Animated Plasma Light

Create a folder named light animation where you want to save your work.

Open a new image 300 x 300 with a transparent background.

Activate your Preset Shapes tool and choose a cylinder with the retain style and create as vector options of enabled.

Place your cylinder near the bottom.

I have mine placed at 93,216 to 199,267.

These numbers can be found at the lower left of your PSP screen.

If you find trying to adjust to all of those number too tedious just place it near the bottom centered as shown below.

Just don't move it once after you've completed the next step.

Your first layer should look like this.

Go to your Layer Palette Panel and duplicate your first layer by right clicking your mouse and choosing duplicate layer.

Go to Image and flip your duplicated layer.

Merge your visible layers.

This will change that layer from vector to raster

You should have something that looks like this.

Create a new raster layer.

With your selection tool make a rectangle selection to fill in between the two cylinders.

Make sure that your rectangle goes into the cylinders instead of just to the edge of the top and bottom as shown.

Flood fill this layer with black.

Leave the area selected and create a new raster layer.

Apply KPT Shape Shifter to this layer using a clear preset.

If you don't have one you may use the preset used for this tutorial which can be downloaded above.

To import the preset just unzip it into a file of your choice then activate the presets interface of Shape Shifter by clicking the button as show below and import the preset.

To make your own clear preset adjust the opacity way down and use a light gray or white native environment adjusting your sliders to obtain a bevel that looks like what you would like.

On the texture are apply none.

Click the waffered square to get to the preset interface.

Leave the area selected after applying shape shifter.

This will be unselected much later.

Turn off your shape shifter layer by clicking on the glasses in your layer selections.

A red x will appear and you will see the black layer again.

Activate the black layer that you just made then create another raster layer.

Apply lightening. Use the Crackling over a surface preset.

In the Preview area you can move the bolt where the heavy portion is not as visable just by grabbing it with your mouse and moving it.

Turn off the layer you just made and make another layer.

Repeat the application of Lightening on a new layer 4 more times moving the bolt to a differnent area with each application.

You should now have a cylinder layer, a black layer, 5 lightening layers and a shape shifter layer.

Activate your layer that has the cylinders.

That should be your first layer
.

Duplicate this layer and bring this layer to the top.

Deselect your selected rectangle.

Apply a new selection with the elipse option of the selection tool.

Place your elipse on the inner part of the top of the cylinder as shown.

Hit delete and delete the selected area.

Repeat this on the bottom portion of your top cylinder.

Do not do this to the bottom layer of cylinders.

Deselect all.

Activate your shape shifter layer which should be the second layer down.

Adjust the opacity to 64% or if you are using your own clear preset to a level that you like.

Create a new layer and flood fill with black.

Send the new black layer to the bottom as your new background.

Have all layers except for your lightening layers turned on.

With only one Lightening layer on go to layers and Merge all flatten.

Then save a copy as image 1 in your light folder.

Go to edit, undo merge layers, turn off the layer of lightening that you were using and open the next lightinging layer down and repeat merge all flatten and save as image 2 in the same folder.

Repeat making an image for each layer of lightening.

You should have 5 images to run the animation wizard.

Open animation shop by going to file, launch animation shop.

In the animation shop open up the animation wizard

You will get several prompts

On the first choose same size as the first animation frame.

Your next prompt asks for opacity.

This looks best black so have the opaque area checked.

Your next prompt will be on scale.

This really doesn't matter for this animation because all of our images are the same size.

It is always a good idea to leave this are as center and with the canvas color just in case.

Your next prompt is on the loop play. Have indefinate checked and the timing is 60.

Your next prompt is to open the images you are going to use.

This is why we made a folder.

Just browse to your folder.

With the control button depressed highlight each of the images.

If all of your images are noted in the window click next.

If not all are there go back to add and highlight them to open them.

Your next promp will tell you it is finished

You can now view your animation but it is not saved yet.

If you are happy with the results when you go to view animation go to save as and you will get an optimation wizard prompt.

This is when you can make your image smaller if you would like.

It will have you view the optimized animation and will let you back down on quality to save space if you would like.

This is our final result.