Making PNG text with transparent background In Photoshop

[Lin Evans]

Hi folks,

Obviously, most of you probably already know how to do this, but it's part one (the longest part) of a two part AV tutorial which will eventually teach the reader how to not only make PNG Text files in Photoshop, but how to apply contour, bevel, drop shadow, etc., as well as how to make the "perspective look" or so called StarWars text where the bottom is wider than the top of the letters and they appear to "lay down" in a backward direction. The second part will be forthcoming tomorrow pending how well you can read this AVI. I know most already know how to make the PNG text, but perhaps not all know how to apply fancy effects so we crawl before we run - LOL...

The AVI link is to about a 35 meg zipped AVI file. I used the new DIVX Pro 5.2.0 codec which provides really nice and smooth action with tremendous compression. This tutorial is created at 30 frames per second which is way overkill, but I wanted to make a worst case scenario first before I begin to experiment with dropping the frame rate, etc.

For those interested, please let me know if you have any problems reading the AVI file. I'm not sure but I "think" that the DIVX Pro codec is included with the later DivX iterations so hopefully everyone will be able to read it. Otherwise I'll have to convert to Flash.

http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/makingpngtextavi.zip

Best regards,

Lin

[Ken Cox]

LIN

dl'd came on 2nd try

plays fine for me with NERO SHOWTIME, VLC, DIVX, IRFANVIEW AND WINDVD

CLEAR AND SMOOTH

what kind of software do you use to get rid of Yankee drawl:

ken

[Ronniebootwest]

Now you have the bit between your teeth eh!

Seems that you enjoy making these video tutorials Lin and this is yet another example of just how good you are at it.

Very well done it is a credit to you.

Ron

[ronwil]

Played back well in Windows Media Player and a very clear tutorial.

Two ideas which may be of interest::

1. I usually use yellow as a basis for my texts before using the blending options. Yellow doesn't show up well on the chequered transparent background, so I create a duplicate layer, to be phased out later, and fill it with a dark colour.

2. If the text is intended to roll up and taper in PTE, it is more realistic if you taper the basic text also by using the Create Warped Text button in Photoshop (Text). From the drop down menu choose Style>Shell Lower and the following settings Bend = 0 ; Horizontal = 0; and Vertical = 10 (or whatever}.

Ron [uK]

[thedom]

how to make the "perspective look" or so called StarWars text where the bottom is wider than the top of the letters and they appear to "lay down" in a backward direction.

Hi Lin,

I am really interested in this effect because I couldn't succeed to do it : I can't use "free transform" on text with photoshop (don't know why ).

I'm at work right now (lunch time) and I can't watch your tutorial because there is no speakers.

But I'm gonna have a look at your tutorial, probably tonight.

You point out the compression problem. And you're right because huge files (like your cube tutorial - more than 200 mb !) prevent people to download it (and I can't host it, I just will give the link if you agree).

Last but not least, you are very talented (clear and detailed explanations).

Congratulations and keep up the good work !

[Lin Evans]

Hi Folks,

Sorry about the double post - seems to be a problem with trying to use "Full Edit" and with my connection.

For Ron W - The StarWars effect is coming in the 2nd tutorial later today.... Thanks! Actually it's really easy to just select the text after applying the effects and change the color though the layer method works well too.

It seemsmost can read the DivX Pro AVI so I'll stay with that one....

For Dom - actually there is an easier way as Ron explained - that will be in the 2nd part of the tutorial later today. Go ahead and post links - that works and I have lots of room on my site but future tutorials will be much smaller in code than the original which zipped to 63 meg.

For Ronnie - yes I hope to have a few more soon....

I'll try 15 frames later today rather than the 30fps used on this one. It also facilitates making SWF since if the tutorial goes over 8 minutes the converter at 30 fps will crash with the absolute limit of 16,000 frames in SWF. I may just stick with smaller AVI's rather than converting any to Flash.

Best regards,

Lin

[bjc]

Lin,,

For what it's worth (?) - I use 3fps for Video Tutorial content - and MP3 compression for the audio (Mono) - both these measures provide for much lower file sizes, whilst still getting the message across - higher frame rates give much smoother animation, of course, but I don't feel this is necessary for tutorial content. (IMHO)

bjc

[Lin Evans]

Lin,,

For what it's worth (?) - I use 3fps for Video Tutorial content - and MP3 compression for the audio (Mono) - both these measures provide for much lower file sizes, whilst still getting the message across - higher frame rates give much smoother animation, of course, but I don't feel this is necessary for tutorial content. (IMHO)

bjc

Hi bjc,

I think you're right - as long as you don't try to do any previews in p2e, etc., where the movement would be highly constrained. Even with 30 fps the hardware acceleration greatly affects the movement so I've about decided to use only the manual advance to demo animation effects. This new codec (DivX Pro) really cuts down on the file size while still allowing relatively smooth movement of cursor movements, etc., I'm working out the best compromise with my encoding equipment - hopefully it will be right soon.

