How Do I Build a Reusable Cluster?

Happy New Year, GingerScrappers! The holidays were quiet at our house, but exhausting anyway. In a few days it’ll be time to put all the decorations away and turn to figuring out what life will look like this year. Sort of depressing, isn’t it? Thankfully we have our digi-scrapping hobby to distract from all that!

This week’s tutorial was inspired by a question from Rachel M. She wanted to know how to create a cluster that she could save and reuse on other layouts – for themed albums, I’m guessing – with the separate layers preserved. She’d experimented but just couldn’t make it work. So I took over the experimenting and came up with a way to do it. Why keep the layers separated though? So the clusters can be modified a little, of course! To keep them from looking too contrived, to maybe substitute some of the elements, to rotate and manipulate easily while keeping the overall look consistent. Now, I’m going to climb up on the soapbox for a second before we go on… I strongly suggest you create your own unique clusters if you plan to do this. If you’re using a template created by someone else, there’s really no need to save a cluster, right? Because the original creator has already saved it… O-o-okay. Onward and upward.

This image is of the cluster I created for Magical Scraps Galore‘s January Surprise Challenge. I used Aimee Harrison‘s Winter Freeze kit (no longer available) and a photo from Pixabay for my layout. The cluster is simple, but has several layers so I figured it would be a good one for demonstrating this technique. The layers are all together in the Layers Panel to make the next step easier. As you might have noticed, I’ve used Shadow Layer Styles rather than custom shadows. I know, how unlike me! But for the cluster to be really reusable, custom shadows would need to be added to individual layers once the layout is completed. The reason for this will become a bit more clear as we work through the tutorial.

I Selected all the element layers by clicking on the top layer of the cluster, holding down the SHIFT key and clicking on the bottom layer. It works the other way too, clicking on the bottom layer, SHIFT>clicking on the top. You do what works for you!

Next, I right-clicked on a random layer. (With them all Selected, what happens to one happens to all.) Then I chose Duplicate Layers from the drop-down menu.

PSE will need you to tell it where you want those Duplicated Layers to go. If you just want to add them to the canvas you’re already working on (named Untitled-1 here), all you need to do is click OK. But for this exercise, I chose New.

PSE will create a whole new canvas and to help keep track of it, I recommend giving it a name. I went the lazy route and just called it Cluster, but if this was a cluster I planned to use over and over again, I’d give it a more descriptive name, maybe with the layout name, the kit name, the theme or a combo of all of them.

The new canvas is the same dimensions as the original one, 12×12. All the individual layers are there, all the Shadow Styles are there. To make it a little less cumbersome, I Cropped it down to a more manageable size, with a little border of white space around it for future tweaking.

Now, the reusing part isn’t quite as straight-forward. If I just drag-and-drop the layered cluster from the Photo Bin onto my layout, it comes up as a single, Merged/Flattened layer. That might be okay, but what if I decide I want to Rotate it? The Shadow Styles aren’t going to adapt to the new position! And that might be okay, unless your eye sees the inconsistency and it drives your OCD crazy. Oops, projecting!

When I Open the cluster while it’s in the Photo Bin, all the layers and Styles are still there. How can I harness that so that I can have my cluster and tweak it too?

Answer? Do the tweaking right there on the layered cluster canvas! Here I’ve used the Rotate command to Flip the cluster Horizontally, then I Filled the word strip with white and oh yeah. I rearranged things a little.

This step can be done before you play with things, rather than after like I’ve done. But the tweakability is there either way. The goal is to be able to use the LAYERED cluster again, so it will need to be Saved As a layered cluster – a Photoshop document, so make sure it’ll preserve the Layers and Color Profile. You could alternatively Save As a TIFF to save some hard drive space. Go with whichever format you’re more comfortable with.

Here I’ve Saved the PSD to the folder for my Challenge layout. If it was going to be used again and again, I might put it into the kit folder so it would be right there to mix and mingle.

Now, how is it reusable once it’s been Saved? As I said, just drag-and-drop isn’t going to work.

I could decide how I want the cluster to be oriented on the layout, adjust all the shadows to sync with the rest of the layout and then drag-and-drop. But that’s a lot of work and might need a bunch of Undo and Redo [CTRL/CMD>X and CTRL/CMD>Y]. Surely there’s a better way… one that’ll keep the layers loose. Just build the layout behind it!

