Pleated Paper? Maybe…

The other day I got a private message from Ginger, whose working title is Dandelion Dust Designs. “I’ve had some customers and CT members fall in love with this LO in the GS Gallery and would love a tutorial on how to do that amazing layered/shadow work on the left side of the page, if and when you have time as a future tutorial! Thank you!!” The layout she’s talking about is this one, wvsandy‘s Use It All challenge layout, and it’s FABULOUS! (I’ve linked it there so you can visit the Gallery and leave her some love.)

What follows is part of a literal scraplift of wvsandy‘s layout. As I was putting it together, I learned a few things about how layers work that I hadn’t known before, and so the screenshots are a bit muddled. I’ve tried to work around that to give you the most concise instructions and fewest extra steps that I can. Please tell me if you try this and come up with a better method! First off, I started with a blank 12×12 canvas on my workspace. (Obviously, you can make it whatever size you want. I just like 12×12!)

For best results this technique wants a light-coloured neutral background – otherwise the shadows that make it so awesome will be diminished. I’m using Jumpstart Designs‘ Good Friends Gather Here for my layout. (Sheri gave me a shout-out in her newsletter! Did you see it?)

Essentially, I’m creating a template for the paper strips/pleats in these next few steps. Looking at the inspiration layout, the paper strips along the left of the page don’t reach to the centre and there are 12 of them. So using the Custom Shape Tool, with the Rectangle shape selected, I set a Fixed Size of 5 inches wide, 1 inch tall for my “cookie cutter”. The foreground colour isn’t important for this but should be something that contrasts with the background. This Tool creates a “Smart Object” which can’t be altered in its original form and must be Simplified. In later versions of Elements, there’s a Simplify button right there in the Tool Options panel. If your version doesn’t have that, right-click on the layer and choose Simplify Layer from the dropdown menu.

Next step is to make a bunch of Copies of that paper strip template. The quickest and easiest way to do that is to click CTRL/CMD>J as many times as you need copies. Or you can right-click, Duplicate Layer>Ok for each copy.

All the Copies will be stacked up on top of the original paper strip and will need to be moved up or down the stack to create the column of strips.

Because I screenshot as I work my way through the techniques I show you, if I discover I’ve taken the LONG way to get where I’m going, the images won’t sync well with the text. And of course, I figured out after I’d gotten more than halfway through that I wasn’t taking the most sensible route to my destination. (GPS anyone?) Please read the text on the images and the text for each step to see where I’ve messed up. (It’ll be in red here…) I’m going to show you how to quickly and easily Align the edges of all those strips and Distribute them the length of the page. For the shadowing to work best, the strip layer at the BOTTOM of the layer stack goes to the TOP corner of the page. So move that layer into place. 

Now, rather than what the image shows, you’ll move the strip at the TOP of the stack to the BOTTOM corner of the page. The rest of the strips will need to be moved up and down the stack later, but for now they can stay piled on top of each other.

To Align all the left edges of the strips with the left edge of the page, first we have to Select all the pertinent layers. Click on either the top or the bottom layer then hold down the SHIFT key and click on the one at the other end of the pile.

With the Move Tool active, look for the Tool Options at the lower left of the workspace. Click on the Align Left button and Elements will move all the strips so their left edges are aligned. With all the layers still Selected, click on Distribute Center as shown. Elements will move each strip so they’re evenly spaced down the page. If there’s a slight gap in the column, it could be that 3600 pixels isn’t exactly 12 inches. Just close the gap.

Then you can start Clipping papers to your strip templates. I’ll do three strips from each of four papers for mine, but you do you! Drag a paper on top of the first paper strip layer then right-click and choose Create Clipping Mask or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD>G for Elements versions 13 and lower, CTRL/CMD>ALT>G for versions more recent. You’ll need to move the various layers up or down the Layers Panel to have them in the correct order.  You can drag them up or down or use the CTRL/CMD>[ key to move down, CTRL/CMD>] to move up.

You can shift each paper layer around while it’s just Clipped to the strip template so that the results are pleasing to your eye.

Before going any further, make one more Copy of the original paper strip template. It’s going to be the basis for the custom shadow layers we’ll be creating next.

Some template designers use black for shadows, some designers like a warmer, softer brown colour. Click on the foreground colour and make your choice.

The quickest way to change the colour of the shadow layer strip is to CTRL/CMD>click inside the Layer Thumbnail and use the Paint Bucket. Just click anywhere on the canvas. Or you can click Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color>Use Previous Layer as Clipping Mask.

Before going on, to minimize confusion I suggest Merging each paper to its strip template. Select both layers by CTRL/CMD>clicking on each layer (not the thumbnail though!) then right-click and choose Merge Layers, or simply click CTRL/CMD>E.

Now Move that shadow layer so that it’s underneath the layer at the top corner of the page.

