the windows, and some other basic steps like making a Drop Shadow. It is very quick and easy.
All you will need are the following files:
Italianate House
Annex
Main House
Tower
You will also be able to change the colour of the steps and trim around the stone boxes if you want to.
The terms of use are here
1. Open all the *.zip files you downloaded. Click on the finalitalalpha.psp image, and click on the Background layer. Flood-fill this layer with a dark colour to make your work more visible. You can delete this layer when you're finished.
2. Click on the Annex layer and get the Annex selection. Now click on the finalannex.psp image and press CTRL-C to copy the image. Then go back to your finalitalalpha image and press SHIFT-CTRL-L to paste the annex into the selection. You can close the finalannex.psp image now.
3. Skip the Balcony layer and click on the Main House layer and get the Main House selection. Go to the finalmainhouse.psp file, copy (CTRL-C), go back to the finalitalalpha image and paste into the selection (SHIFT-CTRL-L). You can close the finalmainhouse.psp image now, too.
You'll notice that the Main House blends into the Annex. To fix this, we'll add a Drop Shadow.
Click on the Magic Wand
Click anywhere on an empty space outside the house
Then, select the outline of the Main House by going to:
Selections - Invert and go to:
Effects - 3D Effects - Drop Shadow, using these settings:
H 0, V minus 5, Opacity 29, Blur 3, Colour black
4. Click on the Tower layer and get the Tower selection. Copy the finaltower image (CTRL-C), go back to the finalitalalpha image and paste into the selection (SHIFT-CTRL-L). You can close the finaltower.psp image now, also.
5. We need a Drop Shadow on the Tower, too, so Deselect (CTRL-D), click on the Magic Wand again, click on an empty space and go to Selections - Invert. Then go to:
H 0, V minus 5, Opacity 29, Blur 3, Colour black
Apply the Drop Shadow again, changing
Vertical to 5 and the Opacity to 10.
6. Now, keeping the Balcony layer closed, close the Background, Stairs, Risers, and Coloured Boxes layers by clicking on the glasses/eye on each layer.
Then Right-click on one of the open layers and Merge - Merge Visible.
7. Curtains. For each window in which you want to place curtains, click inside the window panes, holding down the SHIFT key. If you want to make all the window curtains the same, keep holding down the SHIFT key. The X's show where to click.
Keep these inside windows selected!
Click on the Background layer and then on the little symbol at the top of the Layer Palette, to create a new layer. Name this layer Inside, Curtains, or whatever. Then go to:
WINDOW TREATMENTS - Here a few suggestions.
DRAPES - Flood-fill the selections with a colour you like and then go to:
| Width 4, Opacity 15 Colour Black, Horizontal NOT checked You may have to fiddle with the Opacity to suit your colour. |
BLINDS - Flood-fill the selections with white or beige and go to
| Width 4, Opacity 15 Colour Black, Horizontal CHECKED You may have to fiddle with the Opacity to suit your colour. |
LIGHT ON WINDOWS
| Angle 45o, Repeats 0 |
DOOR
You use the same techniques as for the windows. Click on the Merged layer, click on the Magic Wand and then inside the door pieces, expand the selection by 1 or 2 pixels, and flood-fill with a wood pattern, gradient, or whatever takes your fancy.
CHANGING COLOURS - Steps, Stairs & Coloured Boxes
To change the colours, simply click on the layer that you want to change the colour on, get the selection, and flood-fill with the colour of your choice.
You're all done! Hope you enjoyed putting together your house.
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