Scrolling Text on a Wavy Line
by kim@pixelbit.com

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

Open a new transparent image 600 X 400

Use your pen tool with the settings shown below.

Hold your shift key as you make your line to insure a straight line.
Make a line the full width of your image.

With the pen tool still active, Hold the CTRL key. When the mouse touches the line the word "add" will appear.
Click on the line when the word "add" is visible. Add SEVEN nodes to the line. Get them as evenly spaced as possible,
Click ONE time below the line.
With your mouse grab every OTHER node and push it up.

Click on the seven nodes that you added (no need to do the first and last) Right click on each node,
select Node Type > Symmetric.

The nodes will still be available for fine tuning the curves to get then as even as possible.

Activate your text tool. Change the color palette to the color or pattern of your choice.
We are going to concentrate on the center of the line, in the places shown below.

1 = the top of a curve
2 = the down slope
3 = the bottom of the curve
4 = the up slope.

Click your mouse in the "1" spot
the text window will appear. Click remember text.
Type in your name several times, until your name is longer than the width of the image.

In the text box click apply. Your text will be on a floating layer. Copy and paste as a new image (CTRL + V)

Back to the original image, click ondo TWICE and place your mouse in the "2" position. Click apply and copy.
Activate the image with the text that you pasted in the last step, and past the new text as a new layer (CTRL + L)

You may find the the new layer is higher then the first layer. If this is the case, Activate your mover tool,
click ok the new layer and press your DOWN key until one is not higher then another.
With the mover tool still active, press the RIGHT arrow key a few times so the curves in each layer match

Back to your line image, unto TWICE, Place your mouse in the "3" position and apply the text,
copy and paste as a new layer on the text image, remembering to move it down and to the right a bit to make it even with the other layers.

Back to your original image, Click undo TWICE. click on the tine in the "4" position.
In the text box click on apply, copy and paste as a new layer in your text image,
move it down and to the right to make it even with the other layers.
When you are done, your text image will look a bit like this

Use your crop tool and select the visible area of your image.
The layer is actually wider than the image and will look "funny" if it's not cropped

Also. on one side of oyur image, in my case it is the left side, you may want to crop odd the section that sticks up

Save it a "text.psp" and close. Open Animation Shop.

Apply whatever effect you would like (except Drop Shadow) such as Inner Bevel.

Click File > Preferences > General Program Preferences > Layered Files.
Make sure that "Keep layers as separate frames" is selected and click ok. Open your text.psp image.

Select all (CTRL + A). Press ALT + ENTER to slow it down. Change the number to about 30

Save. That's it. You're done.

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