Advanced Clustering

This is another subject that I feel uncomfortable teaching-maybe that's why this is free!!  I am still learning and expanding my skills as I go, so I will just share what I do, but know that I don't think I'm an expert-not by a long shot!!

Clustering is all about layers, but it is also about balance.  I love to work in 3's when I'm clustering, but even if I do more than 3, I keep it at an odd number!  I know there is design knowledge to back this up, but I can't quote it so I just keep it odd!

I like to build from the bottom up.  I love us use paint splatters, grunge pieces, glitter or bead sprays as my foundation.  Then I like to add stitching or paper I can stitch down to my paper. I also like to scrap with greenery a lot and add those for clusters. By using either the same one but in different sizes or even several different types.

I also like to use journal mats and tags, even if just a corner is sticking out.  It gives dimension and depth!  And when you think you have clustered enough-add three more elements (that is a tip from Kayla--keepscrappin designs)  And she is so right!  You really can't overdo it!

Here is an example of a cluster I made and sell, just as the cluster:

I have the 3 leaves-at different sizes and angles.  Three flowers-even though two of them are stacked.  3 metal elements and then 1 of everything else.  And in all honesty, more could easily be added to this!  Clustering is so fun and a great way to make your layout stand out!

Advanced Shadow techniques

My previous tutorial dealt with basic shadows and how to apply them.  Also, in that tutorial (which can be found HERE), I included a set of layer styles that I created.

Today, I'm going to branch out into some more advanced tips and ideas.  There will be lots of fun things to play with!

First of all, no shadow on anything is the same.  The closer an object is to a flat surface, the less of a shadow and darker that shadow will be.  For example, stitching on a layout is very close and would have very little shadow. I would shadow it different than I would for perhaps some leaves that I would want to give the appearance of them popping right off the page!

So, today, I'm going to break down some basic scrapping elements and talk about how and why I shadow them.  One thing to consider too is that everyone has different preferences so feel free to tweak what I teach here to fit what you like!  This is by no means the only way to shadow!  In fact, I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous to even write this tutorial, because I don't "LOVE" my shadows yet!  They are still a work in progress!

There are two ways to apply a shadow.

1.  Using the drop shadow option in the layer box.

If you notice, I clicked the top box that says drop shadow.  If you then click on that line to highlight it, it will pull up the menu.

The default next to blend mode is usually multiply, but I like to change it to Linear Burn.  This helps to give the shadow a slight tint of the color of the background paper, so I think it is a little less harsh than the multiply.  However, you usually will want to lessen the opacity by quite a bit.

Direction--this is big.  Think about the sunlight hitting an object or several objects close together, the direction that the shadow falls is the same for all the items.  The direction will change as the sun changes, but all the items will change together.  For me, I like the directional angle of -45 or 50.  It puts it mostly towards the left upper side of the object.  So, I make sure on my layout that all the shadows are going in that same direction.  Default is 120 degrees, but feel free to play with this and find what you like best.  But whatever you do-be consistent!

As for distance, spread and size, this is what will vary with the item.  For the stitching above, I kept these numbers very small.  But look how they might differ with a leaf:

Notice how low the opacity is?  The farther away you want the item to appear, the lower you make that.  Also notice how the distance and the spread and the size are all a bit further away.  It gives the look that it is farther off the paper than the stitching.

By customizing each element and paper on your layout, it helps to give a lot of depth to your layout.  Done well, they can actually look like you did the whole layout with real objects and took a picture of it!  There are some layouts so well done, I thought I could reach out and touch the leaves and flowers because they literally popped off the page.

The second way you can do a layer and add even more customization is by not using the style option at all.

First, have the element on your paper and make a copy of it:

Look over on the layer palette.  Notice how I have two flowers there?  I'm going to highlight the bottom one and then go up top to Image>>Adjustment>>Hue/Saturation.  Slide the bottom two sliders (saturation and light) all the way to the left.  This will make the flower underneath black:

Now, you are going to unhide the pink flower on top and zoom way in.  Keep the flower underneath highlighted and make sure you have Auto Select unchecked so that it will stay on the layer you want it.  Ever so slightly move the black in the direction you want and where you want the shadow to fall.  Then just change the opacity to the lightness/darkness you want.

Also, don't forget to link the two layers together (highlight both, right click and choose "link layers" so that if you move the flower, the shadow will follow!

I added this flower layer so you could see it in contrast with the others.  I think this way makes it a little harsher.  For this one, I also changed the bottom flower layer from normal to linear burn as well as lowered the opacity.  But I personally like the little fuzziness around the leaf shadow better.  But I haven't done a lot with the second option, so there are probably things I'm missing!

Play lots with shadows!  I'm sure you'll discover lots of fun things on your own!

Photo Extractions

This is another tutorial that I'm going to show only in Photoshop, but it is pretty much the same process in Pixlr and other programs.

I'll be honest, I don't really do a lot of extractions with my layouts, but they are very popular so I thought I would show how it is done.  I apologize for not having an example though!

So, first, find the photo that you are wanting to extract something from.

