{"id":41232,"date":"2021-08-24T17:01:18","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T00:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/?p=41232"},"modified":"2021-09-11T14:49:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T21:49:16","slug":"tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-157","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/2021\/08\/tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-157\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Faking the Wood Burning Look<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Last week Ellen<\/strong> (gmae<\/strong>) sent me this message:<\/p>\n

Hi Jan, The above YouTube<\/strong> is for wood burning in Photoshop<\/strong>. He talks through this way too quickly for me so it will take me a few stop and go’s to get the directions down pat to try in Elements<\/strong> but I can see it being great for rustic, western, and camping titles. Since its from Photoshop<\/strong> not Elements<\/strong> there are some things he says to do that may take some figuring. My first attempt not so wood burning looking. Has a lot to do with the styles he puts on at the end I think. Just an FYI if you look at this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well, you know how much I love a challenge! And this one was a doozy. As Ellen<\/strong> said, it’s all about the styles he puts on at the end<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. Because this tutorial is adapted from Photoshop<\/strong> AND a 7 minute video, there are 46 screenshots so I can show each step clearly. That doesn’t mean it’s hard or will take all day. I just want to be sure even the most inexperienced user can follow along.<\/p>\n

I’ll be demonstrating using a word art file from Word Art World<\/strong><\/a><\/span>‘s Jen Arbon<\/strong><\/span>. The woodgrain paper is from the GingerBread Ladies<\/strong><\/a><\/span>‘ Cabin Fever<\/strong><\/a><\/span> collab kit. If you’d like to use your own text or image, the technique will be exactly the same. [Simplify<\/strong> your text layer though!]<\/p>\n

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To start off, I made a Copy<\/strong> of the word art layer. You can right-click on the layer and choose Duplicate Layer<\/strong> then click OK<\/strong> on the pop-up, or you can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL\/CMD>J<\/strong>. [It’s been awhile since I explained the keyboard shortcuts. These are simple keystrokes that take the place of several steps using the other methods of achieving something. I use Windows<\/strong>, which has a CTRL<\/strong> key. On a Mac<\/strong>, it would be a CMD<\/strong> key. Windows<\/strong> uses ALT<\/strong> and Mac<\/strong> uses OPT<\/strong>. So when I show you a keyboard shortcut I’ll give you both Windows<\/strong> and Mac<\/strong> keys.]<\/p>\n

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Next I created a new blank layer BETWEEN the two word art layers by holding down the CTRL\/CMD<\/strong> key and clicking on the New Layer<\/strong> icon [looks like a sheet of paper with a corner dog-eared] from the top left of the Layers panel<\/strong>. The CTRL\/CMD<\/strong> key tells Elements<\/strong> to put it UNDER the active layer.<\/p>\n

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With the blank layer active, I made the layer solid white: Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Since I’m filling the whole layer with white the box for Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask<\/strong> can be unticked.<\/p>\n

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There are a couple of ways to choose a colour from the Color Picker<\/strong>: click on an area of a photo\/paper\/element with the Eyedropper<\/strong> tool, click on a spot inside the colour swatch or type in the colour number. Pure white is “ffffff<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n

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Then I Merged<\/strong> the white layer with the word art Copy<\/strong> layer: SHIFT>click<\/strong> on the two layers then right-click<\/strong> and choose Merge Layers<\/strong> or even simpler, CTRL\/CMD>E<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Now I have three layers, with the wood paper on the bottom of the stack and the black-and-white word art layer on top as shown. I want to Select<\/strong> just the word art on the black-and-white layer so I CTRL\/CMD>clicked<\/strong> on the layer thumbnail [the little image on the left of the layer in the panel] of the word art with the black-and-white layer active. See the marching ants?<\/p>\n

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I want to Modify<\/strong> the Selection<\/strong>. I clicked Select>Modify>Expand<\/strong> as shown.<\/p>\n

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I only want it to Expand<\/strong> by 1 pixel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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To fill that hairline space with black [in the foreground colour box] I clicked ALT\/OPT>D<\/strong> and Elements<\/strong> did the work.<\/p>\n

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Next I Inverted<\/strong> the colours so the word art is white on black by just clicking CTRL\/CMD>I<\/strong>. This tutorial has a bunch of things I’ve never tried before. This is the first one. Filter>Stylize>Wind<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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This menu opens up. Make sure the Method<\/strong> is Wind<\/strong>. The Direction<\/strong> doesn’t matter at this point. You can see in the Preview<\/strong> pane what the Filter<\/strong> will do.<\/p>\n

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This Filter<\/strong> will be applied two more times. Elements<\/strong> will remember the last Filter<\/strong> used, so you can click Filter<\/strong> and Wind<\/strong> will be right at the top. Or, even easier, just click CTRL\/CMD>F<\/strong>. Just make sure it’s applied three times in total.<\/p>\n

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This is what it’s supposed to look like. Don’t be alarmed!!<\/p>\n

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Now I’m going to do the Filter<\/strong> step again. Because I’m going to make a change to the settings I can’t just CTRL\/CMD>F<\/strong> my way there.<\/p>\n

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This time the Direction<\/strong> has to be changed so the streaks go the opposite way.<\/p>\n

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Here’s after the first hit with the Wind Filter<\/strong>. The change isn’t very obvious.<\/p>\n

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So I hit it again two more times! CTRL\/CMD>F<\/strong> and CTRL\/CMD>F<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Wow! But don’t worry, that’s what it should look like!<\/p>\n

