Creating Realistic Shadows in Photoshop & PSE

At April 13, 2012
By Stacey
In Beginner, Beginner, News, Photoshop, PS Elements, Tutorials
0

Shadows are arguably the most significant aspect in making your scrapbook layout look realistic. Here is a tutorial series by Sherry Saunders and Cilenia Curtis, that we ran in our newsletter on adding realistic shadows to your elements and papers using several different methods.

Creating Realistic Shadows Part 1 (PDF file)
Creating Realistic Shadows Part 2 (PDF file)
Creating Shadows/Layering (PDF file)
Warping Shadows in PS & PSE (PDF file)

How to recolor multiple colors on a single element tutorial

At April 9, 2012
By curtc
In Intermediate, Intermediate, Tutorials
0

ok, I have given in to the world of video sharing! lol I was just going to make a post with the how to do this, but thought, “Why not just record it as I do it?” So I did. I hope I did this right as I have never used YouTube before, so cross your fingers!

PSE can do this also. The only difference is you go to “Enhance” in the top menu and then to “Adjust Color” and then to “Replace Color”. Then work everything else the same way.

In case the video doesn’t embed correctly, here is a Link to it on my blog. And here is the YouTube link too. Still learning how all this video stuff works so bear with me. lol

And as I said, don’t ever be afraid to ask me something if you don’t know it.

Oh, and the kit that I was making that this was from? It’s called Lovely in Lilac and was inspired by Digitals Monthly challenges which I’m a part of and run the Art Journaling Challenge. I like it so much, that I decided to make a whole kit instead of just a mini kit for the bonus.

This was just an impromptu whim of mine. Promise, I will learn how to make these better quality as I learn the ins and outs of YouTube.

Have an awesome day!

Blending with Masks

by Maddy Fernandez

I am going to show you how to use masks and how easy it is to use them. Now there are many ways to accomplish the same tasks in Photoshop. So I will show you what I do. You may have another method, but that’s OK. Just use what you can glean.

Here is the link to the mask that I will be using: [link] So go ahead and download it and we can start. The mask is placed on a 12X12″ canvas in Photoshop. I am using CS4, btw.

Now open up a new scrapbook size file (12X12″) with a white background layer. If you scrap at a different size, e.g., 8X8″, simply resize the canvas or drag the entire mask onto a new canvas of your choice. Open up your mask and drag it onto your new file. (If you hold the shift key down while dragging it it will automatically center it. Of course it doesn’t matter with the mask file since it already is 12X12″.

Now open up a photo that you would like to use on the mask. Make sure it is around the same size as the mask and that the faces are well within the borders of the mask. (Of course you can use a smaller photo, just resize it by dragging the transform tools in the corners). Drag the photo onto the mask layer and press Opt+Cmd+G (Alt+Ctrl+G on a PC) to clip the photo on to the mask. You can also right-click on layer in layers window > Create Clipping Mask option.

At this point, you can rotate or resize the photo and drag it so it will fit to your liking.

Important: When editing your photo, make sure you are working on the photo layer:

Now we will edit the edges of the mask to match your photo. While on the photo layer, press B to activate your brush and find a soft brush of your choice. While the brush is selected, press the Option/Alt key to pick colors from the borders of your photo. Set your brush opacity around 89-95% (experiment with it) and start brushing over the edges of the mask on the photo layer. Work slowly and make sure you undo or use your history tool to undo strokes. *Note: It am using a wacom tablet and it’s a lot easier. But you can still do this even if you don’t have a tablet.

When you are satisfied with how it looks, you can select both of the layers (photo layer and mask layer) and link them so they will stay connected. Also, try and rotate the mask and move it around to see what would look best. Try to stay away from putting any focal point dead center. When you have it how you like it, add your background paper(s) and embellishments to spruce it up.

Here is my final layout. Note: I lied. Naaahhh, I actually played around with it some more and you can see it here in my gallery.

Hope you enjoyed this. I used my Sweet & Spicy products (part of the Shall We Tangerine Tango CAKE). They are on sale for $1.50 each for a limited time! I’d like to see what you come up with using the mask. Also, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me.

~Maddy

PS Tutorial – Showing the “Bump” for the Hidden Part of a Paperclip

When using a paperclip in real life, you can see the shape of the hidden part of the clip as a bump or raised area on the top of the paper. Getting this effect with a digital paperclip element on a digital layout is very easy. The following picture shows the end result of the tutorial.

At February 7, 2012
By curtc
In Beginner, Hybrid Projects, Photoshop, Tutorials
0

Printing on Fabrics

Here is a new tutorial on using digital brushes and stamps to print on fabric for home decor prints. Click on the preview to download the full tutorial in pdf format.