Animated Snowglobe
by kim@pixelbit.com

This tutorial is copyrighted. Please feel free to visit as often as you like, but don't steal my work.

Needed tools:
Xero Sparkles

Open a new image 400 X 400 transparent.

Make your selection tool active and select the circle shape

Place your mouse at the 200, 200 coordinates and make a circle. Make sure to leave some room at the bottom for the stand.

In your layer palette, duplicate your layer. Using the top layer, apply cutout with the following settings.

Using the bottom layer, repeat the cutout effect changing the horizontal and vertical to -3.
Your image should look like the one below.
Merge visible layers. Rename this layer "Lens" DO NOT DESELECT.

Save your selection to alpha channel.

Select the tube that you would like inside your globe. copy and paste as a layer.
With your selection still active (if its not active, simply load from alpha)
Selections > invert. Press delete, deselect.

Rename your tube layer Tube. Place the tube layer under the lens layer.

Make a new layer named glare.
Place this layer at the top of the layer palette.
Use your pen tool, vector unchecked, width set to 20
Mode is freehand.
Draw a few white lines that somewhat match the curvature of the image.

Apply Gaussian Blur, radius set to 8.

Make a new layer named base.
With the pen tool still active, raise the width to 50.
Change the mode to polylines (Looks like a straight line segment)
Change the foreground in your color palette to the gradient of your choice.
Null the background.
In your toolbar, show nodes is checked.
Make a straight line as shown below.

s

Place your mouse on the center of the line. Press and hold your CTRL key.
When the mouse touches the line, the word "add" will appear.
When the word add is visible, click on the line in the center.
Right click on the new node and a menu will pop down.
On the menu, select node type > symmetric.
Your line now has three nodes, one on each end and one in the middle.
When you click on a node, You will be able to move it and stretch out the arrows.
Manipulate your nodes until it fits the bottom of your lens.

Uncheck show nodes. Apply any Inner bevel effect you like.

Your layer palette should look like this.

Make a new layer called background.
We need a background layer here because partial transparencies don't do will in animation shop.
Fill your background layer with the gradient or pattern of your choice.
Move the background layer to the bottom.

If you are satisfied with your image so far, merge visible layers.
make a new layer. Duplicate TWICE for a total of 3 transparent layers.
 

Make the top layer active.
Load your circle selection from alpha channel.

Apply Xero sparkles.
Below are the settings that I used, you are free to play with it and pick one that you like better.
Color does NOT matter here, only the shape and the density of the sparkles.

Apply the same effect to the remaining transparent layers.

Deselect.
Make your paintbrush tool active, Set the foreground color to white, the background null.
Use the settings below.

Make your top layer active.
make your selection tool active, shape does not matter here.
CTRL + A to select all.
Click on one of the sparkles with your mouse. The selection will form to the sparkles.
Make your paintbrush tool active and color the sparkles white.

Repeat the sparkle coloring steps for the remaining two sparkled layers.
Deseelct.
Save in psp format.

Open Animation shop.
File > Preferences > General Program Preferences > Layered Files.
Set your preferences to "Show first and current frames"
Open your image.
You will have 4 frames. Delete frame 1.

CTRL + A to select all.
ALT + ENTER to change the speed. set the speed to 20.

That's it. You're done.
Resize if you like and save.