2. Create a 6” wide by 18” document at a resolution of a 150 Create a radial gradient on the background using a light color to a medium dark color tone (ex. Lt. blue to medium/dark cloud blue) Click on the gradient tool and click on the gradient editor to bring up your choices Drag a radial so the light color is on top Find a texture (old wood?) in sxc.hu and drag it onto a layer above the gradient, scale if needed and go to Filter>Blur> Gaussian Blur Change the layer blend. Soft light or overlay work well and reduce the fill and opacity to 50% - 75%.

3. Open Illustrator Create a black filled rectangle Use the Type tool and set the point to 175- 225 points You can also change the font by going to the top toolbar and click on type>font and that will show you the different types Choose a font that is Roman in nature and type the first letter and make sure it is light color filled (Remember your font and font size, you can change the letter after the effect by Ctrl-Z) Select it by using the selection tool, black arrow, and go to Effect>3D>Extrude & Bevel

4. Click on the preview Set the depth to 25 pt Rotate the letter to see the effects Do this for other letters but have different views Use the selection tool to select the letter and bring it into photoshop

5. Use the magic wand tool set at 1 tolerance to select just the top. If you did bevel before, this might be difficult for curved letters. Create new layer and select a gradient, use the gradient editor to choose your colors, and choose linear You still should have the selection active for the next step NOTE: You need three layers for each letter

6. Choose a design in sxc.hu such as wallpaper, floral design, etc. Drag onto a new file in Photoshop Ctrl-A, ctrl-c the image and then paste into the letter on your working file by using shift-ctrl-v. Go to Edit>Transform>Scale. Once you are satisfied make sure you link between the image and the black mask. Change the layer blend to overlay or perhaps soft-light? Hard Light? If you wish you could add another design image on top to add more depth, but be careful you don’t overdue it

7. Once you do the first letter you can either ctrl-click on the layers to merge into one layer, or: Group them by going to the top of your 1 st letter layer stack (letter>gradient>image) and click on the group icon Left mouse click and hold and drag into the folder. (or drag them directly to the bottom group icon) If you did it correctly the layers move over a tab You can then click on the layer visibility to show/hide the letter Be very careful when dragging group layers around. YOU MUST GO BETWEEN THE LAYERS ELSE IT WILL BE PLACED INSIDE ANOTHER GROUP

8. Repeat for the remaining letters of your name, AND insert a new image into each one. Think of the color scheme. Ex. If you have a blue background, alternate the letters by using two shades of orange (a rusty orange and a bright orange) Try to end by cascading them into a heap at the bottom For some letters one image might be enough, for others try two or three

9. Sometimes you may need to move, or rotate your letter Click between the image and the mask to add a link (chain) You can then Ctrl-click on every layer related to that letter to move it

10. When you have placed all your letters you can add shadows Merge the layers on the letter and ctrl – j to duplicate Drag below the design letter and fill with a color that is similar to the color that is in the letter below Blur, rotate (or other transform), and change layer blend

11. To create a brush choose a graphic on stock exchange and drag it into photoshop You more than likely will need just parts so select it with magic wand and then lasso tool and alt-click to deselect part of the graphic Ctrl-J and drag onto a new 2” x 2” file. Go to Edit>Define Brush Preset

12. Create a new layer at the top Choose your brush Choose color, you can create different effects by adding other layers, different color, and then use layer blends to change the effect

13. Some flourishes and swirls are ok Don’t overdue it Remember to add layers for the brushes When you all are done flatten the image and print Print in color>custom paper size> 6” wide x 18” length External tray & bypass tray, thick paper