Honey Bunny PSP7 Tutorial

This tutorial was written for Paint Shop Pro version 7

Tutorial is offered here free of charge for personal use only!

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Note:  Users of PSP 8 and newer,
click here for updated Honey Bunny tutorial.


~ Beginner Level Tutorial ~

The EggToon tutorials are a series of Paint Shop Pro cartoon drawing tutorials written especially for those just beginning to learn about the vector tools but I hope more advanced users will enjoy the toons also. 

If you're not familiar with vector tools, please review the series of posts explaining the tools and how to make the "egg" Preset Shape before starting this EggToon character tutorial.

Color settings for this tut:

Select black for stroke color and any 'bunny' color of your choice for fill.
Pick a pastel, a bright color, a realistic color...doesn't matter...this is a cartoon!!
I'll be using color #F0C5A2.

Remember, in PSP 7, you must always use the Object Selector [OS] to select a vector object for editing.

Open new image 300x300 or 400x400. We'll use a large canvas, but don't make bunny so large it fills canvas!  We'll  need  plenty of working room

Create with a white background layer. Click the 'new layer' button on the layer dialog box and add a 'new vector layer'. All vector drawing will be done on this layer.

MAKE A SET OF SHAPES                                       

First thing we'll do is make all the Preset Shapes needed for Honey Bunny and then edit each one by one.

Select Preset Shapes tool and select the egg shape. ( (go here for step-by-step to create egg preset shape if you haven't created one already) )

Line width 1, style solid, retain style UNchecked, antialias CHECKED, vector CHECKED, colors as described above.

Draw an egg that is about 85x120 pixels in center of canvas.
Look in lower right section of PSP frame to see size of object being created or turn on rulers (View>Rulers)

Select ellipse shape and draw 3 ellipses, any size (same settings, same colors). Position them off to one side...anywhere on your canvas....they will become the ears, arms and legs later on.

CREATE THE EARS                                         

Using the Object Selector, move one 'ear' ellipse over to the top of the egg-shaped body (this will be the left ear).

Zoom in as much as you need to clearly see those tiny nodes.

Pull up on the center top NODE to stretch the shape into a long bunny ear.

Right click and select Node Edit. The ear turns into an object with 4 nodes.

Select the bottom node (the node will change to solid black when selected).  Right click, select Edit>Break. You now have 2 nodes in place of the one and the line has been broken.

Arrange those 2 new nodes to align with the bunny's head  (so that it looks like ear is attached)   Adjust/rotate the handles of  bottom nodes to make the sides of the ear a straighter line (turn node handles so they almost line up with the line segment).

When you position the ear on the body as the left ear,  the bottom nodes should line up with the outline of the body. You may have to right click, Node Edit to shorten or lengthen the lines for the ear. See screenshot of finished ears below.

Getting a smooth, gentle curve is made easier if you right click, select Node Edit, select one of the bottom nodes, right click, select Node Type>Smooth Tangent. If you want a perfectly straight line, you could also select 'line before' (or 'line after'). However, for the bunny ear, a slight curve to the line might look better.

To soften the curve of the top of the ear slightly, select the 'ear' shape, right click select Node Edit, select the top node, right click select Node Type>Symmetric. Lengthen the handle of this top node very slightly to soften the curve.

If Symmetric is greyed out, that means it is already the current Node Type.

If necessary, move the nodes in the middle of the ear outwards, just slightly, to fatten up the ear a little.

When done, right click, select Quit Node Editing.

Now we need to duplicate  the ear to make the right ear. With OS select the ear, right click, select Copy. Right click again, select Paste New Vector Selection. To make the new ear a mirror of the other one, select the center handle on the right side of the boundary box and pull/drag it toward the left. It will pull the ear over itself and mirror it. See screenshot arrows.

Move the new ear into position on the other side of the head.

It's possible that this mirror action will distort the size and shape of the ear some.  To fix that, select the first ear (left), then, while holding the Shift key down, select the 2nd ear. Now right click, select Make Objects Same Size>Both.

