St-Patrick theme note either for Pixels Art or regular PI Graphic.

First we are going to prepare our block on the left, that we are going to duplicate later on.

As we go along I won't tell you to save your work, but you must do save your work often, I will only specified at some time to save your work and clear your undo history and sometime to add some of your part in your Easy Palette as suggestion. By clearing the undo/redo history, the program will use less memory and by saving some part as ufo and also in Easy Palette if something happen at least we won't have to start all over again which could be very fustrating and having it in easy Palette we also have a fast acess to it for further use.

Since this tutorial is for either Pixels Art or regular Graphic using the Path tools and turning it into images. I have separated each instructions that goes with the image example, when the same step applies to both, it is specified, also sometimes one way as the pixels art could use the step for graphic but the graphic cannot use the pixels art step. But not to worry, instruction are clear and when you have the choice it will be said to use either way.

For the Graphic, we only use for the path, 2D mode.

First, let's set our grid at 1 pixel x1 pixel in your preference under File. We are going to open a canvas 300 pixels x 300 pixels. Turn on your grid, you could do this by using Ctrl+Shift+R to turn it off you do the same again. Ok depending of the color you did choose to have your grid color, the default is black, I did made my a medium grey. All you canvas may look that color, but zoom in on at least to 800% or more. Now you see your grid.

Either that you choose to do as regular PI graphic or in Pixels Art, you will unchecked the anti-aliasing.

For Graphic: Select the pathshape tool square, select your HEX color: #AFD7A5 and make it 10 pixels x 10 pixels. Make sure you have unchecked the anti-aliasing.

For Pixels Art: You could do the same as for graphic, since we unchecked the anti-aliasing or use the paint brush and paint a 10 x 10 pixels square.

Both Ways: Duplicate your square.

For Graphic: While your square is still select and the path tool select change your color to #EFF6ED, it will change the square to the new color.

For Pixels Art: If you did paint your square with the paint brush, you will choose the fill bucket and change your HEX color to: #EFF6ED, make sure your square is select and fill in the new color by clicking inside of your square.

Both Ways: Take your darker green square put it far enough from the edge, since we are going to add more square around it.

Take your lighter green square and position on top, duplicate and postion on left, duplicate, position on the right, and duplicate once more and position at the bottom, just like the example on the left.

Now we are going to duplicate one square again and change the color of the square to white.

Both Ways: Position and duplicate for the four corners.

Great we are almost done on our seamless tile.

For Graphic: Choose the line and arrow tool, select the hair line, straight line. Over the first row of pixels on the left draw a straight line and one at the bottom Using the same hex color as the center square: #AFD7A5

For Pixels Art: Choose your paint brush, pixels art setting, paint in mode over the left side of the first row of pixels one straight line and one at the bottom using the same hex color as the center square: #AFD7A5

Both Ways: Select all objects and merge as single object.

We are going to add a little design to our seamless tile.

For Graphic: Now we are going to make one square 1 pixel x 1 pixel in white color and duplicate it 9 times, so we have 10 squares in total. By looking on the graphic on the left, position them by leaving 2 pixels space bewteen horizontaly. Select all your 10 squares that are 1x1 pixels by holding the shift key while you select and merge as a single object.

For Pixels Art: Using your paint brush in mode with white color. Check the graphic on the left to where to start paint the first one on the left going horizontaly to the right leaving a space of two pixels between. Click out of mode.

Both Ways: We are going to duplicate our row of white squares four times for a total of 5. Count 3 pixels from the top and position on the thirth. Position the next one on the six row from it leaving 5 row of pixels between. Keep going like this until you have postion all your rows. Select all and merge as single object.

This is our seamless tile that we are going to duplicate to make our background. You may want to save your seamless tile in your easy palette as well as a ufo format for futher use. Also bu using anti-aliasing the color can be easily change to fit any other graphic as well.

Both Ways: You may hide your grid now and your canvas background if you haven't done so. You may also want to lower your zoom at fit window. We are going to duplicated and position as we go, I have 8 x 8 seamless tiles on the left, from here you may choose the size of the graphic you would like to have, bigger size if you would like to make a bigger notes, for this you will have to expand your canvas.

Once you have position your seamless tile, select all and merge as single objects.

For Graphic: Select your background tiles and center both ways, deselect. Your could turn your anti-alising on here. Select the path tool set the hex color at: #9FD489 and then choose custom shape and select a rectangle round corner shape or any other shape that you would like to choose remember that this is the place where you are going to write your text on. Draw your path shape leaving some space around it, remember that we will use the space that we leave around to add an outline path shape around this. Once you have drawn your path shape, center both ways,keep it select, then choose the pick tool, set the transparency to 45.

