Log Cabin

August 2003

 I had originally planned a different tutorial for August, but I posted this finished image to a few PSP groups I belong to and I had so many requests for a tut that I decided to make this my August tutorial instead. Enjoy!

For this tutorial, you will need:

Jasc Paint Shop Pro - Get a 30-day free trial here. (Note: This tutorial was made using PSP 7, but it may be possible to do it using other versions with some modifications.)
My Selections - Download the .zip file here.
My Preset & Pattern Fills - Download the .zip file here. All pattern fills were obtained here and colorized. I do not claim them as my own.
Feedback is always appreciated. If you are having a problem with this tutorial, please e-mail me for assistance.

Start by unzipping the selections.zip & supplies.zip folders. Unzip the selections to the folder of your choice (I unzip mine to a folder on my desktop because it's easy to find). Unzip the Log Cabin.pbv preset to your Presets folder. Open the pattern fills and doorknob.psp image in PSP and minimize them for later use. You should have 4 patterns total.

1 - Open a new image in PSP 653 X 319 pixels, 16 million colors, transparent background.

2 - Add a new raster layer & name it Side Porch Railing. Load the selection 001-sideporchrailing.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 90.

3 - Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin preset I provided. If you are having trouble with the preset, here are the settings I used:


4 - Add a new raster layer and name it Side Porch Post. Load the selection 002-sideporchpost.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0.

5 - Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin Preset. I didn't put an rails on this part of the porch. I thought the finished image looked too "busy". Besides, you'll probably cover them up when you decorate the porch anyway *grin*. If it really bothers you that there are no rails, you can draw in your own :o).

6 - Add a new raster layer & name it Front. Load the selection 003-front.sel and flood fill with logs.jpg at size 67% and angle 0.

7 - Add a new raster layer & name it Front Door. Load the selection 004-frontdoor.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0.

8 - Add a new raster layer & name it Door Details. Load the selection 005-doordetails.sel. Reactivate the Front Door layer & hit the Delete key on your keyboard. Do the same for the Front layer. Do not deselect!

9 - Reactivate the Door Details layer & apply the following drop shadow (color is black). Repeat on the same layer, but change the horizontal and vertical offsets to minus 2.


10 - Add a new raster layer & name it Door Trim. Load the selection 006-frontdoortrim.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0.

11 - Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin preset. Go to Colors --> Adjust --> Brightness/Contrast and set the Brightness to minus 35 and the contrast to zero.

12 - You can add a drop shadow on the door trim if you want. I used the same settings as above, but changed the horizontal & vertical offsets to zero.

13 - Add a new raster layer & name it Windows. Load the selection 007-windows.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0.

14 - Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin preset. Adjust the brightness & contrast using the same settings as for the Door Trim.

15 - Using the Magic Wand Tool, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click inside each window pane. This should select the inner areas of each window. Go to Selections --> Modify --> Expand by 1 pixel. Activate the Front layer & hit the Delete key on your keyboard. The area behind each window should be transparent.

16 - Reactivate the Windows layer. Add a new raster layer & name it Chimney1. Load the selection 008-chimney1.sel and flood fill with stone.jpg at size 10% and angle 0.

17 - Add a new raster layer & name it Chimney2. Load the selection 009-chimney2.sel and flood fill with stone.jpg at size 10% and angle 100. Adjust the brightness/contrast using a brightness of minus 45% and contrast of zero.

18 - Add a new raster layer & name it Porch Foundation. Load the selection 010-porchfoundation.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0. Adjust the brightness/contrast using a brightness of minus 10% and a contrast of zero.

19 - Add a new raster layer & name it Porch Floor. Load the selection 011-porchfloor.sel and flood fill with porchfloor.jpg at size 10% and angle 0.

20 - Add a new raster layer & name it Porch Rails. Load the selection 012-rails.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0. Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin preset.

21 - Add a new raster layer & name it Porch Railings. Load the selection 013-railings.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 90. Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin preset.

22 - Add a new raster layer & name it Porch Posts1. Load the selection 014-posts1.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 90. Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin preset.

23 - Add a new raster layer & name it Porch Posts2. Load the selection 015-posts2.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0. Apply an Inner Bevel using the Log Cabin preset.

24 - Add a new raster layer & name it Roof Trim. Load the selection 016-rooftrim.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0. Adjust the brightness/contrast using a brightness of minus 20% and a contrast of zero.

25 - Add a new raster layer & name it Roof1. Load the selection 017-roof1.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0. Apply a Blinds effect using the following settings (color is #704647):


26 - Repeat, but change the width to 6 and UNcheck Horizontal. Adjust the brightness/contrast using a brightness of minus 60% and a contrast of zero.

27 - Add a new raster layer & name it Roof2. Load the selection 018-roof2.sel and flood fill with wood.jpg at size 100% and angle 0. Apply a Blinds effect using the same settings as in step 25, but change the width to 10.

28 - Repeat step 26.

That's it! I included my doorknob.psp file for you to use, but feel free to use your own if you want. You can merge all layers visible & export as a picture tube or save as a .psp file to preserve the layers for later use (I recommend doing it this way if you plan to decorate your log cabin later).

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Graphics, web design, & content © 2003 Jennifer Chappell. All rights reserved. The graphics and content of this site may not be duplicated, electronically or otherwise, without the author's permission.