You are here: Home / Archives for Photoshop Tutorial

Loading Files into Layers in PSCS3

December 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
SUBJECT: Using the Load Files into Stack Script
PROGRAM: PSCS3
PREREQUISITES: Basic understanding of layers, be able to open a document in Photoshop, general familiarity with the Tools and Layers Palettes

One of the most tedious parts of creating a digital scrapbook page can be opening individual letters of an alpha and dragging each one onto your layout. The Load Files into Stack script in Photoshop is a real time-saver in this department. Although digiscrappers are most likely to use this script when working with alphas, once you get used to it, you’ll find lots of other uses.

The starting point for this tutorial is a layout ready for titlework. You’ll also need an alpha that comes as individual files (as opposed to all characters saved on a single sheet). Go to File>Scripts>Load Files into Stack.

1

The Load Layers dialogue box should open. Make sure the ‘Use’ field is set to ‘Files’ and click Browse.

2

Navigate to your alpha and holding down the Control Key, click on each of the characters you want to open. Click Open.

 

Each file you selected should now appear in the Load Layers dialogue box. Click ‘OK’ to run the script.

4

Photoshop will work it’s magic and you should have a new canvas with each letter in it’s own layers. Hold down the control key and click on each letter layer in the Layer Palette. Click on the letter stack in the canvas and drag it onto your layout.

6

Now all your letters should be on your layout. Simply arrange, add shadowing as desired and your titlework is done.

7

Further Application

  • Use the script when starting a layout to load all of you ‘supplies’ on to a single canvas.
  • Load several photos from an event all at once.

Here is my finished page.

NoEscape-Misty

Credits: Slink, Slither and Plod by Misty Cato and SuzyQ Scraps, Fonts: Kenyan Coffee and Splendid 66.

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: , , ,

Creating A Quick Page from A Layout

December 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
SUBJECT: Creating a quick page from a layout
PROGRAM: PSCS3 (works in other versions of Photoshop)
PREREQUISITES: A digital layout still in layers, basic understanding of the layers palette and move tool.
Creating a quick page from a layout is a quick process when you make use of layer styles. Start by opening the page you want to turn into a quick page. The layout needs to be in layered form to make use of this technique.
Start by deleting all layers that are specific to your personal page (except the photos). All journaling, dates, titlework and other word elements go in the trash. You can do this by clicking on the layer in the layers palette and dragging it to the trash icon at the bottom of the layers palette. Alternatively, you can right click on the layer and select ‘Delete Layer’ from the fly-out menu.
Repeat for each layer you want to delete. Remember to keep your photos in place for now.
Double click on one of your photo layers in the layers palette to bring up the layer styles dialogue. Alternatively go to Layer>Layer Style>Blending Options.
Click on the down arrow to the right of ‘None’ in the Knockout field and select ‘Deep’ from the drop down menu.
Move the Fill Opacity slider all the way to the left so it reads ’0′. Click ‘OK’ to close the Layer Style dialogue box.
If your layout has more than one photo, right click on the photo layer in the layers palette that you just worked with (the one that is now transparent) and select ‘Copy Layer Style’ from the fly-out menu.
Right click on one of your other photo layers in the layers palette and select ‘Paste Layer Style’ to apply the transparency layer style. Repeat for all photo layers.
At this point your quick page is just about ready. You should see the PS grayscale check pattern where all the ‘photo holes’ are on the page. If you happen to see white or some other color in those holes go to the very bottom layer in the layers palette. It is likely labeled ‘background’. Right click on the layer in the layers palette and select ‘Layer from Background’.
Now go to Layer>Merge Visible to merge your layout into a single layer.
When you save your quick page (File>Save As), be sure to save it as .png file to preserve the transparency of the photo holes.

Here is my finished quick page. Click on the preview below to download it.

This quick page was created using the Look at Me page set available at Sweet Shoppe Designs.
Filed Under: Freebies, Tutorials Tagged With: , , , ,

Blending Made Easy

December 30, 2010 By 3 Comments

SUBJECT: Blending a photo into a background page

PROGRAM: PSE8 (can be adapted for other versions of PSE, notes provided for Photoshop)

PREREQUISITES: Familiarity with layers and the layers palette, dragging and dropping photos and elements onto a page and resizing

Start by downloading and unzipping the complimentary background paper and clipping mask to use as you go through this tutorial. Download here.

Start PSE/Photoshop and open the background paper and clipping mask. Click on the clipping mask and drag it onto the background paper canvas. Position the clipping mask so the straight edge is flush with one of the canvas edges.

Open the photo you want to use and drag it onto your canvas.

Resize the photo so that covers the clipping mask.

The next step is to ‘clip’ your photo to the photo mask. In Photoshop, right click on the photo layer in the layers palette and select ‘Create Clipping Mask’ from the drop down menu. In Photoshop Element, use keystroke Ctrl+G.

Right click on the photo layer in the layers palette and select ‘Merge Down’ from the drop down menu.

With the photo layer active, click on the small arrow next to the word ‘normal’ in the layers palette and select ‘Hard Light’ from the drop down menu.

You may want to play with the contrast in your photo. To do so in PSE8, go to Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Brightness/Contrast. In Photoshop go to Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast.

Adjust the sliders as desired and click OK.

To further lighten your photo, lower the opacity slider at the top of the layers palette.

The above three instructions (the hard light blend mode, brightness/contrast adjustment and low opacity) are just some of several possible blending recipes. You can refine your look by playing with other blending modes such as Overlay, Pin Light and Luminosity. Additionally you can duplicate the photo layer and set each photo layer at different blend modes and opacity until you find just the right look for your page.

If there are still parts of your photo that you don’t want, use a large soft eraser brush on the photo layer to remove them.

The background paper is easily recolorable. To do so, click on the background layer in the layers palette to set it as the active layer. In PSE go to Enhance>Adjust Color>Adjust Hue/Saturation. In PS, go to Image>Adjustment>Hue/Saturation.

Move the Hue slider to see the background at various colors. Click OK when you are happy with the color.

Embellish your page as desired.

Layout Credits: Blending Masks and Whispered Backgrounds by Misty Cato, black paper and leaves from Urban Kids, flowers (recolored) from Adoration.

 

Filed Under: Freebies, Tutorials Tagged With: , , , , ,
Newer Posts »