For Pixels Art: Do same as above for graphic but do keep the anti-aliasing unchecked.

Both Ways: At this point save your work as ufo and select all object and add it to your Easy Palette. You may clear the undo history now.

We are going to make our clover leaf, and since ours is for the St-Patrick Theme we are going to make it a four leafs one.

For Graphic: We are going to use the path tool and choose a heart shape for the custom path tool. Again here we need to unchecked the anti-aliasing. Change your hex color at: #19BE2C. draw a small heart shape just about the size on the left. You don't need to be presize here cause you will need to make a few of those at different sizes.

For Pixels Art: You could do as above, or choose to pixels paint your heart. If so you could check futher down a zoom I did show for the pixels painting ones I have done.

Both ways: Before we do any paint on edge cause it will turn them into an object and won't be a path anymore, let's duplicate 3 times to have a total of 4 hearts. Since we are still in path an our anti-aliasing is unchecked we are able to use all the transforms tools on it, position and filp top to bottom and side ways just like the example on the left except that you don't have the paint on edge yet. Select all and duplicated while still select rotate a few degree either side. While still select you could make it a bigger size or smaller size. Make them at different size and rotate them at different angles. On mine I have about 23 of them a few have the same size and angle since they were the smallest one and far aways from each other.

Ok, once all done, you are now ready to do your paint on edge.

Both Ways: Select the paint brush, change your hex color to: #007B40, size 1, transparency 0, softedge 0 and anti-aliasing unchecked, use the Shift+P key. As you will see it is going to paint on edge all of the heart shape since we did select them all.

Let's have a look here on the left at a zoom, as you could see the paint on edge did miss some places and on some other place it did made a double line. We will need to fix it.

With the paint brush select each heart and paint on it using same color for the paint on edge and paint the pixel color around the edge that are missing, don't move your clover shape, only do where you see, no need to do the part that doesn't show. Do this for each heart.

Both Ways: Keeping the paint brush select, change the hex color to: #19BE2C and get rid of the double line just like in the example on the left. Only do the part of the clover that you see. Do this for each heart.

Both ways: We are going to select all the 4 hearts that make a clover leaf and merge as single object. Do this for all the clover leafs.

For Graphic: You may choose the line and arrow path, hair line, change the hex color to: #19BE2C and draw a line from the center to the top middle part of the heart shape. it could be a straight line on the smaller ones and the bigger ones with a small curve in it. Once done select the lines you've just made and the clover leaf and merge as single object. Do this for all the clover leafs.

For Pixels Art: With the paint brush pixels setting, select your clover leaf, click on the edit mode and paint a small curve line for the center to the top middle part of the heart shape. On smaller ones you could do straight lines. Once done, click out of edit mode, select an other clover leaf and repeat the step above until you have done them all.

Both ways: You could now save this as a ufo with a different naming and clear the undo history.

For Graphic: We are going to select the outline path tool and choose the elispe shape, size depending of the size of your clover leaf. Make it to fit the center as shown in the example on the left. Before drawing your circle put a check in anti-aliasing since we are working in the middle of our clover leaf. Example on the left for the width is shown for pixels art, your could be twice wider than that. Once done convert to an object, choose the pick tool and apply softedge at 3, this is to make a better transition of the colors together. Do this for all the clover leafs. Scroll down until you find the next step for Graphic to continue.

For Pixels Art: You could use the outline path tool and follow the step you make it to fit the center. But don't make it more than 2 pixels wide. We will need to dithered with the paint brush in mode inside the elispe and outside of it.

For Pixels Art: By dithering we are painting a checker style, look at the example on the left, paint in mode 1 pixels skip 1 pixels then paint the next pixel, keep doing this until you have made up to about 3 rows in the inside and the outside of the outline elipse. Once done click out of mode, select both the dithered paint and the outline elipse and merge as single object.

For Pixels Art: this is what it should look like, something like that, depending of the size of the clover leaf the outline elipse could be wider.

For Pixels Art: This is an example of my biggest pixels painted clover leaf, you could use it as a guide to pixel paint yours.

For Pixels Art: For the ones that have decided to paint them instead of using the path tool and the outline path tools. Here are zoom example on the left that you could use as a guide line to paint them.

For Pixels Art: here is an other example of the smallest one. You could use this one as a guide to paint them.

For Pixels Art: One last example of an other size. Remember that you can only flip them, no rotation, cause you will get some jaggies.

