Animated Snow Globe

For this tutorial you will need a nice graphic image that you will want to be inside your snow globe. You will also need the VDL SnowFlake plugin.

Open your image. Convert the background to a layer. This will be layer 1. Use the selection tool, set to Circle shape, Feather 0, Antialias checked.

You will have to use setting of your own that will work well with your graphic you chose .. My settings were at 290, 190. Click at 290, 190 and hold and drag out a circle around your main object (mine was the owl).

Once your happy with your selection you will go to Selections, load/save the selection to the Alpha Channel.

Invert the selection. Hit the delete key on your keyboard 3 or 4 times. Invert the selection again. Add a new raster layer. Apply a cutout effect using these settings:

Add another new layer and apply the same settings except change the vertical and horizontal settings to -10.

Deselect. Hide layer 1 and merge the other 2 layers visible. Rename this Globe. Hide the globe layer then hightlight layer 1. Add a new raster layer. Go to effects and open the VDL/Snowflake plugin. Apply using the settings below, or you can use your own settings as you see fit.

Step 4

After you apply the snow, Selections, load the circle selection from the alpha channel, selection/invert and hit the delete key 3 or 4 times. Deselect.

Your image will look something like this:

You will now need to add a base for your globe. You can either fine a ready made one or you can make one of your own. Apply the base to the globe layer or use a new layer Add a drop shadow to your base layer using these settings:

And apply again using same settings except change the vertical and horizontal to -1. Merge visible with the globe layer. You will now have three layers. The tube layer, the snow layer and the globe/base layer.

To animate the snow, you will need three layers of your tube, three layers of your globe/base and three layers of snow. We will have to make two more layers of the snow with adjusting the settings so it looks as if it is moving inside the globe like when you shake a snow globe.

Duplicate your tube layer twice and rename each layer (tube1, tube2, tube3). Duplicate your globe/base layer twice and rename each layer (globe/base1, globe/base2, globe/base3).

Add a new raster layer. Name is Snow2. Go to effects and open the VDL/Snowflake plugin. Apply using the settings from step 3 EXCEPT add what ever you like to the random seed setting. And then **Repeat step 4**.

Repeat step 8 naming your layer Snow3.

Add a new layer and apply any text you wish.

Add a new layer for your watermark. Make sure this is the top layer and you can merge down with your text layer. Rename this layer Text.

You should now have 1 text layer and keep this as the active layer at all times. 3 globe/base layers, 3 tube layers and 3 snow layers.

Open your AS. Close off all layers except for your text layer which is your active highlighted layer, one globe/base layer, one snow layer, and one tube layer. You will now copy merged and take to AS and paste as new animation. Return back to your psp close off those 3 layers and open up another set (1 globe/base, 1 tube, 1 snow) and copy merged to AS and paste after current frame. Return to psp close off that set of layers and open the last remaining set and copy merged to AS and paste after current frame.

You now have 3 frames in AS. Go to edit, select all. Now you can adjust your frame properties to what you feel is right for you .. Mine is set at 20. You may also resize your globe if you so desire.

When your happy with your work save it as a .gif and your done.

I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial….


Lesson written for Le Cafe D'Amis Group