I wrote this tutorial with lots of screen shots and instructions. My hope is that everyone will be able to do this tutorial.
Those with lots of vector experience will not need all the instructions so feel free to move ahead!
This tutorial was created on March 4, 2003 and is the property of Bunny's Attic.
* terms of use *

This tutorial was made without the help of outside filters. It is a long tutorial... so you have been warned! =)
I hope you will stick around and do it though!
Get a 30 day free trial of Paint Shop Pro 7 by Jasc here.
The Orchid and Terra Cotta pot are made with custom gradients which I will show you how to make. You will also save the flower, plant and pot as "Preset Shapes" so you can use them again. First we are going to make the gradient and then the Pink Orchid, so let's get started! =)

~ Making the gradient ~

Set the Foreground to "Null".

Click on the little arrow on the Background color box to get the fly out box and choose "gradient" from the little menu, then click on the background color box.

The gradient box will open, click on "Edit."

On the next screen, called the "Gradient Editor" click on "New" and you will see a screen asking you to name the new gradient. Call it pink orchid and add an underscore and put your initials, like so, Pink Orchid_gh.

Click on this first paint bottle then on the color box to the left, it will open your color palette and type in #AC2E55 in the HTML code box on the bottom, click OK. Now you will need to add a paint bottle to the middle, do this by left clicking your cursor right below the line in the middle, you should see a new bottle now. Click on the color box again and when the color palette opens type in #CE4670, click OK. Move the little bottle to 29%. You will see the percentage in the Location box above the color box. Then click on the last paint bottle, click on the color box and type in #FFFFFF.
Move the little diamonds to 20% for the first one and 50% for the second. Click OK.

 Next screen is for the gradient. The style is Sunbust. That's the third one on the right. Set the Horizontal and Vertical to 50. Repeats at 0 and check "Invert Gradient" Click OK.

Your color palette should look like this now.

 Open a 400 x 400 pixel image with a transparent background. Name it pink_orchid. Using your Preset Shapes set to Ellipse, Antialias and Create as Vector checked. Line width doesn't matter. =)

Draw out a small oval in the middle of your canvas about 160 pixels long. You will want to go by last number in the third of the 4 groups on the status bar at the bottom. Click on your Vector Selector and click on your petal, you can either click on "Node Edit" in your Tool Options box or right click on the canvas and select "Node Edit", it's all the way at the bottom. Once you are in Node Editing arrange the nodes to look like the screen shot to the top right. Paint Shop uses the "cusp" node as default so you shouldn't have to worry about changing the node type for this step. I moved the control arms on the bottom node up until they were made a point at the bottom. And then I moved the top node down a bit and pulled the control arms out to flatten the top of the petal.

 While your first petal is selected right click on the top of your image (where your title and information are)

Chose Copy, then right click again in the same place and choose Paste as New Vector Selection.
You will have the new petal stuck on your mouse, so go ahead and left click to *plant* it.

Move you new petal to the left and using deformation box make this petal a little bigger by pulling on any of the corner nodes and rotate it to the left with the handle to the right of the middle node. Move it so it meets the first petal at the bottom.

Click on your vector selector right click on your canvas and choose "Node Edit."

Add 4 nodes inbetween the exsisting nodes. (You can add nodes by holding your cursor on the line while holding down the Control key on your keyboard, you will see an arrow and "+ add", left click to add a node.)

Shape like the screen shot to the right.

The red nodes are "cusp" and the other nodes are symmetric.

*To change the node "type", left click on the node you want to change to select it and right click on your canvas. Choose "Node Type", then "Cusp" or "Symmetric."

"Cusp" will give you sharp corners and "Symmetric" will give you curves.*

When you get the center petal shaped, move it up to meet the flower center.
Save your work!

Let's add the center. Preset shapes, Ellipse, Antialias and Create as Vector checked, line width doesn't matter. Foreground color "Null"

Background color, Solid fill, Color #EFF117
Draw out a small circle of the center.

Now the flower is done and we can save it as a Preset Shape! Click on your Vector Selector and then draw a box around your entire Orchid. Make sure you get all the flower inside the box.

Right click on your canvas and choose "Group." Go to your layer palette and rename Group 1 to Pink Orchid. Now go to File/Export/Shape. The Export Shape Library will open. Give it a name, Orchid_"yourinitials" and click OK

You should check in your Preset Shapes to make sure it is saved before closing your Orchid.

When using your Orchid as a preset shape always remember to check "Retain style" in the Tool Options Palette.