But to do that I’ll need to Image>Resize>Canvas [CTRL/CMD>ALT>C] so there’s room.

I used the default center as my Anchor point but it isn’t essential. What does matter is making the Canvas the size you want your finished layout to be. I work with a transparent background, so I want that preserved too.

Bingo! All the layers are there, I have room to add papers, photos and other elements, and the canvas is the correct size to become a layout!

I just popped a paper behind the cluster layers to show you how it works. I hope this is what Rachel had in mind when she asked her question…

Next Tuesday I’m going to use this same layout as my example. Can you guess what the topic will be?

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3EVpJRJ

Clearly Complete – Adding Some Background

Whew… we’re in the 2021 home stretch now! Twenty-three more days and it’ll be over. This last week has been a whirlwind for me! Last Tuesday my daughter and I spent 5 hours – the first 90 minutes in torrential rain! – in a car so we could spend 3 hours with my parents on the day before their 65th anniversary. On the first we set a temperature record, 63°F. Now we have 6 inches of snow! And later today I see the ophthalmologist to find out when he can remove my cataracts. [I thought the dramatic changes in my vision were related to having had COVID in the spring. Surprise!] It’s a good thing I already had a lot of the work done for this tutorial! Today I’m going to show how I added some “wallpaper” in the background behind my glass mixing bowl and made it look realistic-ish. We’ll pick up right where we ended last week.

It was a challenge to find the right paper for this part. I tried a few and didn’t like the results, so let me offer some tips on selecting. Pick a paper with some pattern, but not too small or large. Choose something with colour, but not too light or dark. Texture is good, but only to a point. I think I might try to fake some subway tiles later and see how that goes… The paper I liked best was from ADB Designs‘ Antiques Emporium. It kind of reminds me of my grandmother’s kitchen. The way I imagine it, not how it really was – she had no running water! As you can see, the paper is behind everything except the original bowl layer.

I was really glad I hadn’t Deleted the original bowl layer when I started figuring out how to make this work, because it DOESN’T work using the glass version of the bowl at all. With the paper layer active, I Selected the edges of the bowl by CTRL/CMD>clicking on the Layer Thumbnail (that little picture of the bowl in the Layers Panel).

Light changes as it passes through glass. This step adds that effect. Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Brightness/Contrast.

When the Tool Options menu opens, adjust the Brightness by INcreasing it to 15, and DEcrease the Contrast to -5.

Now, it could be my eyes, but when I was looking at real curved glass with a pattern behind it as I figured this out, the glass created a slight blur on the paper. So Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. But just a little bit, 1.7 pixels‘ worth. Keep the edges of the original bowl Selected until I tell you to Deselect it!

It looks okay, but there are still a few things it needs. I added a new blank Layer immediately above the paper. Click on the sheet-of-paper icon to the upper left of the Layers Panel.

Next, I Filled the outline of the bowl on that blank Layer with black using the Paint Bucket tool. Looks awful, but it’ll be great! Now you can Select>Deselect the original bowl outline (CTRL/CMD>D).

Don’t worry about that black, and don’t be intimidated by this step either. It’s going to work beautifully, I promise! The black is going to become a shadow, and bowls cast very complex shadows. To make it work, Image>Transform>Distort.

The best thing about Distort is that you can adjust the image in a single dimension, or multiple dimensions, depending on what your goal is. I know the light is coming from the top right part of the bowl because of where that big shiny spot is. For the shadow effect I arrived at through lots of trial-and-error, discarded screenshots and Undos, what worked best was just to pull the lower left “handle” straight out as shown. The image comes out from behind the bowl. I clicked the checkmark.

Then I Rotated the black image to the left, keeping the corners of the bowl and shadow layers aligned. And yes, it looks like it’s just a mess.

But not for long! Remember, the outline of the original bowl is still Selected. So now I’m going to Cut out the black that sits inside the outline. Edit>Cut or CTRL/CMD>X.

That wedge of black has to go too. I used the Rectangle Marquee tool to draw a box around it.

