Scrap and Other Stuff

Open a picture of a wax texture (do a Google search or a search on Deviant Art) and using your Selection Tool set to circle, draw out a circle roughly the size you want your seal to be.Edit – Copy, then Edit – Paste as new image. Then enlarge your canvas size (Image – Canvas size, and set the values you need) so you have room around the circle. Duplicate this layer and close the bottom one. Making sure you top layer is the active one, go to Effects – Distortion effects – Wave and play around with the settings until you come up with something you like (I used: Amplitude: 2, Wavelength: 21 for the horizontal displacement,  and Amplitude: 3, Wavelength: 25 for the vertical displacement, Edge mode set to transparent).

Make you bottom layer active. Selections – Select All – Float – Defloat, then Selections – Modify – Contract, and depending on the size, contract by 20-30 pixels. Make the top layer active and hit delete. Select none.

Add an inner bevel, either using PSP’s inner bevel or the Eye Candy Bevel filter. Click inside the bevel with you magic wand, Selections – Modify – Expand and expand by 6-8 pixels, depending on your bevel width. Selections – Invert, then go to your bottom layer and hit delete.

I like to add a cutout, because it gives more depth. If you want to do so, go to your bevel layer, click inside the bevel with your magic wand, Selections – Modify – Expand, and expand by 2-3 pixels, add a new raster layer and apply the cutout, using a dark complementary colour for the shadow instead of black (I used  Vertical: 6, Horizontal: 6, Opacity 80, Blur: 11, and then repeated it on a new layer with offset set at -6). Move the two cutout layers below the bevel layer.

Now comes the fun part! Choose the letter or ding shape you want inside. Simple forms work best.  Make your bottom layer active, and with the Text Tool add the letter or ding you want inside the seal using a colour complementing your wax colour. Convert to raster and use the Move Tool to place it into position. Add a slight inner bevel. Selections – Select all – Float – Defloat, then Selections – Modify – Expand, and expand by 3-4 pixels. Add a cutout on separate layers, like before, and move the cutout layers under the text layer. Merge all, and you’re done.

Have fun!