Animated Desk Fan
by kim@pixelbit.com

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

Open a new transparent image 200 X 200.

Use your preset shape tool > circle.
In your color palette, set the foreground to a metal gradient, the background null.

Set the line width to 10. Make a circle that is a big as you can get it without chopping any of it off on the sides.
Remember, holding the shift key while making your circle will insure a perfect circle.
Copy > press delete, paste as a new layer. This will center your circle.
Delete the blank layer from your layer palette.

Make a new layer.
Use your pen tool. Set the line width to 2.
Hold your shift key and draw a line slightly wider than the transparent area inside the circle.
Center your line the same way you centered your circle.

With your line layer still active, use your Mesh warp with the settings shown below.

Grab the node along the left edge and slide it up slightly.
Slide the node on the right edge down slightly.

Make your selection tool active to apply the mesh warp.

In your layer palette, move the circle layer to the top.
Merge visible.
Copy
 

Open Animation shop. CTRL + V to paste as a new image.
Effects > Insert image effect > rotate.
Set your rotate settings as shown below.

Click customize. Set the Maximum angle to 180.

Your image will look weird with a bunch of frames but that's ok.
CTRL + A to select all.
File > Export > To paint Shop Pro.
You will automatically be taken to PSP with an image that looks like the one below.

SHIFT + D to make a duplicate image. Close the original
WITHOUT saving and WITHOUT updating back to psp.
You will be taken back to Animation shop, just hop right back to PSP.
Merge visible layers.
make a new layer.
Use your circle preset shape tool again. Change the width to 4.
Make a circle on your image like the one shown below. Center.

Make a new layer.
In your color palette, reverse the foreground and background. Make a small circle as shown below. Center.
Merge visible layers.

Make a new layer.
In your color palette, change the gradient to a different color,
the color is your choice but must be different from the one previously used.
Use your preset shapes > ellipse.
Make an ellipse that starts at the inside of the largest circle and ends in the center of the smallest circle.

Use your selection tool set to ellipse.
Select a small portion of the lower right of the blade, as shown below

Press delete, deselect.

In your layer palette, duplicate your blade layer.
Mirror and flip.
Use your mover tool to position the two blades so they are in a straight vertical line.

Make the top blade layer active and merge down.
Duplicate your blade layer.
Rotate the duplicate 90 degrees.

Make the top blade layer active and merge down.
Now you have all four blades on the same layer.
Rename this layer blade1.
Make a duplicate of your blade1 layer. Rename this layer blade2.
Rotate your blade2 layer 30 degrees.

Make your blade1 layer active. Duplicate and rename blade3. Rotate your blade3 layer 60 degrees.
In your layer palette, make the blade3 layer the top layer.
Your layer palette should have four layers. blade3, blade2, blade1, merged.

Save your image in psp format. Open Animation shop.
Set your preferences as shown below.

Open your image. You should see 1 circle frame and three fan frames.

Click on the circle image to be sure that only that frame is active.
Right click and select duplicate selected.
Click on one of the circle frames to be sure that only one of them is selected, duplicate selected again.
You should have three circle frames and three blade frames.
Click on the first circle frame.
Press and hold your CTRL key and click on the other two circle frames.
Now all three circle frames are selected.

CTRL + X to cut the circle frames
Select all.
CTRL + E to paste the circles onto the blades.
View > Animation. Your animation should look a little like the one below.

Back to PSP. Open a new image, same size.
My base will be fairly simple. If you would like to jazz it up a bit, feel free.
Use your preset shape tool set to rectangle.
make a small rectangle as shown below.

Use your deformation tool. Press and hold your CTRL key.
Grab one of the upper corner nodes and push inward slightly.
Apply the deformation by selection a different tool.

Make a new layer.
With the same preset shape tool, make a second rectangle as shown below.

Use your deformation tool again.
Press and hold SHIFT.
Grab the node along the bottom edge and slide it to the right slightly.
Apply the deformation.

In your layer palette, make the layer containing the second rectangle active, duplicate.
Resize the new layer 90 percent of original.

Apply drop shadow using the settings shown below.

Apply the inner bevel of your choice to all three layers,
Merge visible.
Copy

Back to animation Shop.
Paste as new (CTRL + V)
Once pasted in Animation shop, copy again.

Open a new image 200 X 400 transparent.

CTRL + E to paste the fan bottom on the new image, place it close to the bottom.

Duplicate your frames so you have three frames.
make the fan image active.
Select all, copy.

Make the fan bottom active. Select all, Paste (CTRL + E) the fan onto the bottom.

Double click on your crop tool. Click on Surround Opaque, click ok.

In your tool bar, click crop.

That's it. You're done. Time to save.

I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial.
If you have any questions, email me at:
kim@pixelbit.com