1. Paint Shop Pro (duh). Any version you have, but I'm using 8. Version 7 has the same filters, but in different places. You will also use Animation Shop 3.

2. Two fonts of your choice- I used Velcro and Vingy

3. Gradient of your choice

4. Eye Candy 4000 and dsb flux

Open a new image 500 x 300 with a transparent background.

Step Two:

Using a nice fat font, I used Velcro, type in your name using your gradient as the background color and black as your foreground color.  I used font size of 84 and my stroke width of 2 pixels.

Leave selected.

On your top tool bar, click on "Effects" and then "3D Effects" and then "Inner Bevel".

Use the settings to your right.

Deselect

Add a new raster layer, and then type your secondary text using a different font of your choice.

As you can see, I used a solid black, and smaller letters.

Position this text where you want it, deselect, and then merge all visible layers.

On your top tool bar, click on "Effects" and then "Plugins" or where ever you have Eye Candy 4000, and then choose "Gradient Glow".

Use a color from your gradient, and make a glow around the outside of your image with the settings to your right.

Repeat the step above, changing your color to black and your glow width to 3.00

Step Seven:

Repeat the step again, changing your color to white and your glow width to 15.00

Repeat again, changing your color to black and your glow width to 3.00

Using your magic wand, select the white area on your image and go up to "Selections" and then "Modify" and the "Expand". Expand your selection by 2 pixels.  Flood fill this area with the gradient you originally used. Do NOT deselect.

On your top tool bar, click on "Effects" and then "dsb flux" and then "Bright Noise". Use the settings shown to your right. Deselect.

Go up to your top tool bar, choose copy, and then go to Animation Shop.

Go up to "Edit", "Paste" and then "Paste As New Animation".

Back in PSP, go up to "Edit" and then "Undo Select None". Repeat the step above, changing the Intensity to 43. Deselect.

Go up to your top tool bar, choose copy, and then go to Animation Shop.

Go up to "Edit", "Paste" and then "After Current Frame".

Whew! We are almost finished...  Now all we have to do is save our animation.

Now Animation Shop MAKES you optimize your image, so I'm going to show you what settings I use. I can't say this is the best way, but it works for me.

You can close out PSP if you want to, you are finished with it for right now. The rest of the tut is working with Animation Shop.

Click on "File" and then "Optimization Wizard".  This first screen just tells you that you are saving an animated gif file.

(I'm making these screenshots small so the page doesn't take forever to load, but you can click on them to get the full sized image. A new window will open.)

This second screen is where you choose quality vs. size. Slide the bar all the way up so that you are choosing better image quality, and then click on the "Customize" button.

Colors Tab- Colors should be set at 255 colors.

Optimizations Tab- Nothing should be checked.

Partial Transparency Tab- Use the settings below:

Once you have all the settings done, click on "Ok". Then just keep clicking on the "Next" button till it reaches the end, and then click on "Finish". You can now go up to "File" and then "Save".