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And then I Inverted<\/strong> the colours again so the word art was once again black-on-white. CTRL\/CMD>I<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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I’m not done with Filters<\/strong> yet. This time I’m going to add a Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur<\/strong> to the mix.<\/p>\n

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But not too much of a Blur<\/strong>… just a Radius<\/strong> of 1 pixel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The black is a bit harsh, so I clicked Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels<\/strong>. Keyboard shortcut: CTRL\/CMD>L<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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And I changed the Output Level<\/strong> from 0<\/strong> to 72<\/strong>. That grays the black a bit, but not too much.<\/p>\n

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Remember Blend Modes<\/strong>? They’re such a great tool!! I changed the Blend Mode<\/strong> to Color Burn<\/strong> by clicking on that bar above the Layers panel<\/strong> that usually says Normal<\/strong> and choosing Color Burn<\/strong> from the dropdown list.<\/p>\n

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Now the sugars in the wood look like they’ve been caramelized!<\/p>\n

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It’s a little TOO obvious, so I dropped the Opacity<\/strong> of the layer to 60%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Once again I Selected<\/strong> the edges of the word art by CTRL\/CMD>clicking<\/strong> on the word art layer thumbnail with the altered word art layer active. Then I did something else I’ve never tried before… Select>Feather<\/strong> to soften the edges of the caramelized areas just a teensy bit.<\/p>\n

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I gave it a Feather Radius<\/strong> of 2 pixels<\/strong>. Everything about this needs a light touch.<\/p>\n

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With the edges still Selected<\/strong>, I added a new Fill Layer. Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color<\/strong>. This new Fill Layer<\/strong> will be the base for the next few steps.<\/p>\n

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Again, I didn’t need to tick the Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask<\/strong>, because only the Selected<\/strong> areas will be filled. On this settings menu, I dropped the Opacity<\/strong> of the Fill<\/strong> to 40%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The Color Picker<\/strong> opened, and I wanted pure black. The code number for black is 000000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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After I created the Fill Layer<\/strong>, I Simplified<\/strong> it so the mask went away. Right-click<\/strong> on the layer and choose Simplify Layer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Next I made 2 Copies<\/strong> of this black Fill Layer<\/strong> and turned Visibility<\/strong> for the top two Copy Layers<\/strong> off. I wanted to see what was happening to each active layer, starting with the original Fill Layer<\/strong>. [In Photoshop<\/strong> the next several steps can all be accomplished on the same layer, but Elements<\/strong> isn’t that skillful. Each step needs its own layer. *Where have you heard that before?*]<\/p>\n

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To the bottom Fill Layer<\/strong>, I added a Bevel Style<\/strong>. Click on the Styles<\/strong> button at the bottom of the Layers<\/strong> panel then choose Bevels<\/strong>. From the dropdown menu choose Simple Outer<\/strong> as shown. [If you hover the cursor over the thumbnails in the dropdown, a description box opens so you know what’s what.]<\/p>\n

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Each of the Styles<\/strong> has a default setting, but you can easily change the settings by double-clicking<\/strong> on the fx<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>icon on the far right of the layer. The settings menu opens. Here I changed the Lighting Angle<\/strong> to 130\u00b0<\/strong>, the Drop Shadow<\/strong> settings to Size 29 <\/strong>pixels, Distance 13<\/strong> pixels, and Opacity 22%<\/strong>, then the Bevel<\/strong> settings to 20 pixels<\/strong> and the Direction<\/strong> to Down<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Next I activated the first Copy Layer<\/strong> just above the layer I last worked on, but this time I chose Styles>Inner Shadows<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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I double-clicked the fx<\/strong><\/em> icon and from the settings I made the Lighting Angle 147\u00b0<\/strong>, Size 50<\/strong> pixels, Distance 4<\/strong> pixels and Opacity 20%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Then I changed the Blend Mode<\/strong> for this layer to Linear Burn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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It’s looking pretty good!<\/p>\n

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I wanted just a bit more depth to the image so I activated the top Copy Layer<\/strong> and from the Styles<\/strong> menu I chose Outer Glows<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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I used Simple<\/strong> from the menu as shown.<\/p>\n

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After double-clicking on the fx<\/strong><\/em> icon, I adjusted the settings: Lighting Angle 130\u00b0<\/strong>, Size 21<\/strong> pixels and Opacity 25%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The Outer Glow<\/strong> layer looked odd on top so I moved it to the bottom of the Copy Layer<\/strong> stack and lowered the Opacity to 10%<\/strong>. This took a bit of experimentation based on what I wanted to see.<\/p>\n

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Last but not least, I turned the original word art layer’s visibility back on. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.<\/p>\n

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Some comments: The way this technique looks in the end will depend on several factors. If you use a smooth wood paper, your burned area will be smooth too. If you use a darker or lighter wood paper, you may need to fiddle with Opacity<\/strong> to get the looks you want. Obviously, doing this to a darker wood will result in darker burned areas, and it may be hard to see. On a lighter coloured wood, it may look too black, and again, you’d need to make some tweaks. I scrapped my work (and about 100 screenshots) 4 times before I was comfortable with this enough to show it to you. Don’t be afraid to make some of your own decisions! If you’re not happy with it, make some changes!!<\/p>\n

PDF Version: https:\/\/bit.ly\/3zAdEQ4<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faking the Wood Burning Look Last week Ellen (gmae) sent me this message: Hi Jan, The above YouTube is for wood burning in Photoshop. He talks through this way too quickly for me so it will take me a few stop and go’s to get the directions down pat to try in Elements but I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[229,102,284,92,62],"tags":[373],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 09:14:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"private","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41232"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41232"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41527,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41232\/revisions\/41527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}