Tutorial: Chalking Edges in Paint Shop Pro 8.1

I love the look of a paper tag that has been distressed with the edges chalked. I don't know of a filter that will acheive this look with any realism. The following tutorial is written assuming you have a basic understanding of the tools and effects used in PSP. If you are a beginner with this program, I suggest taking a class or studying tutorials so that you can learn the tools available in PSP.

First step is to create a tag or journlaing card shape to work with. Any shape will do, now fill it with your desired background color and select the shape as shown to the right. Add some rough texture like old paper or cardstock would have. See a couple of samples below.

The texture itself doesn't really matter as long as it is rough. I will be using sample #1.

The next step is to add chalk. Some people like to use the burn tool, but I don't care for the result that I get with it, so my method is to use paint brushes on a new layer. I would choose a color that is a couple shades darker then the "chalk" you wish to have on your tag or paper. I like to keep my tag selected so I don't go out of boundries. I never was very good at coloring books. :) Make sure you are on a new layer. The painting and smudge tools we will be using can ruin your texture. We will blend the layers later. Ok, using just the default brush, paint a strip of "chalk around the edges. It should look like the image to the right. Don't worry about how thick and dark it is, you will loose that when we smudge it. Now choose a brush that is rough in texture. Make sure the opacity is around 40-50. Lowering your density to around 75-85 looks great too. You might need to alter your step size if you get pattern marks that shouldn't be there, its just a matter of playing around. Once you get a setting that you love, make a preset for it so that you don't have to figure it out every time. I just love presets!!

Now just start "chalking". A couple of tips for you, don't worry if you rub it all off, just add more. On another layer add some dabs of chalk to the whole tag and use your smudge brush to blend it in. Lighten your opacity, play with the blend modes until you find something you like. This technique is not an exact science and it requires practice and experimenting with opacities and layer blend modes until you find what you like. The image below shows a close up detail so that you can see what it will look like full size. I highly recommend doing your detail work at full size.