To turn a black rectangle into a realistic shadow, it needs to peek out from under the paper and give the impression there’s space between the paper and whatever is underneath it. You can nudge the shadow layer down and to the right using your arrow keys, but to get a truly interesting shadow, let’s go a bit further. Image>Transform>Distort.

Grab the “handle” at the lower right corner of the shadow layer and click>drag it a bit to the right and down. Don’t go too far! If you did that in the default Move Tool Options, and that Constrain Proportions box is ticked, the shape of the strip won’t be changed, it’ll just be bigger…

To further refine the shadow, let’s play with the Smudge Tool! The icon is a gloved finger. This tool is really versatile, but it’s easy to overdo it and sometimes the preview of it lags a bit behind its action. So a gentle touch is essential. I like to use a large diameter brush for creating a bit of a curve along an edge, then a much smaller one to pull a corner or tip out and over. Think of it like moving a pile of flour on the counter. If you use a glass and push it, you’ll get a curve. If you use a knife to pull it, you’ll get a tail. That’s how this tool works.

So now we have a very sharp, harsh shadow. Ew. Let’s hit it with a Filter! Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

The slider adjusts the degree of blur applied to the image.

Achieving realistic shadows also requires a change to the Blend Mode. Why? Well, you want to be able to see what’s underneath the shadow, but you still want it to have good saturation. Leaving it “Normal” means it’s opaque and completely conceals what’s below. Linear Burn and Color Burn both give the layer transparency so pick the one you like.

But it’s still harsh. So I’m going to lower the Opacity of the layer to 45%.

See how the edge of the paper layer below the shadow is visible? That’s the goal!

Now that we’ve made a nice shadow layer, let’s make a bunch of Copies! Same process as for the paper strip template layers. One for each paper strip. CTRL/CMD>J times x.

And just like all those paper strip templates, the shadow layers are piled up. Move them as you did the paper strips so that there’s a shadow layer under each paper strip and nudge it into place.

Again, let’s minimize confusion. If you turn the visibility of all the shadow layers but the one you’re working with off, it’ll make it easier to see what’s happening with it.

Here’s another option for moving layers around in the stack.

Here’s the almost-there arrangement of paper and shadow. It looks good!

Once each layer is shadowed, you might want to further tweak the shadows so it doesn’t look too perfect. Nudge some of them down a tiny bit more. Pull out your Smudger again. But make your changes subtle!

My finished scraplift will be my Inspiration challenge layout. I used some word art from Jumpstart’s Gracious Heart Graced Life (the not-so-secret add-on part!) and used a Gradient Fill layer to make it work better with my photo and papers. I love it!

See you all next week!!

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/32PvjYw

Anchors Aweigh! (Reverse Masking)

Hey GingerScrappers! It’s raining in the Okanagan… something that hasn’t happened much around here for months. That makes today a perfect day to do some scrapping.

I want to talk a little bit about anchors though. Not the heavy iron pieces that keep ships from floating away. The kind that help bring cohesion and polish to our layouts by keeping our photos from floating away! Think for a minute about how template designers create their templates and what draws your eye to them. There are lots of factors that come into play when choosing a template, and consciously or unconsciously, anchors are usually involved. They can take many forms. Paper strips and stacks are likely the most common anchors. But paint splats, brushes, masks, scatters and ephemera can all play that supporting role. Even a grungy paper itself can provide an anchoring effect when there’s a faded area that sort of frames your photo. But what if you want something a little different? Let me show you how to create an anchor point using paper, brushes and a reverse mask. The suggestion for this topic came from Ellen [gmae], with a hat-tip to AnnieA for the example she provided in the Gallery.

In my demo, I’ll be using a semi-solid paper and a patterned paper from Aprilisa‘s (retired) Captured Romance kit. [I chose it because my layout will be showcasing a heritage wedding photo.] If you choose to use this technique, you can use whatever combo you like: solid/solid, solid/patterned, patterned/patterned or any other combination you like. I’m using a freeform method in my demo; if you choose to use a template, turn visibility to all layers but the background and your focal photo spot off so you can see what you’re doing while we work through it. My photo spot is sized to the wedding photo I’m going to use.

I stacked the semi-solid gray paper behind the photo spot and popped the patterned paper above it.

If you’re a faithful follower [thank you!!] you’ll already know I love layer masks. They’re considered a non-destructive way of removing parts of a layer; you’ll see that the colour pickers change to white and black when you add a layer mask. White reveals, black conceals. But whatever you’ve concealed is still there, lurking in the background, just in case you want it to reappear. That’s the definition of non-destructive in the Photoshop/Elements context. If you’re concealing some part of a photo or an object and you oops, all is not lost. Just click the X key to swap conceal for reveal and paint it back in! The uses for layer masks are infinite, limited only by your imagination. So to create a layer mask, click on the blue square icon with the circle in the centre, found across the top of the layers panel. You’ll see the mask appear to the right of the layer you’re masking, and it’ll have a blue box around it indicating that’s the part of the layer that is active.

