I started out with a simple oval frame in white and instead of coloring them in when making the oval, I prefer filling it in with a background. This usually turns out much better and you don't get that raggy edge you will get with drawing in a solid color.
For those of you that don't know how to do this, you just put your white oval frame at Image Magick and go to Composite and enter in an url of a background. Leave the coordinates as they are Center+0+0 and go down to the button and use IN or ATOP and then put in a checkmark by clicking on the Misc box below which will tile the background into the oval white frame.
Simple enough so far? Now when I first started these ovals I would put my oval sphere onto a clear background and then composite the frame over it but that required too many steps and I looked for the easy way out because in doing that it meant coloring in your oval frame as I explained and output and saving the url. Then you had to put in a clear gif large enough to fit the oval with the frame around it.
Are you with me? So the only difference doing it my easy way is you want to hide any imperfections that may occur with that oval sphered egg. I fixed that baby by drawing around the egg using Ellipse again just like making an oval. You would just change the numbers slightly. Now someone asked but how did you make 3 frames around the egg. Hah, those aren't 3 frames, they are lines drawn using Ellipse and changing the numbers.
So here are the steps you will take.
1. Go to Image Magick with this oval frame. For printers convenience:
http://www.wtv-zone.com/MsLee/TEMPLATES/whiteovalframe.gif
White Oval Frame
2. Composite a background using the "fill in method" explained above (using IN and checkmark in MISC). Now your frame is colored.
3. Composite Center+0+0 this white oval that I sphered at Gifworks.
http://www.wtv-zone.com/MsLee/TEMPLATES/whitesphereoval.gif
White Oval Egg
4. Now you want to draw a line around the egg to hide those flaws and make it look finished. Go to DRAW - Ellipse. The numbers you would use being that you started with my oval frame which was 216x266 would now give you the numbers to use in the coordinate box. They would be 108,133 90,115 0,360 - Color use None and Stroke Color your choice 2 or 3 Stroke Width.
5. If you want a second line say in the center of the frame, use the same 2 numbers which by the way, are half of what the frame is. So half of the 216 and half of the 266 which sets your image in the center are the first 2 numbers, the second two numbers determine where that line is going to go and the 0,360 is the circumference of the oval. So now the middle line would be 108,133 97,123 0,360. These numbers worked out perfect for my size oval.
Now if you make a different size oval frame or a different size sphered egg, you will have to make adjustments with the numbers you use.
6. Now to decorate use an image that will fit in the oval or I like the look of using something that goes a little over onto the frame and gives it that 3D look. Now you can also use just a flat oval and not an egg if you prefer, depending on the look you want.
On some of mine you will notice they are flat and sometimes it happens depending on the colors you use or the image you put in.
You can also color your center oval with a background as I have done also but you would need to go and sphere it after. If you do the sphere first, it flattens it right out again. Why? I don't know.
So go ahead, have fun and create your own style. You may want to look at some that I have on my webpage of these framed ovals, click on link below.
I have many more tutorials on various projects. There are other webpages I have made, too numerous to list. LOL Click on Lee's Varieties and you will see many more interesting projects I've done. I'm like that battery operated bunny. Once I start, I just keep going and going and looking for the next project around the corner. Here's one I just put together using a gold background for the frame.