The 2 ears should now look alike.
De-select the ears by clicking in any blank space on your canvas.
Make any final adjustments to position of ears before moving to next step.

When you position the ear on the body as the right ear,  the bottom nodes should line up with the outline of the body.

THE FACE                                                 

Click the double-headed arrow by the Styles box so that black moves to the Fill position. Also change the stoke to null.Ø (Click the small triangular arrow on the Styles box to open the flyout and view the options.)

Select Preset Shapes, ellipse, draw one small black circle 7x7 (this is an eye). Hold Shift Key down as you draw ellipse and you will get a perfect circle.

With OS, select circle, right click, select Copy. Move your cursor slightly to the right, right click again, select Paste New Vector Selection.   Copying and pasting is an easy way to make sure both circles are the exact same size.

Arrange the 2 eyes close together and close to the top of the egg body as shown in the screenshot above.
To get them to line up perfectly with each other, select both eyes with OS, right click select Align Object>Vertical Center.

Make sure you de-select the eyes before next step or the fill color will change.

Next he needs a nose! Click the double-headed arrow by the color swatches to move black back to the stroke position and pick a pink color for fill.  Select Preset Shapes, ellipse, and draw a small circle for nose. Approx. 8 x 8 pixels.  Remember, hold the Shift Key down as you draw and you will get a perfect circle instead of an oval.

Make sure you de-select the nose before next step or the fill color will change.

Now for mouth and whiskers.
Click the arrow for the Styles box flyout and change the fill style to null.Ø
Zoom in. Select Line/Draw tool with these settings:
Line style single line, solid, line width 1, vector and antialias ON (checked), close path OFF (unchecked).
Draw an upside down V shape for bunny's mouth.
Draw a line between mouth and nose.
Draw 3 whisker lines on each side of mouth. See screenshot for sample.

THE FEET (PAWS)                                           

 Next we'll work on the legs and feet. (You're still working with an enlarged canvas, right?  It's always easier to zoom in on the nodes when editing.)

With the Object Selector, select one of the extra ellipse shapes made in step one and move it into position below the body.   This will be his right leg (the one on our left).   Right click, select Node Edit. Select the top node, right click select Edit>Break. This breaks the line in 2 and creates 2 nodes where there used to be one. Move the top 2 nodes up to connect to the body for a short, fat leg. There's now 5 nodes for this object and the leg shape starts out looking something like the ellipse in this screenshot.

  

Next we need to do some node editing and change some NODE TYPES in order to convert this lumpy shape into a bunny's foot. You should still be in Node Edit mode...if not, select leg, right click, Node Edit.

Select top left node, right click, select Node Type>Smooth/Tangent
Move this node up to connect to the body.
Turn handle vertically until you have a smooth line going to the leg.

Select the other top node, right click, select Node Type>Smooth/Tangent 

Position this Node so overlaps the body and is a straight line but at a slight angle.

(You can select more than one node at a time by holding down the Shift Key.)

Select the middle right node.  Right click, select Node Type>Cusp. 

Create an ankle by arranging the node handles as shown above, creating a turn in the line.

Now, fine tune the shape of the foot by adjusting the angle and length of each node handle as follows:

For the node by heel: Right click, select Node Type>Cusp.   Move the arrow end of the node handle points up and the rounded end of handle makes a turn to the right to give a little curve to the heel.

For the node by the toe:  If it needs adjusting, check the node type, it should be Symmetric.  Right click, select Node Type>Symmetric. If Symmetric is greyed out, it already is the selected node type.  Move the node handle around and extend it's length a little to give a nice curve to the toe area.

If necessary, keep moving the nodes handles around some more until you have the shape of a chubby little leg and foot as shown in this screenshot. There will be a node at the top of each leg, a node for the heel, a node where the leg turns into the foot (ankle) and another node at the toes.

When done, right click, select Quit Node Editing.

Duplicate/copy this  leg to make the other leg. . Use Object Selector, right click, select Copy.