Best regards,

Lin

[DRURY]

Hi bjc,

I think you're right - as long as you don't try to do any previews in p2e, etc., where the movement would be highly constrained. Even with 30 fps the hardware acceleration greatly affects the movement so I've about decided to use only the manual advance to demo animation effects. This new codec (DivX Pro) really cuts down on the file size while still allowing relatively smooth movement of cursor movements, etc., I'm working out the best compromise with my encoding equipment - hopefully it will be right soon.

Best regards,

Lin

Hi Lin, Please do not go down the .swf route as for some reason they will not play on my PC. The .avi files are just great although I find that the sound is quite low. Thanks for your great efforts in making us all better users of PTE. Cheers, Derek

[Boogie]

Hi Lin

Great tutorial - nice and clear!

Just waiting for the next instalment!

Cheers

Boogie

[Lin Evans]

Hi Lin, Please do not go down the .swf route as for some reason they will not play on my PC. The .avi files are just great although I find that the sound is quite low. Thanks for your great efforts in making us all better users of PTE. Cheers, Derek

Hi Derek,

I may produce them in both AVI and Flash, but will not abandon AVI. If you can't play the Flash version I posted - here again for convenience:

http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/makingpngtextflash.zip

you can enable your system to read it by going to the MacroMedia site (Microsoft) here:

http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

It only takes a few seconds - literally - to download and install the Flash player. I think Flash Player 9 is the latest. Just install it then download my zip and unzip it to reveal the swf file. Next, open your browser like you are going on the web but use "File" "Open" then browse to the folder where you find the SWF file and open it. The browser will work off-line just as if you were using it on-line to play a Flash SWF file but much quicker. The flash player will be automatically enabled by the browser and you can see and hear the show just as well as you could with MediaPlayer or other AVI player.

Best regards,

Lin

[Ken Cox]

Lin

swf file works fine for me - i use swiff player from globfx

all files have lots of volume

ken

[thedom]

For what it's worth (?) - I use 3fps for Video Tutorial content - and MP3 compression for the audio (Mono) - both these measures provide for much lower file sizes, whilst still getting the message across - higher frame rates give much smoother animation, of course, but I don't feel this is necessary for tutorial content. (IMHO)

Bjc,

I guess your PTE v5 tutorial has this kind of compression and it's really enough. More than 25 minutes of video and only 12,4 mb !

I really like :

- the way it is presented (with several steps).

- the ability to have control on the video (play, pause, etc...)

By the way, which software did you use to record your tutorial and to convert it in flash ?

And what microphone do you use because the sound is cristal clear ?

Thanks.

[bjc]

Dom,,

I use Camtasia Studio for the recording of Video Tutorials. I recently upgraded to the latest version (v.3) and the new video editing features are superb. It is also Camtasia Studio 3 that creates the Flash output for me, it offers a full set of user options (via a well thought-out ‘Wizard’), including JPG image compression and MP3 audio compression both of which play a big part in the economy of file-size that you have mentioned.

The microphone I use is nothing fancy, just a very basic ‘headset’ microphone made by Plantronics (it doesn’t even have a model number stamped on it I’m afraid) – I purchased it from PC World a few years ago for something in the order of £20.

bjc

[thedom]

Bjc,

Thank you for your answer.

Camtasia Studio 3 is quite expensive unfortunately (single-user license $299.00 per copy ) but the result is really excellent.

[Boogie]

Dom,,

I use Camtasia Studio for the recording of Video Tutorials. I recently upgraded to the latest version (v.3) and the new video editing features are superb. It is also Camtasia Studio 3 that creates the Flash output for me, it offers a full set of user options (via a well thought-out ‘Wizard’), including JPG image compression and MP3 audio compression both of which play a big part in the economy of file-size that you have mentioned.

bjc

Hi bjc

I have managed to download your tutorial, and can run individual .swf sections, ie 'intro', Step1,2,3,4, but am unable to run them continuously. I tried running PTE-VERSION5.swf but got a blank screen.

Any suggestions.

Thanks

Boogie

[bjc]

Boogie,,

Try double clicking on (running) the ‘PTE-VERSION5.html’ ~ this is how these Flash tutorials are supposed to be run ~ let me know how you get on.

