Materials Needed - PSP 8 - get it here (would also work in ver 7 with modification)

Note: whenever I say to add a layer, add a raster layer unless otherwise specified.

Image quality of the screenshots has been compromised due to reduction in size for faster loading.

1. Open a new image 500 x 500 and flood fill with a colour if desired.

2. Take your selection tool and use the following settings: rectangle, mode replace, antialias checked, feather 0. Click on the Custom Selection icon and use the following settings:

Left 40
Top 130
Right 350
Bottom 280

3. Flood Fill with a colour of your choice - I used #E42020 (Note that when using reds, save the final image or the image you use it in as a .gif if you are sending through email or posting to the web. If you save as a .jpg the colour looks icky) If you want to make it look like a Coleman cooler, save the selection to alpha channel. (Selections--->Load/Save Selection--->Save selection to alpha channel)

4. Add a new layer and set your foreground colour to a darker shade of the colour you used (I used #A22424) and check Texture and select Fruit Peel. To see an image of the settings, click here.

Slide your layer opacity down to about 50.

Deslect and turn off your background layer and merge visible the other two. Turn your background layer back on and rename it "front".

5. Effects--->3D Effects--->Inner Bevel. Use the following settings:

If you are doing the Coleman type cooler, add a new layer and take your pen tool with Create as Vector and Contiguous UNchecked, Simple Mode checked, Draw Mode, Segment type Line Segments, Width 1, draw lines down the front at evenly spaced intervals. Turn on your grid to make this easier. To make it easier, left click and hold the mouse, then hold down the shift key and bring the mouse down. This makes sure the line is straight down. Effects--->3D Effects--->Cutout. Use these settings:

Vertical 1
Horizontal 1
Opacity 46
Blur 48

Load the selection you saved to alpha channel and invert (Selections--->Invert) then hit the Delete key to get rid of any going over the edges.

Turn off your background layer and merge visible the rest. Rename the merged layer "front" and turn the background layer back on.

6. In the Layers Pallette, click on the background layer and add a new layer, naming it "left side". Make a selection with the following co-ordinates:

Left 170
Top 75
Right 280
Bottom 240

Flood fill with white. Deselect. Duplicate the layer (Layers--->Duplicate) and turn off visibility of the duplicate layer.

7. On the original layer, Effects--->Geometric Effects--->Skew. Use the following settings:

Skew Direction: Vertical
Skew Angle: 25
Edge Mode: Transparent

With your mover tool (image) move the side up and in place. Do not worry about any hanging over the front piece, we will get rid of that later. Adjust--->Brightness and Contrast--->Brightness/Contrast - enter 0 for contrast and around -7 for brightness, depending on preference - this is to make it look separate from the back piece.

8. Go back to the duplicate layer and turn it on. Select it with the magic wand and flood fill it with the colour you used for the front. Add a new layer, flood fill with the texture and reduce opacity to 50. Deselect. Apply the same inner bevel. If you are doing the Coleman cooler, you might want to put one line in the middle to make segments using the technique in step #5.

9. Skew by -25 like you did in step #7. With your mover tool, move over to the right side of the cooler and line up the bottom with the bottom of the front piece. To hide the light left edge caused by the bevel, I pushed it behind the front by a couple pixels. If a bit hangs over the front, don't worry, we'll get rid of it. Select your deform tool (image) and push down on the top centre node untl the top is lined up with the top right corner of the front piece.

10. At this point, you might want to turn your grid on (View--->Grid) and make sure the back tips of both the right and left sides are lined up.

Now, we'll get rid of the parts sticking out. Go to your left side layer and draw a rectangle around the part sticking out with your selection tool. Hit your delete key. You will need to do this twice - one rectangle for the part hanging over the side and a second one for the part hanging over the bottom.

Now, go to the right side and do the same with the point sticking out at the bottom, or you can zoom in and use the eraser tool (image), which is a bit more accurate when working with just wee little pieces.

11.Go to your background layer and add a new layer. Name it "back". With your selection tool, draw a rectangle for the back, joining the right and left sides.

Flood fill with white.

12. If you want to put a brand name on the cooler add a layer on top of the front layer and name it "label". Draw a rectangle in the middle of the front using the selection tool and the colour you are using. Apply the text with the font of your choice (I used Author) and apply the same cutout you used for the lines.

13. If you would like to do a lid propped up against the cooler, add a new layer and name it "lid". Image--->Canvas Size. Enter 550 for width, 400 for height With your selection tool, draw a rectangle with these co-ordinates:

Left 160
Top 65
Right 320
Bottom 320

Flood fill with white and then fill with the fruit peel texture, using an off white for colour - I used #EBE9E9. Select and apply the same inner bevel we've been using. Image--->Rotate--->Free Rotate to the right by 30 degrees. With your mover tool, move it over to the right side.

14. Now, you can use tubes to fill the cooler. Just add layers under your front layer and put the tubes down at the top of the cooler.

You are now done your open cooler. Enjoy!