Twisted & Torn Mesh

Requirements: Paint Shop Pro 6 / 7

Basic use of PSP selection tools.

Start with a new image 300 x 300,
transparent background,
16.7 million colors.

Then flood fill with a dark color of your choice.
For this example, I used gray.

Now we will apply the weave effect to our image image.

PSP 6: Image/Effects/Weave
PSP 7: Effects/Texture Effects/Weave

Settings:
Gap Size = 13
Width = 2
Opacity = 100
Fill Gaps = Checked

For this example I used Black for both the weave and gap colors.

Using the Magic Wand click on the black area to select it. This should select a small square.

Note: You may have to experiment with the Tolerance settings so that you only remove the "fill" and not any part of the "weave".

To get all of the black areas, go to Selections/Modify/Select Similar.

With all the squares selected, press Delete to remove all of the black and leave only the weave.

See the examples pictured below:

Now Deselect: Selections/Select None

Using the Freehand Tool, we will make the selection for the "Tear".

Settings:
Selection Type = Smart Edge
Feather = 5
Antialias = Checked

Make your selection encompass the area that you want the hole to be. Make your selection jagged with lots of points and uneven edges.

Now with our jagged area selected, press the Delete key.

You should now have a nice mesh image with a jagged hole in the middle.

Now Deselect: Selections/Select None

Time to make our hole look like it was punctured!

Using the Selection Tool make a circular selection around the hole.

Settings:
Selection Type = Circle
Feather = 0
Antialalias = Checked

Leave this area selected and apply the deformations.

First the Twirl -
PSP 6: Image/Deformations/Twirl
PSP 7: Effects/Geometric Effects/Twirl
Settings:
Degrees = -54

Now the Warp -
PSP 6: Image/Deformations/Warp
PSP 7: Effects/Geometric Effects/Warp
Settings - Size = 60
Strength = 43
Center Offset - Horizontal & Vertcal = 0

The settings above are just a guide - play around with the settings until you are satisfied with your image.

Now Deselect: Selections/Select None, and you are finished!

Now you can use your Eraser Tool and clean up any little pieces on the edges that you don't like. You can also try different textures and sculptures on the mesh to achieve various effects.