Move cursor a little to the right, right click again, select Paste New Vector Selection.

Right click again, select Arrange>Send to Bottom.

Move the leg into a position so that it lines up with with body as shown in the image below.

THE ARMS                                                  


Bunny needs some arms!!    We'll shape the arms the same way as we did the legs. Zoom in.
Use OS, select the remaining oval shape that was made at step one and move it over close to the left side of the body.

Right click, select Node Edit.   Select the top node, right click select Break. This breaks the line and adds a node just like we did for the leg. Move these top 2 nodes into a position for the shoulder and the armpit. Arrange the node handles of  both node so they create a straight line with no hook in the end.   The 'shoulder' node should align with the outline for the shoulder/head.

For the arm and hand, the Node Type for all nodes should be Symmetric.  Drag the mouse while holding left mouse button down to select ALL nodes in the arm shape at same time.   Right click a node, select Node Type > Symmetric.


Add 2 nodes to create a thumb.   Add one BELOW the node that is the armpit and add the other AFTER the next node.   Counting clockwise, the new nodes will be #2 and #4.  To add a node, hold the CTRL key down, hover near the line segment until +ADD appears next to your cursor and then click to add node.   Zoom in as needed.

Change the Node Type on the 2 new nodes to Cusp.


Arrange the nodes as shown in the screenshot above. All nodes should make a smooth curve except for the 2 cusp nodes that create the thumb. Arrange the handles on the node that is between the thumb and hand so the 2 handles are close together and make a sharp turn.  Refer to screenshot and shorten or lengthen the thumb or hand by shortening or lengthing the node handles.

Right click>Quit Node Editing

Adjust Zoom back to normal for the following steps.
Duplicate the arm to make the other arm. Select arm on left, right click, select Copy. Move your cursor over to the right side of the body, right click, Paste New Vector Selection.



Mirror the arm by pulling it over itself....the same way we mirrored the ear! Select the center handle on the left side of the boundary box and pull/drag it toward the right. It will pull the shape over itself and mirror it.

Now put the right arm behind the body by sending layer to the bottom. Select right arm, right click, select Arrange>Send to Bottom.  Adjust position of right arm behind body so just part of arm is showing.

THE TAIL                                                 

With a stroke color of black and a fill color of white, draw a bunny tail (Preset Shape>ellipse) and position it appropriately. Using Object Selector, select tail, right click, Arrange>Send to Bottom.

THE TOES                                                 

Keep stroke color black and set fill to null.
Zoom in on the feet 3:1 or 4:1.

Use the Line/Draw tool, same settings as before except use Freehand Line.
Draw a short curved line to represent the toes. See screenshot.

Only one line needs to be drawn, copy/paste all others.

To make another line for 2nd toe, right the first line, Copy>Paste as New Vector Selection.

Paste as New Vector Selection twice more for toes on other foot!

.............................

Your Honey Bunny is done!!     Hope you had fun making this EggToon!

Save original in PSP format. Use the Crop tool to reduce the canvas size to it's smallest possible size and export your bunny as an optimized GIF or optimized PNG.


If you want to resize your bunny, one option is to just merge layers and resize. But if you do that your vector objects will be converted to raster.  The best option is to resize the vector image.  Keeping the drawing in vector format allows sizing larger or smaller without losing image quality.   Your Honey Bunny is built from many different vector objects, so to reize them all at the same time we need to "Group" all objects in your drawing.

First thing I'd do is duplicate the PSP image and leave original untouched.   Window>Duplicate
Use the Object Selector, right click on any vector object in drawing, choose 'select all' and then right click again and select 'Group'.
Once grouped, a boundary box will appear around Honey Bunny.  Pull or push on one of the corner nodes to resize without changing proportions.  Use the other nodes to deform.


Now that you've got the vector tools all figured out ;-)
...why don't you try making your own original version of the EggToon bunny. You can make longer ears or legs, make him/her taller or fatter, add cheeks, clothes...etc.  Here's an animated version of Honey Bunny with color changed, big teeth added and a few other small changes.