Spazzy Neon Sign
Tutorial by Whisper

Page 2

Add a new raster layer and name it highlight.

Selections > Modify > Contract > between 5 - 10  > ok.
(The contract amount depends on the size of your text - you want there to be highlight all over the text not just in spots.)

Flood fill this selection with the very light color you have set.

Selections > Load from Alpha Channel > ok.

Effects > Blur > Guassian Blur > 4.00 > ok.

Selections > Select none.

Activate your text layer.

Effects > 3D effects > Drop shadow > these settings:
Horizontal & Vertical 0
Opacity 70
Blur 10
Color #FFEBEB (the same as the highlight color)

Now would be a good time to crop the excess area off of our open sign.  Using the crop tool draw a box around your text.  Be sure you don't cut off our little glow (drop shadow).  Once you have the box drawn double click in the center and it will crop to your lines.

In your layer palette right click on the highlight layer and duplicate it two times.  You should now have three highlight layers.  Turn off one of the highlight layers.

Set the blend mode for the other two highlight layers to Luminance.

(Click for larger view.)

Right click on the text layer and duplicate.

Turn off your layer1, original text and highlight layers.

Right click on a copy of highlight layer and Merge > Merge visible.  Rename this layer ON.

Turn off your "ON" layer.

Turn on your highlight and text layer.

Right click on the highlight layer and Merge > Merge visible.  Rename this layer OFF.

Right click on the layer1 and delete.

Turn on the "ON" and "OFF" layers.

Open Animation Shop (AS).

In PSP activate the ON layer.

Edit > Copy.

In AS, Edit > Paste > As a new animation.

In PSP activate the OFF layer.

Edit > Copy.

In AS, Edit > Paste > After current frame.

Edit > Select all.

Animation > Frame properties > display time > 1 > ok.

Animation > Animation properties > Canvas color > opaque, black > ok.

View > Animation.

There you have it!  Play with the timing of the animation and find what you like.  Save as a .gif and you are all set!

A more traditional blink...LOL!

Page 3 for examples made by my testers!

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