People have liked my License Plate Sigs, so I thought I would write up the steps for a tutorial. You can use this tutorial for personal use only. It may not be used for profit. Any License Plate you make from this tutorial is yours.

Click on the License Plate template below and save it to a folder where you will know where it is. I am including a plain and a blinkie template. I would like to thank Melish for giving me permission to use her plate templates. For this tutorial I will be using the blank template.

Open the Plate template in PSP. Right click on the layer and Promote to a Layer.

Using the Selection Tool, choose the Rectangle, feather 0, antialias checked. Select the License plate background area with rectangle tool.

Add a NEW layer and name it BACKGROUND (or BG for short). Flood Fill with the color of your choice. I am using white for display purposes. Selections/Select None.

Make a NEW layer and name it TAB1. Still using the Selection Tool/Rectangle (same settings as above) make a small rectangle in the upper left corner. Flood Fill with color of your choice. See image 2a below. Selections/Select None. Duplicate then go to Image/Mirror. Now you have a TAB at each upper corner. See Image 2b below. Highlight the TAB COPY and Merge/Merge Down.

Now we need to add a slight shadow, so go to Effect/3D/Drop Shadow; Vertical and Horizontal 2, Opacity 50, Blur 0 and color black. SAVE.

Click on the Text Tool; Floating, I used Arial 8pt, stroke 1. I used Blue #0000ff for my text, but you can use the color of your choice. Put USA in the left TAB and center it. Selections/Select None. Then put the date 05 (or 06) on the right TAB. Selections/Select None. SAVE.

Add a NEW layer and name it your state name. I am using the state of Michigan for this tutorial since it is my home state. Using the Text Tool, I changed the size to 14 (text size totally depends on the length of the state name); add the name of your state. Center it at the top between the two TABS. Selections/Select None. SAVE.

Add a NEW layer and name it THEME. I am using WINTER WONDERLAND for Michigan. Using the Text Tool, I changed the size to 10; add the theme of your state. Center it at the bottom of the plate. Selections/Select None. SAVE.

Add a NEW layer and name this SCREW. Go to Preset Shapes and choose the Ellipse. Make your foreground color NULL and choose a dark gray for the background color. I used #808080. Make a small circle and place it between the LEFT TAB and the state name. Duplicate then Image/Mirror. Merge/Merge Down.

Now we want a nice, heavy bevel for the SCREWS. Go to Effects/3D/Inner Bevel and use the following settings.

SAVE.

Add a NEW layer and name this GRAPHIC. This is where you will add an image that best represents your state. I will be using a winter scene. I found an easy way to add the image and hope you find it easy also.

Making sure the new GRAPHIC layer is highlighted; Use the Selections Tool/Rectangle and select the area where you want your image to go. (See Image 5a) Drag this layer down so that it is above the BG layer. (See Image 5b)

Open the photo that you want to use one your plate. Make sure your image is not too big. I find 200X200 or 300X300 work okay. Edit/Copy. Click back on your License Plate image and go to Edit/Paste/Paste into selection. Viola! Your image will be perfectly inside the Marching Ants area. Use the Mover Tool to position the image is needed. Selections/Select None. SAVE.

NOTE: If you want the edges of your image to be slightly faded, here is something that you could try. With the GRAPHIC layer highlighted, use the Lasso Tool feather set at 10. Outline your image rounding the corners. Selections/Invert and hit your DELETE key. Selections/Select None.

Your License Plate is now complete. Merge/Merge Visible.

You can add a new layer and add your name. Merge/Merge Visible.

Save as gif because otherwise the plate will have a small white background around it.

I hope that you enjoyed making your very own Personalized License Plate as much as I did making the tutorial.