Tutorial Update

It has been awhile since I updated this tutorial, but there are quite a few things I need to add.
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I am exploring ways to turn these tutorial into videos which can actually show the computer screen as I am working. As I get this done, I will post them on You Tube. If anyone knows how to do this, I would appreciate your tips.
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My oldest son works in animation, and I plan to eventually animate my mandalas and set them to music. I know that he uses a software program called Maya to create his animations. As I learn how to do that, I will share it with you as well.
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On thing that Chris has done in instructing me is to show me how to perform Photoshop functions on Skype. It is a great over the internet phone service that provides free computer to computer phone service. Add a webcam, and you have video calls. When he lived in New Zealand working on Avatar, it was a great service because normal phone calls were too expensive to the States.
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A great feature of Skype is that it allows you to see the other person's computer screen and vice versa; so Chris has been able to show me new things, and I could watch his cursor move and so on. It makes it easy to follow along and see exactly how it is done. IF YOU WANT ME TO SHOW YOU ANY OF THESE PROCEDURES THIS WAY, I AM WILLING TO DO SO. Just sign up for Skype and e mail me about a mutually convenient time to do a lesson.
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Earlier, I showed you to use the grid to help position items on a mandala, and there are times when it can be helpful; but I have found it distracting and unecessary most of the time, so I work without it now.
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The important thing is to have the gridlines accurately aligned so that you have your page center to work with. I will zoom in a lot and make sure that my center is precise.
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The other little trick here is to create your page and fill it with a solid color. Click V to get the move tool, and Photoshop will show you the center of the page.
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When placing a new element for a ring, simply position it where you want it; say at the top of a ring. Then duplicate the layer, rotate it 180° and nudge it down to what looks like an equal distance from the center. Shift, click to highlight both layers and press V. You will see a square around the 2 layers with the midpoint in the center. Simply nudge the layers with the up & down arrows until they are aligned with the center.
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As you rotate new elements to form the rings, work in the same way to center each new addition or set of additions. EVERY SO OFTEN AS I ADD RINGS, I WILL ZOOM IN WHILE HIGHLIGHTING EACH RING LAYER, TO SEE IF IT IS STILL CENTERED PRECISELY. If I have 8 rings, I will check alignment of each before adding the ninth. If you notice new elemnts not lining up right, check this point.
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Since my last update, I have also learned how to download free fonts from the internet so that I have been able to expand the number of fonts available for use in Photoshop. Your operating system may work differnetly than mine, so I am not going to go into detail here. If you need assistance, let me know.
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In an earlier post, I showed you how to make butterly paintings. I have recently learned a technique for drawing the lines that works well for me. For some images, a variable line is wanted and the pressure sensitive drawing tablet is an amazing piece of equipment that makes that possible. For many of my outlines, however, I want perfectly even lines.
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In order to do that, I zoom up to a high resolution and do a shift click with my mouse to create a short straight line. I continue shift clicking to extend the line to create my outline. When I zoom out to normal resolution, the lines blend together to create graceful curves or whatever else I need.
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I suspect that there is a way to use the pen tool this way, but I haven't worked that out yet. As always, if someone wants to clue me in, I am ready.