Activate your 'Dropper Tool' and select a dark color from your image for your foreground color. Set your background color to 'white'.
Click on your Foreground Material box and
select 'Gradient' with the following settings:
Click on your Background Material box and
select 'Gradient' with the following settings:
Now your Materials Palette should look like this:
Now we are all ready to start :-) ......... Create a new image
1024 X 375 / Transparent Background.
Flood fill your image with the foreground gradient
(rectangular).
Go to 'Effects / Plugins / Graphics Plus' and apply
'Vertical Mirror' with the default settings (128 / 0 ).
Now go to 'Effects / Plugins / VM Experimental' and
apply 'Tee Wee' with the default settings (0 / 0).
Activate your 'Magic Wand Tool' with Tolerance = '0' and
Match Mode = 'RGB'. Click on the white area on the left side of
your image.
Add a new raster layer.
Reverse/Swap your Foreground and Background Material
boxes, and Flood Fill your selection with your Foreground
gradient (now linear).
Go again to 'Effects / Plugins / VM Experimental / Tee
Wee (0 / 0)'.
-
Keep your selection active. Go to 'Effects / 3D Effects /
Drop Shadow' and use the following settings:
Lower the opacity of this layer to 60.
Go to 'Layers / Select None' then 'Layers / Merge
All (Flatten)'.
With your 'Dropper Tool' click on the white area on the
right side of the image.
Add a new raster layer. Reverse/Swap your Foreground and
Background Material boxes. Flood Fill your selection with the
Foreground gradient (now rectangular).
Go again to 'Effects / Plugins / VM Experimental / Tee
Wee (0 / 0)'.
Keep your selection active. Go again to 'Effects / 3D
Effects / Drop Shadow' and use these settings:
Lower the opacity of this layer to 30.
Go to 'Layers / Select None', then 'Layers / Merge
All (Flatten)'.
Add a new raster layer. Go to 'Selections', then
'Load/Save Selection / Load Selection From Disk' and load 'L_N
les Tia'.
Activate the image you have chosen to use for this
tutorial ('margot0291w.jpg' if you are using the image
provided). Go to 'Edit / Copy', then go back to your
background strip, and go to 'Edit / Paste Into Selection'.
Keep your selection active. Go to 'Effects / 3D Effects /
Drop Shadow' and use the following settings:
Select None. Go to your Layer Palette and duplicate the
Raster 1 layer (right-click and select 'duplicate').
With the 'Copy of Raster 1' activated, go to 'Image /
Mirror'. Activate your 'Mover Tool' and place the copy like
this:
Lower the opacity of this layer (Copy of Raster 1) to
20.
From your Layer Palette, activate the top layer
(Copy of Raster 1) and move it below Raster 1. Your
Layer Palette from top to bottom should now be: Raster 1, Copy
of Raster 1, and Background.
Activate the top layer (Raster 1). Go to 'Image / Resize
/ 80%'.
Now you can merge all your layers ('Layers / Merge /
Merge All (Flatten)'. Then you are finished!