And again, Edit>Cut (CTRL/CMD>X).

Now to soften it up. Clear glass will never cast a harsh shadow. Ever. Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

This shadow needs a LOT of softening, so I pushed the Blur all the way to 24.9 pixels. See how it spreads behind the glass a bit? Exactly what I wanted to see.

I know I’ve mentioned why I change the Blend Mode on my shadows to Linear Burn, but I think it bears repeating. The Normal Blend Mode remains opaque and doesn’t allow any of the colour under it to show through. Linear Burn will let both the colour and the texture be visible.

Last step for this shadow is to decrease the Opacity down to about 18%. It’s subtle, but quite nice!

All that’s left is to add a smidge of shadow behind the “dough”. Remember the steps for custom shadows?

1- Select the edges of the object by CTRL/CMD>Clicking on the object’s Layer Thumbnail.

2- Add a blank layer underneath the object. CTRL/CMD>Click the sheet-of-paper icon if you have the object’s layer active.

3- Fill the Selection from Step 1 on the new blank layer with your shadow colour using the Paint Bucket Tool.

4- Select>Deselect (CTRL/CMD>D) the object’s outline and nudge the filled layer so that the light source conforms to the rest of the layout.

5- Smudge the shadow layer to change the contours a bit, making the shadow look more natural. This is based on how the light would penetrate to the background. Thick, flat things will be more snugly connected to the background and the shadows here will be sharper and closer. Thin, curved things might be farther away from whatever is behind them and the shadow would be less distinct.

6- Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur the shadow layer to the degree the object will block passage of the light.

7- Change the Blend Mode to Linear Burn.

8- Decrease the Opacity of the shadow layer until it looks “right” and you’re done!

I really enjoy trying to make two-dimensional images look real, and think it’s worth the effort. My next attempt might be a snow globe. If you choose to give this a try, don’t feel like you have to use exactly the same settings and what-have-you that I’ve used. Play a little so that when you’re finished, it looks good to YOU! Because you’re the only one who gets to have an opinion.

Anybody have a great idea for next week’s topic? Drop a comment below and I’ll see what I can do.

PDF Version: https://bit.ly/3pYuqon

Can I Make Something Crystal Clear? (As Glass)

Omigosh. November is over at midnight! For me, December will be even busier than November – and Canada doesn’t have Thanksgiving in November! – has been, and I wouldn’t have thought that possible. But here we are…

Last week I signed off with a promise to show you something really cool, and I hope you’ll be suitably impressed. It all started with a message from Carol (gnana96): “Hi Jan, I have another tutorial suggestion for you. Several years ago I started scrapping family recipes for my kids and adult grandchildren. The first year they got an album and several recipes and every year I give them 7 to 10 more to add to their collection.
This year one of the templates I used was from The Cherry On Top What’s Cookin, template 1. The template has a mixer and a bowl which I thought would be so cute for my 7 minute frosting. The bowl on the template is white and I thought it would be cute to make it a glass bowl so I applied one of Karen Schulz (Snickerdoodle) glass styles to the bowl and my sister Ellen and I both decided that it just didn’t look right so I ended up attaching a patterned paper to the bowl. (The layout was for the bingo challenge and I posted it as # 13)
I’m not sure if I chose the wrong glass style or if my idea itself was flawed. I know Ellen has tried to apply glass styles to something besides a bowl and she didn’t think it worked either so I am hoping you can help us out.
How do we decide which style to apply and what needs to be done to make it look right. How do we make a glass bowl look like a glass bowl and not like a glossy part of the wall.
Thanks
Carol”

Well, didn’t I have to right away start playing with those glass styles (after I ran to the store and bought them – how did I not have them in my stash??). Today’s tutorial will look at making a solid opaque object transparent and three-dimensional, and next week I’ll show you how to create a realistic look against some “wallpaper”. [<whispers> I had some issues with Elements and had to reset all my preferences, then it was still giving me a hard time. That’s why the text is a little wonky on the screenshots.] Let’s go!

I started out with this bowl from Wimpychompers‘ Baking Traditions (retired). She has a mixer in the kit too, with a metal bowl; I opted to use this one but the technique will absolutely work on pretty much anything. The only alteration I made to the bowl was to make it taller.