Elements has a default selection of brushes already installed in the software when you download it. They’re pretty basic brushes but are useful for a lot of things. My assumption is that we’re not making a nice straight, crisp edge on our contrasting papers so for this demo I’m going to use a Wet Media Brush. The number at the bottom of the thumbnail is the default size of the brush. You can ignore that. [Yeah. I have a lot of brushes. Many of them were free.]

Resize the brush so it’s manageable but not too big. 200 pixels is a good place to start. The default brush settings are shown in the Brush Settings menu.

Before using the brush, the layer mask must be inverted. We want it to conceal everything then reveal only the parts we want to see. The mask thumbnail will be black and the paper/object being masked will be invisible. To get there, just click CTRL/CMD>I. Make sure the foreground colour in the Color Picker is white… otherwise nothing will happen!

My first version is a simple oblong heart shape. I just dragged the brush to draw out a heart! Check out the layer mask. See what happened?

Here I’ve just dragged my brush in a sort of swath, cutting off a corner of the gray paper.

Zig-zags can look pretty cool.

Or making several vertical passes frames the photo as well as anchors it.

But what if we go horizontally?

Following are a few examples of using a brush as a stamp to create an anchor. To do this, make the brush as large as you can. With this butterfly brush, I think it would look better under a smaller, squarer photo. See how the polka dots on the paper show up?

This star scatter [a challenge brush from CathyK a long time ago] would work better with a much smaller, more obvious pattern, don’t you think?

Ooh, I like the idea of this one. Not necessarily the execution though… I used three different brushes from a free set called Corners with Birds. I’d want to make sure the brushes don’t overlap because the contours are muddied.

Then there’s this filigree floral corner. I really like this one! But which version will I settle on? You’ll have to look for my layout in the Gallery to find out. I’m still on the fence!!

If you’ve seen something you’d love to emulate but aren’t sure how to get there, just shoot me a message and I’ll see what I can do to make it work for you!

PDF Version: https://bit.ly/39cdrH3

How Did They Do That? (Outlining a Title with Paper Cuts)

Are the kids all back to school now? Are you able to just sit in silence for a while? I remember how that feels! This week’s tutorial is a short snapper, not too complicated, since I don’t want to distract you from your relaxation. Sherry (spenny) messaged me a couple of weeks back, asking for some help. She’d seen some really interesting titles in the Gallery where the scrapper had lined her title up so it overlapped a series of paper/photo strips. Then she cut some of the paper strips away, leaving a background paper border visible around the alpha she used. Sherry wanted some input on how it’s done. This is what I’ve come up with. Now remember, you don’t have to follow my instructions to the letter; do what looks good to your eyes. I’m offering guidance only!

This technique can be used at any angle. Vertical, horizontal, diagonal… all the same steps. If you want a crisp look, choose a sans-serif (no extensions on the terminal strokes) alpha with some substance and clean lines. I went with a bit more of a fun alpha from the GingerBread Ladies‘ collab Happiness Is. My papers are also from this collab. Here you can see I have 8 paper strips, one for each letter in my title. I’ve resized the alpha so each letter is the same height as the paper strip. If you want to, you could double up some of the letters to a single strip for a really unique look. To make the steps easier, I’ve sandwiched the letters between the paper strip layers.

I decided how far over I wanted to move my letters so that they sit on top of the paper then I dragged out a Guideline to snug them up against. Guidelines are really useful for precision. All you need to do is ensure the Rulers are active [View>Rulers] then with your cursor inside one of them, click-hold and drag the cursor to the place where you want the Guideline. The actual Guideline won’t be this obvious. I’ve enhanced it for better visibility.

Next, I nudged the first letter over so it’s just touching my Guideline, and then I CTRL/CMD>clicked inside the LETTER‘s layer thumbnail in the Layers Panel to Select the edges of the letter. See the marching ants?

I need to make the area inside the marching ants a bit bigger. Otherwise there won’t be a border around the letter later, right? Select>Modify>Expand will make the Selection grow.

Here’s where personal preference comes into play. There’s no hard-and-fast rule for this step, and it may take some experimentation to find the right number of pixels to go with. I ended up at 15 pixels, but 20 or 25 might have worked well too.

Here you can see where the new line of marching ants, the new Selection, is.

Now, with the turquoise paper layer active, I Cut some of the paper away. Edit>Cut or CTRL/CMD>X will work for that.

I followed the same process with each of the letters in the title. Where there are little bits of paper completely disconnected from the paper strip, I used the Eraser tool and got rid of them.

Where the paper bits are still attached, like inside the C, the S and the E, I left them there.

Then I shadowed up each layer and my title is done!

The layouts Sherry showed me as examples can be seen here, here and here.

If you try this tip, let me know so I can leave you some Gallery love!!

PDF Tutorial: https://bit.ly/3kYGNyg