Annelies Grafiksida-Animated streetlamp

Program: PhotoImpact XL and Gif Animator 5.05 Author: Annelie Karlén Ternefors Homepage: www.anneliesgrafiksida.com Terms of use: Please read Title: Animated Streetlamp Level: Beginners/Intermediate Featured Tools: Outline Drawing Tool, Path Drawing Tool, Object Paint Eraser Tool, Path Edit Tool, Transform Tool, Easy Palette and Layer Manager. Additional files: None Description: Create a streetlamp which switch the light on and off.

	Open a new canvas width: 250px height: 500px. Go to Edit - Fill and choose the flap Gradient. Tick the Two Color and change the first colour to #FDFDFD and the second to #000000. Choose the diagonal up-arrow and click OK. The upper part of the post Go to the Tool Bar and choose Outline Drawing Tool Shape: Rounded rectangle Mode: 3D. Open Easy Palette and go to the Material Attribute Gallery - Metallic and choose Steel 3. Click on Panel in the Attribute Bar and choose the flap Outline. Change the width to 4 (Border: 4 Dept: 30). Draw a rectangle width: 40px height: 190px. Right-click and choose Convert Object Type - Path to image. Then choose the Object Paint Eraser Tool. Erase a section of the left and lower part as the sketch to the left shows. Your rectangle is still selected, so choose Web - Trim Object.
	The middle part of the post Choose Path Drawing Tool, Shape: Rectangle Mode: 3D. Open Easy Palette and go to the Material Attribute Gallery - Metallic and choose Steel 3. Draw a rectangle width: 15px height: 150px. Border: 8 Dept: 30. Right-click and choose Convert Object Type - Path to image. Change to the Object Paint Eraser Tool and wipe out the farthest section in both the top and the bottom so the part gets a pipe form. See the image to the left. With your rectangle selected go to Webb - Trim Object. Once again, go to the Path Drawing Tool and choose Custum Shape: Half-Circle. Draw a halfcircle width: 8px height: 15px Border: 4 Dept: 30 and place it on the top of your rectangle. Select both the rectangle and your top part. Right-click and choose Align - Center Horizontally. Once again, Right-click and choose Merge as Single Object.
	The lower part of the post Draw a new rectangle width: 18px height: 80px Border: 10 Dept: 30. Right-click and choose Convert Object Type - Path to image. Cut a part of the top and the bottom with Paint Eraser Tool (see the sketch to the left). Then go to the Web - Trim Object. Once again, go to the Path Drawing Tool and choose shape Custum Shape: Half-Circle. Draw a half-circle width: 10px height: 16px Border: 4 Dept: 30 and place it on the top of the rectangle. Draw a new half-circle width: 40px height: 21px Border: 9 Dept: 30 and place it at the bottom of the rectangle. Let it overlay a little bit and then Right-click and choose Arrange - Bring to Back. Change shape to Rectangle and draw a rectangle width: 5px height: 50px and place it at the bottom of the rectangle. Right-click and choose Arrange - Bring to Back. Select your four parts. Right-click and choose Align - Center Horizontally. Once again, Right-click and choose Merge as Single Object. Now is it time to put these pieces together. Place the parts of the post as the sketch to the left shows. Take the middle part and put it together with the upper part. Let this one overlay a little bit. Right-click and choose Arrange - Bring to Front. Then go on with the lower part and place it at the bottom of the middle part. Even this one should overlay a little bit. Right-click and choose Arrange - Bring to Front. Finish by select these three pieces and then Right-click and choose Merge as Single Object.
	The lamp globe Go to the Path Drawing Tool and choose shape Custum Shape: Crown. Draw a crown width: 25px height: 20px Border: 4 Dept: 30. With the crown selected go to the Transform Tool - Flip Vertically to move it upside down. Change to Path Edit Tool and pull the middle tip downward a little bit. Then pull the outer tips a little bit out- and downward as the sketch to the left shows. Place the crown together with the post like I do in the image to the left and go to the Transform Tool - Perspective. Move the upper points inwards a little so that the crown fits better together with the post. Return to the Path Drawing Tool and choose Custom Shape: Half-Circle and draw a half-circle width: 5px height: 9px Border: 3 Dept: 30 and place this piece on the top of the crown as the image to the left. Change shape to Ellipse and draw an ellipse width: 40px height: 50px. Go to the Easy Palette - Material Gallery - Screen and choose S16. Place the ellipse behind the crown (Right-click - Arrange - Send to Back). Then change to Transform Tool - Perspective and move the upper points inwards to fits it more exactly.
	Open Layer Manager and tick the Lock on your four pieces. Go back to your image. Right-click and Duplicate it once. Select the globe on your second image and go to the Easy Palette - Material Gallery and choose Screen - SO1. Return to the Layer Manager and click on the eye at your half-circle and crown. This hides both the half-circle and the crown on your image. Then select your post and your lamp globe. Right-click and choose Merge. Return to your first image. Right-click and choose Merge All and save it as lamp1.gif. Then close it. Activate the second image and go to Easy Palette - Lighting Gallery. Choose Spotlight - Spotlight 2. Now you can see five spotlights in the square Element. Click on the minus button until you only have number one left. Move the mouse over your lamp to grab the spotlight and move it down to your lamp globe as the sketch to the left shows. Then change the settings to the value below and click OK. Basic Brightness: 500, Softness: 75, Rotation: 263, Split range: 32, Distance: 66, Spot brightness: 70, Shape ratio: 55 Advanced Variance: 100, Lamp size: 25, Project mode: Horizontal floor Once again open Layer Manager and activate the eyes at your pieces to make those parts visible again on your image. Right-click and choose Merge All and then save the image as lamp2.gif.
	Gif Animator Go to Switch furthest up to the right in PhotoImpact and choose Ulead Gif Animator. Click on Animation Wizard in the windows as directly open up. Fill in width: 250px and height: 500px and click on Next. Click on Add image and find the folder where you save your images with lamps. First choose the lamp1.gif and click on Open. Repeat this step with lamp2.gif. Then choose Next. Leave the settings in the Frame Duration by once again click on the Next to move to the last windows there you should choose Finish. Right-click at the Frame 1 and choose Frame Properties. Change Delay to 40 and click OK. Once again Right-click at the Frame 1 and choose Duplicate Frame to get another frame. Select Frame 2 hold down the left mouse button and pull it to the right so it will be your last frame and got the name Frame 3. Select again Frame 2. Right-click and choose Frame Properties. Change Delay to 100 and click OK. Then choose the flap Preview (who you can find just over your image) to watch how your lamp turn on and off. Until now your image have been 500px height, but now we should reduce it a little bit. Choose Edit - Resize Image. Change Canvas Size to the width: 150px and let the square "Keep aspect ratio" be ticked. Then your image automatically changes the size in proportion to the width. (300px). Choose File - Optimization Wizard. Tick the square "Optimize using a Preset". Choose the preset Photo 128 and then click on Finish. (If you want to see how your lamp looks after the changing of presets, choose Preview.) Finish with to click on Save As to save your lamp as a gif-fil. Ex lamp.gif. Your animated streetlamp is finished!!!! I hope you like it! I would love to see your work, so send me a mail with your homepage address. When you have finished this tutorial, you are welcome to download this award and display it on your web page. Right-click on the image and choose save. Show the PI world what you have created, by displaying your results at PIRC Bulletin Board. If you have any questions about this tutorial or if you wish to help me translate it to another language, please mail me..