Face and mask here here. You don't need either of these if you want to make the mask and use your own tube

Firework tube here

For this tutorial you can learn how to make a simple mask of your own to use as you wish or you can skip that part and use my mask if you like.

Open a new white canvas 300x300

Have dark grey in the stroke box of the material palette. The darker the grey you use in making a mask the the more of the background colour will show through

Click on the canvas and add a new layer.

Flood fill the new layer with grey you used before

Image -resize-this layer only 70%

Layer duplicate-image resize 40 %-it cant be seen cause it is the same colour but it is there

Duplicate the layer again 3 times and place one at each corner of the larger square

Click on the firework tube and -file-export-custom brush-name it firework- click on ok.

Hide the white layer in your layers palette and layers -merge visible

Unhide the white layer

With your eraser tool-look for the firework shape -size 50-step 1-density and opacity 100 and rotation 0

Click in each of the 4 small squares

That is your mask finished you will be using it soon.

Open a new transparent canvas 400x 400

In the stroke box of the material palette add a gradient-style-linear- to match your tube-I used the duotone red.

Flood fill the new canvas with the gradient

Make a note of the name of your mask you will need it now.

Layers-new mask layer-from image-source luminance checked-make sure invert is NOT checked -look for the name of your mask then click ok

Go to layer palette and right click on the mask layer chose-delete and yes when the box appears

Now right click on the group layer which should be at the top of the layer palette-merge-merge group.

All you should have now is a group raster layer in your layer palette

In your material palette change the gradient to invert

Add a new layer to your canvas and flood fill with the inverted gradient then layers arrange-send to the bottom

Layers -merge visible

With gradient at invert still-Using paintbrush tool-look for the firework brush-size 200-step 1-opacity 100-click at the top middle and the bottom middle of the tag so that the firework almost touches the edge-you can see what I mean if you look at my tag. Add another one at either side of the tag as well

Click on the tube you want to use and copy and paste it as a new layer-if you use a face be sure to arrange it so it doesn't look as though it has a beard-if you use mine place it on the line as I have done.

Image-add border-Size 3 in white.

With magic wand click on this white border to select-effects-texture effects-sculpture-gold preset

Select none

Image add border-white again-size 20-select this border with the magic wand and flood fill with gradient

Effects-texture effects-fur-default setting

Select none

Now as the size 3 border in white with the gold effects .

Resize as you wish. Adjust-sharpness-sharpen

Add a new layer for your text and that's the tutorial finished.

You now know how to make and use a mask and I hope you will make lots of your own. Use light grey for parts of the mask that you want to be faint and other shades through to black for the various parts you want to show most.

I hope that you enjoyed doing it.

Written by chrissie 2005