For Both ways: Were are going to make a few water drop to add to your clover leafs. Choose the path tool and then the from the custom panel choose the tear drop. Draw you drop on the clover leaf where you want it. Unchecked you anti-aliasing, just in case that later on you decide to position the drop that fall out a bit of the clover leaf, so this way you won't have jaggies on your edge.

For Both Ways: Make sure your drop is selected. Select the paint brush, anti-aliasing unchecked, size 1, softedge 0, transparency 0. click on the edit mode, all other object will fade except for the drop, we will paint right on the drop. Paint a 2x2 pixels square with the white color, this will be your highlight, just like in the example. Then change your color for the lime neon green and paint in the bottom part of the drop, use the example on the left as a guide. Then paint the top part with the same color as your clover leaf which is hex color: #19BE2C. Then change your color a very dark green almost look like a black color and paint 3 quaters of the drop on the edge that is the bottom part just like in the example on the left. Once done click out of edit mode and keep it select.

For Both Ways: We are almost done, go to edit on the top bar menu and select Fade-out. A new window open and use the same setting as on the left here. Then click ok.

This is the result of what it look like. Now for the Pixels art, since the drop is so small and that only the top part is fade out and it is position right inside our clover leaf, we are able to use this tool since it also only make a small transition between our color so we save time, we don't need to paint every line and changing colors for each line.

Pixels Art Info:

If we would have a bigger drop, we would have need to paint and change color every 4 or 5 lines depending how big it would have been.

For Both Ways: This is what the water drop look like at actual size. Now you may want to have more than one drop and at different size too, repeat the steps above for each drop. I have about 9 on mine, you do as you wish. Once you are done do save as a ufo and put them aside. Clear your undo/redo history.

For Both Ways: Bring back our background tile on it's own canvas. Choose the outline path tool, unchecked the anti-aliasing, from the custom panel we are going to choose a shape that will have to go around our inner darker green and go around and close to the edge of our tile, I personaly did choose a call out. Don't worry if some part of your chosen shape fall outside of the tile. We are going to edit it.

For Both Ways: while your outline is still selected, click on the edit tool. Delete the point that fall outside of the tile. Add point to where you think you need some. Then move the point around to fit better what you want it to look like, by clicking on the point you will see some node set apear by moving them you will shape the angle of the curve. Once you are satisfied with your changes, click on toggle, it will now get back to the path view.

For Both Ways: Now select the tile with the pick tool by clicking on it. Select the selection tool and choose the magic wand with these setting; click on the + sign, choose area, select 0, put a check mark for the Connected pixels choose select on object. You could do select on object down to version 8 lower than you will have to use the eraser for earasing the tile outside of your outline. Now select all the colors on your tiles outside of your outline making sure that you don't select your outline shape. To go faster while selecting the outside, drag your selection on a few colors it will select more at the same time. Check all around your outer edge of outline making sure sure you have not miss any. Then hit the delete key. Then go under selection and click select none.

For Both Ways:This is what you should have depending of the shape you did use for your outline. All the tile parts that were showing outside have desapeared. Select all and merge as single object.

For Both Ways: Now the real fun begin, let's put it all together. Bring back the all the clover leafs you have prepared. Postion them on your background tile, without using the transform tool, just position at different places. Don't forget to select the water drop as well as you clover leaf if they have some since we didn't merge them on our clover. You could then change the position of your drop if it is needed.

Once that is done and sastisfied with the position,select all objects and merge as single object, save your work and clear the undo/redo history.

Now choose your text tool, the font of your choice and the size that would fit best your little note and the color as well.

For Graphic: Make sure if your anti-aliasing is checked that your text don't fall outside of your image.

For the Pixels Art: Make sure you unchecked the anti-aliasing.

What I did: I did type my each letter separately in PI v. 11 until mine is bug fix for now, other earlier version could type in all your text at once and select the split text. I then, choose the first letter and rotate it a bit and did the same for the last letter of my text. Once done did select all my text and merge as single object, duplicate then color fill with the paint bucket with the hex color: #19BE2C, then sending the layerbehind the white text and move it a bit toward the bottom and the right, this make a nice green shadow under the white text.

For Both Ways: Sign it with the text tool. Select all your obejcts and merge as a single object. Hide your background and save as a transparent ufo. Once you are ready to use, open it back in PI, type your messages on it, remember that for the pixels art ones, hat you will need you anti-aliasing unchecked. Once done, Select all object, merge as single object, hide the background if any is showing, and then save as a transparent gif.

Well, that's it. Hope you had a wonderful time with me making the St-Patrick note.

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