For this technique to work it goes best on a Copy of the object, so right-click>Duplicate Layer>OK or CTRL/CMD>J gets that done.

I have several clear glass bowls and the upper edges of them are all thicker than the rest of the bowl, so I decided to make my digital glass bowl the same. I’m going to give that top band a bit more heft later. For right now, I activated the Rectangle Marquee Tool.

Working with the Copy layer, Select the top band using the Rectangle Marquee Tool as shown.

Now we want to make a Copy of JUST THE BAND. To do that you can click Edit>Copy or CTRL/CMD>C.

The band needs a layer of its own, so add a blank layer above the two bowl layers by clicking on the sheet of paper icon.

Now Paste the Copy of the band onto that new layer: Edit>Paste or CTRL/CMD>V.

For right now, let’s turn the Visibility for the band off. It won’t go anywhere.

I was steam-rollering through the technique when it occurred to me that I probably haven’t covered how to load Styles. How remiss of me!! If you’re not a pro at loading Styles, follow along. First, make sure you know where the .ASL file containing the Styles lives on your computer. Click on the Styles button at the bottom right of the Layers Panel. It looks like a deck of cards. When the Styles menu opens, click on the icon that looks like a stack of paper, at the top right of the Layers Panel, up there underneath the Share button. That opens the settings menu for the Styles tool. Click on Load Styles. Then when the pop-up opens, find your .ASL file in your folders and double-click on it. There! The Styles will show up in the dropdown menu now. I rename all my .ASL files for easier recognition, so on my list the glass Styles come up as Glass Karen Schulz. (I’ve linked to the store so you can find them quickly!)

Karen hasn’t used a descriptive name for the Styles, just numbers. The one you want to use is the one I’ve outlined.

In this screenshot, both bowl layers are Visible. Can you see the rounded Bevel and the shine?

Here I’ve turned the original bowl and top band layers’ Visibility off. All that’s left is the shiny clear glass! But it doesn’t look much like a bowl. So let’s play with the settings! Double-click on the fx icon for the bowl’s Copy layer where the Style has been applied. You’ll see this pop-up menu with the default settings for this Style.

It took me some fiddling to get this right. Don’t be afraid to experiment! I increased the Opacity for the Inner Glow to 75% and the Bevel all the way to 250 pixels. Now it looks round!

Next, let’s apply a different Style to the band layer.

Now, we’ll tweak the fx as before, with these settings.

With the Visibility for all layers turned on, this is how the bowl would look as a glossy ceramic. The original bowl layer isn’t needed any more for the technique, but I’m not going to Delete it yet.

Let’s put some cookie dough in the bowl! I turned the bowl Copy layer and band off for this part, leaving just the original bowl visible. This cloud from Lindsay Jane‘s Sunny Days Ahead (retired) looks a bit like dough if you squint. But how can I make it fit into the bowl?

Make sure the cloud is completely covering the bottom of the bowl. Select the edges of the bowl by CTRL/CMD>clicking on the bowl’s layer thumbnail (the little picture in the Layers Panel) with the cloud layer active.

Now it’s time to Invert the Selection by clicking Select>Inverse or CTRL/CMD>SHIFT>I.

To remove the bits of the cloud hanging over the edges of the bowl, Edit>Cut or CTRL/CMD>X and it’ll disappear.

I nudged the “dough” up a bit to create the illusion of glass walls. You’ll see what I’m talking about in a minute. But before we get there, I want to make my “dough” look like it was made with butter and not shortening, so I’ll need to make a Copy of the “dough” layer. Right-click>Duplicate Layer>OK or CTRL/CMD>J.

I really tried to change the colour on this “dough” using the quick-and-easy Paint Bucket, but it looked HORRIBLE. So instead, let’s add a Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color.

Check that box Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask.

Then pick a colour that looks like “dough”. Or whatever colour you like!

Next, Merge the Fill Layer with the Copy cloud layer.

To preserve the lumpiness of the “dough” change the Blend Mode to Linear Burn.

Et voilà! Cookie dough in a glass mixing bowl!!

Carol, I hope this is what you were expecting. Happy birthday!

PDF VERSION : https://bit.ly/3FXy1cw