Dom,,

Yes, Camtasia is somewhat expensive, but to the best of my knowledge it is the best at what it does (Photoshop CS2 isn’t cheap either). I guess PTE is just about the only piece of software, that excels at what it does, that isn’t over priced ~ for which we must all be truly grateful.

bjc

[Boogie]

Boogie,,

Try double clicking on (running) the ‘PTE-VERSION5.html’ ~ this is how these Flash tutorials are supposed to be run ~ let me know how you get on.

bjc

Hi bjc

Many thanks - the above guide was just what I wanted and I have run the tutorial from start to end.

The tutorial is very helpful and well constructed. I learnt a lot, even on the first run through. All I have to do now is run it a few times to "clear the mud" (your End note)!!

The video format is a great way for presenting tutorials.

Thanks again

Boogie

[thedom]

Dom,

Yes, Camtasia is somewhat expensive, but to the best of my knowledge it is the best at what it does (Photoshop CS2 isn’t cheap either).

Bjc,

I tried to record a PTE presentation with Camtasia, it works fine until I click on the O/A window.

This window opens without any problem but it is empty (no vizualization, no objects displayed in the window).

But the properties and animation tabs are displayed. Same thing for the timeline.

I made a test to show you (file attached).

Any idea what's wrong ?

Thanks.

test.zip

[Ken Cox]

I quite imagine it is like wmp -- you cannot capture the video image -- Lumelux and i tried to capture the birth of eagles this summer -- black screen blues

ken

[thedom]

I don't try to capture the video, I just want to see the objects in the O/A screen.

And bjc had no problem with his tutorial (he opens the O/A window too and everybody seems ok).

[Lin Evans]

Bjc,

I tried to record a PTE presentation with Camtasia, it works fine until I click on the O/A window.

This window opens without any problem but it is empty (no vizualization, no objects displayed in the window).

But the properties and animation tabs are displayed. Same thing for the timeline.

I made a test to show you (file attached).

Any idea what's wrong ?

Thanks.

Hi Dom,

Try downloading and using the evaluation copy of Screen Recorder Gold:

http://www.capture-screen.com/

I had Camtasia's demo on my computer but erased it when I bought Gold so I can't test it on my system. Gold seems to work fine for doing this (the O&A windows) but these screen recording tools are all a bit different in my experience. I also purchased AutoScreenRecorder 2.1 Pro, and it won't allow me to start P2E from my Windows desktop, but does fine if I wait until after starting P2E to start the recorder.

When I first bought Gold, it had a bug which wouldn't read my codecs so I contacted the developer and explained that all my other screen capture programs I was testing worked fine in that respect. The developer of Screen Recorder Gold also make another screen recorder program called "Hero" which also wouldn't work. The developer fixed the problem and promptly notified me and I downloaded the program again and it works fine now. It's an inexpensive program without all the bells and whistles of Camtasia so you can't do any video editing (but most of us have other software to do that anyway) or produce SWF files, etc., but it does seem to produce really nice AVI's and now reads all the codecs. It also has the red circle for mouse click that you asked about.

It's strange that Camtasia doesn't see the O&A window, but it doesn't surprise me because there is lots going on at the system level and it seems that no two of these screen recorders work in exactly the same way.

Best regards,

Lin

[Peter N]

Hi Derek,

I may produce them in both AVI and Flash, but will not abandon AVI. If you can't play the Flash version I posted - here again for convenience:

http://www.lin-evans.net/p2e/makingpngtextflash.zip

you can enable your system to read it by going to the MacroMedia site (Microsoft) here:

http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

It only takes a few seconds - literally - to download and install the Flash player. I think Flash Player 9 is the latest. Just install it then download my zip and unzip it to reveal the swf file. Next, open your browser like you are going on the web but use "File" "Open" then browse to the folder where you find the SWF file and open it. The browser will work off-line just as if you were using it on-line to play a Flash SWF file but much quicker. The flash player will be automatically enabled by the browser and you can see and hear the show just as well as you could with MediaPlayer or other AVI player.

Best regards,

Lin

Lin, thanks for your good efforts but I am really struggling to view both the avi and swf files. I have tried Windows Media Player, Macromedia Flash and IrfanView but all I can get is a black screen and a low volume muffled voice in all cases. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong? I do have lots of internet protection on this machine, Zone Alarm and Norton Systemworks but the files download OK. I'd be greatful for help - from anyone. Regards Chemop

[Ken Cox]

Chemop

try

http://www.globfx.com/products/swfplayer/

to open the swf file

ken

[Peter N]

Chemop

try

http://www.globfx.com/products/swfplayer/

to open the swf file

ken

Thanks Ken, it works. Regards Chemop