{"id":45045,"date":"2022-05-31T17:00:48","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T00:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/?p=45045"},"modified":"2022-06-03T22:58:32","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T05:58:32","slug":"tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-178","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/2022\/05\/tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-178\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creating a Title Echo for Your Layout<\/strong><\/p>\n

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PDF Version : https:\/\/bit.ly\/3x5YvpI<\/a><\/p>\n

This week’s tutorial was inspired by Ellen<\/strong> (gmae<\/strong>); the directions are based on a video tut by Gina Harper<\/strong> and when I tell you I learned a couple of FANTASTIC W<\/strong>ork S<\/strong>mart N<\/strong>ot H<\/strong>ard [WSNH<\/strong>] tricks, trust me… they’re going to be game-changers. I’m going to walk you through creating a title with an echo, like the one I created for my Greyfriars layout.<\/strong> And it’s easy!<\/p>\n

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Start off with a brand new 12×12 canvas; you might notice I’ve got a solid white background here and that’s not my usual MO. Since we’ll be working with text layers the background doesn’t make any difference. I want to be sure you see exactly what’s happening and the contrast will help with that. Select a font for your title. Choose one that is clean and upright (ie a sans serif font), with some stage presence. I’m using Gill Sans MT Bold<\/strong> but Impact<\/strong>, Futura<\/strong> and Avenir<\/strong> would work too. You’ll be using only upper case letters<\/strong><\/span>. Set the Size<\/strong> to 100 points<\/strong>, the Color<\/strong> to black<\/strong> and choose Center<\/strong> for your text position.<\/p>\n

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Type out your title. A one-word title would be best. If the spacing between the letters looks too narrow, the technique won’t work as neatly. If you’re using an Elements<\/strong> version previous to Elements 2019<\/strong>, there is no tool option for kerning (adjusting the spacing of your letters) so you’d then need to put all your letters on their own layer, position them then Merge<\/strong> the layers together. So maybe try a few other sans serif fonts first!<\/p>\n

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When you’ve got your text sorted, use the Move Tool Align Option<\/strong> to put the text in the Middle<\/strong> of the canvas top-to-bottom and Center<\/strong> it side-to-side.<\/p>\n

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Next, decrease the Opacity<\/strong> of the text layer to 50%<\/strong>. We’re going to apply a Stroke<\/strong> and I want you to be able to see it.<\/p>\n

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Add a new blank layer above the text layer. Then CTRL\/CMD>click<\/strong> inside the text layer’s thumbnail<\/strong> – that image of what’s on the layer – to Select<\/strong> the edges of the text. That’s how Elements<\/strong> will know where to put the outline. Click Edit>Stroke (Outline) Selection…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Your Stroke<\/strong> settings: Width 10 pixels<\/strong>. Color Black<\/strong>. Location Inside<\/strong>. Leave the other default settings as is.<\/p>\n

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After your Stroke<\/strong> is in place, Select>Deselect Layers<\/strong> or CTRL\/CMD>D<\/strong> to lose the marching ants.<\/p>\n

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To reduce confusion Rename<\/strong> the Stroke<\/strong> layer to Echo Bottom<\/strong>. Double-click<\/strong> on the layer’s name and type it in the box.<\/p>\n

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Now choose the Rectangle Marquee Tool<\/strong>; set the Aspect<\/strong> to Fixed Size<\/strong>, W<\/strong> to 12 in<\/strong> and H<\/strong> to 6 in<\/strong>. Basically you want to put that rectangle on half of the canvas.<\/p>\n

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Set the rectangle at the top of the canvas. The lower edge of it will be exactly at the middle top-to-bottom. Next, click CTRL\/CMD>SHIFT>J<\/strong>. This will cut the pixels inside the  rectangle away from those outside it, and create a new layer with them on it. That’s WSNH Tip #1<\/strong>. Rename<\/strong> that new layer Echo Top<\/strong>. \"\"<\/p>\n

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Move the new Echo Top<\/strong> layer up toward the top of the canvas so it separates from the title. Leave a bit of space between the top of the title and the bottom of the Echo<\/strong>. Here’s WSNH Tip #2<\/strong>… Hold down the SHIFT key<\/strong> when you drag<\/strong> an object and it will stay aligned with its previous position, either top-to-bottom or side-to-side.<\/p>\n

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Since an echo is a less-obvious duplicate of something, decrease the Opacity<\/strong> of this layer to 50%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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WSNH Tip #3<\/strong>! Hold down the SHIFT<\/strong> and ALT\/OPT<\/strong> keys<\/strong> when you click and drag an object and Elements<\/strong> will make a duplicate<\/strong><\/em> of the object. Think how much this could speed up your scrapping with templates… all those flowers can be quickly duplicated and moved with fewer steps. Mind blown.<\/p>\n

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You should have two Echo Top<\/strong> layers now, one at 50%<\/strong> and the new one decreased to 20% Opacity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Now to get the bottom sorted. As you can see, your padawan forgot to use the SHIFT key<\/strong> when she dragged<\/strong> the Echo Bottom<\/strong> layer down. And it’s obvious! I’ll nudge it into alignment before we go on to the next step.<\/p>\n

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Like for the Echo Top<\/strong>, that first Echo Bottom<\/strong> layer’s Opacity<\/strong> drops to 50%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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All aligned again… Hold down the SHIFT>ALT\/OPT keys<\/strong> and drag the last Echo Bottom<\/strong> layer into place.<\/p>\n

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If needed you can adjust the spacing of your Echo<\/strong> layers so they’re closer to or farther away from the title. Change the Opacity<\/strong> of the lowest<\/strong><\/em> Echo<\/strong> Bottom<\/strong> layer to 20%<\/strong> and increase the title layer’s Opacity<\/strong> back to 100%<\/strong>. You’re done!!<\/p>\n

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What if you don’t want a black-and-gray title? You can change the color by Merging<\/strong> the layers then adding a Layer>Fill Layer>Solid Color<\/strong> and choose a color from your photos or papers. Or you could do what I did and add a Layer Style<\/strong> to the title. Leaving the Echoes<\/strong> gray worked with my subject, so I just put a wrought iron layer style on the title. But really, the possibilities are almost endless. When you’re ready to add it to your layout, either Link<\/strong> the layers together – click the little chain icon on each layer – or Merge<\/strong> them so you can drag them onto your layout all as one piece. Play with it, have fun with it!<\/p>\n

When this tutorial posts, I’ll be miles away from home helping my “baby” sister celebrate her 50th birthday. My brother is having a hip replaced in Friday, so I’ll see him too. Have a great week!<\/p>\n

PDF Version : https:\/\/bit.ly\/3x5YvpI<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Creating a Title Echo for Your Layout PDF Version : https:\/\/bit.ly\/3x5YvpI This week’s tutorial was inspired by Ellen (gmae); the directions are based on a video tut by Gina Harper and when I tell you I learned a couple of FANTASTIC Work Smart Not Hard [WSNH] tricks, trust me… they’re going to be game-changers. I’m […]<\/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 09:08:37","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\/45045"}],"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=45045"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45157,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45045\/revisions\/45157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}