Send your own unique Snowman Christmas cards this year!

As with all my tutorials you need PSP6 - a free download is available if you click here but it doesn't have all the features of the full version : perhaps now's the time to write to Santa to ask him to put it in your Christmas stocking........

Make sure colours are set to 16 million (Click on colours - increase colour depth to check.) Open the Layers palette (Ctrl-L) and Options palette (Ctrl-O) and lock them open by clicking on the downward-pointing arrowhead in the top right corner of each.
Go to File - new - new image 300 x 300 in your choice of colour - mine is #83A2CD
Create a new layer by clicking on the top-left icon of the Layers palette, and fill with white. Using the selection tool (dotted rectangle icon on toolbar) - on the options toolbar select circle (antialias checked, feather 10) and draw a circle about 150 pixels diameter anywhere in the middle of the area; click Ctrl-shift-I to invert selection and hit delete : you should be left with a fuzzy white circle. (All diagrams in this tutorial are half-size)
Create a new layer and fill this with white and repeat the process but making a slightly bigger circle, then again for a third, even bigger circle. Position the circles on top of each other like a snowman, using the Mover tool (four-way arrow.) Create another layer and fill this white too. Select the "lasso" (freehand selection) tool; feather should still be 10 and antialias checked. Hold down the left mouse button and draw a wavy line from edge to edge across the square about 50 pixels / half an inch from the bottom, and still holding the button down, carry on outside the square round the bottom till the cursor gets back to the point you started at. Now release the button - you should have the line you drew AND the bottom of the shape outlined with a dotted line. Click Ctrl-shift-I to invert selection and hit delete : you should be left with snow on the ground and a blue sky, with your three snowballs for your snowman. Reposition the snowballs if necessary.
Open a new layer and set both background and foreground palette colours to black (or whatever colour you want his hat to be.) Select the "Draw" tool (the one that looks like a pencil) and choose freehand - stroked and filled - antialias - create as vector - close path. Draw the rough shape of the crown of his hat roughly where you want it to be - you will be able to alter it later. Then click the arrow-in-a-box vector object selection tool and on the options window, "node edit." The black shape will be replaced by lines, circles and squares which you can drag, rotate etc., until the outline of the hat is as you want it. Click on the background to close the vector selection.
Repeat the process for the brim of the hat, but use the pre-set shape tool set to ellipse - stroked and filled - antialias - create as vector and drag this into shape too. Position the brim where you want it and when you are completely satisfied with the hat, highlight the vector layers (one at a time) in the Layers palette - they are the ones with red-and-blue squares next to them on the palette - then click "layers" on the toolbar and select "convert to raster." Put the snowman's hat on his head.
Open a new layer. With the "shapes" tool and ellipse - stroked and filled - antialias but with vector Unchecked, still using black, draw in two "eyes" and some "buttons." Open a new layer and change the palette colours to a carroty orange (F77D11 is nice and bright) and use it to draw in a carrot nose, then back to black and, using the paint brush tool this time, set at round, size 5 and hardness, opacity and density all 100 and step 1, dot in a "coal" mouth.
On another new layer draw in a scarf, using the freehand draw tool set at width 10, stroked - antialias but with vector unchecked. If any of your layers have got out of order, drag them into place on the Layer palette - the layers at the top of the listing will appear on top of the ones below them in the list so, for example, you need the hat, scarf, facial features and buttons above the snowballs, and everything has to be above the background! When you are COMPLETELY satisfied with your design, click on "Layers" on the main toolbar and select "Merge all." Save your image as a jpg for the time being.

To use your snowman on a card :
Open a new image 500 x 707 in white. Click on your snowman and Ctrl-C to copy him; click on your new white rectangle and Ctrl-L to place him on it as a new layer : position the square equidistant from the top and side edges. Decorate the rest of the card as you want, or not at all : I have used the snowflake from this page, minus the animation of course, and curved lettering from this page.

To print it out as an A5 card, open the "Page Setup" menu and select the following settings : Landscape, Scale 200, left margin 155mm, top margin 7mm. Print out a test copy on paper : when folded in half the image should be correctly placed in the centre of the front. When you are satisfied, print out on card on best-quality definition.
Print a suitable greeting for the inside of the card - unless you are sure of how to do double-sided printing on your particular printer, it may be safer to do this as an insert, on paper!

To print as a four-fold card on paper, open the "Page Setup" menu and select the following settings : Portrait, Scale 140, left margin 110mm, top margin 160mm. Print out a test copy on paper: when folded in half and half again, the image should be correctly placed in the centre of the front. When you are satisfied, print out on paper at best quality definition.