Here is the one I'm going to work with today:

Let's pretend I wanted to create a layout with a beach scene but wanted it just him-not the beach in the actual photograph (I wouldn't do this-but again, we're going to pretend here!!)

before you get started, make sure the photo is changed from a background to a layer in the layer palette.  Start by zooming in at 200% and start a long one edge.  Using the polygonal lasso tool and making sure the feather box up top has been changed to 1.  Go along the edge a little at a time and then wrap back around to where you started and click delete.  It will look something like this:

Continue to do this all the way around until the immediate space around your object is transparent space:

I didn't complete finish because his curls began to make it extra time consuming!  But I think you get the point!  Once it is done, you just erase the rest of the background and you have an image to use however you want for your layout!

Layer via Cut or Copy

This is a great item to know and something I use in many areas of digital scrapping!

Everything works in layers and when there are lots and lots of layers for little things, we can move those around easily.  But what happens when something is combined on a layer and we want to move it. For example, let's say that we have a bead spray on our layout, but if we could just have 2 of the beads to move to another spot, it would look better!

I'm showing it in photoshop, but it will be just as easy to use in any other program.

I'm going to get started by pulling some beads onto a piece of paper:

Let's pretend that we want to take that little grouping of four at the top and move them down below.  We would use the rectangular lasso tool (rope looking thing towards the top of the left tool bar) to put marching ants around the ones we want to move:

Now, while that tool is still activated, place your mouse in that section-it will and right click to pull up a drop down menu.  Choose "Layer via Cut". This will cut this off that layer and create its own layer so you can move it where you want:

The other option is to choose "Layer via Copy"  This will leave it how the original layer is but will copy off those four beads and let you move it. Like this:

Blending a Photo

I'm going to show this in photoshop, but it is just as easy to do in any program, using the same basic process. 

I love blending a photo into the background of a layout!  It's a great way to make a dramatic statement.  Here is an example, of a layout I did so you can see what I mean:

Isn't it fun how the blended photo is the same as the photo on the layout, but they really offer a nice contrast!  I also blended two papers together-all of which I will cover here!

First thing you are going to need is a grunge brush set. If you already have one loaded then skip down past this part. If not, then keep reading!

Brusheezy is a site where you can download free brushes.  If you are ever going to use these brushes for Commercial Use, double check each individual TOU, but you will be fine for what we are going to do today!  Here is the link:

http://www.brusheezy.com/search/grunge?from=mainsite

This actually links to their grunge brushes but they have lots of fun ones!  I chose the subtle grunge.  I downloaded and placed it in my brushes folder that I created in my digital scrapping section.  To install it so you can use it in photoshop, click on the paintbrush on the left.  Go up to the top and click on the arrow next to the picture of the brush that is shown.  It will pull down a box like the one below. You would use this to pick a different brush. To load one, click on the arrow I have circled below:

It will pull up a menu, choose "load a brush" from that menu and go to where you saved and unzipped the folder with our subtle grunge brushes.  Click on the ABR file to install.


After grunge brush is loaded!  Let's open up a paper, plain and light colored. 

Now we're going to place a photo on top of this. You want the photo to be larger than these dimmensions-it won't matter if that makes the photo grainy!  It will look like this:

So, I'm thinking that if I use the space on the right for my actual photo and clustering, title, journaling, etc. then I will erase a lot of that, but first, I'm going to blend the photo to see what I need to do from there.

On the layer palette, you'll notice I have two layers-my photo and the paper below it.  Just above that, it says "normal". While my photo is highlighted on the palette, I'm going to change that to soft light or any other one that I think works for my look! Play along with these to find what you like best!

Here is what I get when I only change it to soft light:

You may like it just like this and want to add your other stuff to it-that totally works!  But I'm going to continue to play and share my tips as I go!

Remember those brushes we loaded?  Well, I'm going to click on the eraser and find a brush from above.  These work just like the brushes but in opposite!  So go to the bottom of the menu we saw earlier and choose one of the brushes at the bottom from the grunge set we downloaded.

Erase around the photo as much or as little as you like:

Now, I want to add a little more grunge, so I'm going to place a paper from the kit above this layer:

This was actually a purple patterned paper (as you can see on the layer palette) but I changed the setting to overlay and look at the fun look it gives!  Now I can leave it and add my clusters and stuff or I can continue to play.  I can also leave the purple or whatever other color and not blend that layer and use the grunge eraser to clean away most of the stuff.  Leaving it something like this:

Play lots!  It is fun to see the many, many options that digital can offer!!

Simple Photo Editing in Photoshop

This is just a basic way to brighten a photo in photoshop.

Pull up the photo you want:

First you are going to change it from a background (over on the layer palette) to a layer and duplicate 3 times.  To change it from a background, right click on the layer and choose "layer from background" at the top of the drop down menu.

Change the middle layer to screen and the top layer to soft light (using the drop down menu just above the layer palette that says "normal".  Adjust the opacity on each level until you get it how you like it:

Not a big difference, but you can see how it brightens it a bit!  Play around with this and see what different looks you can come up with!

Stringing an Element (Pixlr)

This process in Pixlr is very similar to that of photoshop.  You start with a cluster of elements and I placed the curly ribbon on top.  We're going to weave this ribbon through the elements.  But here is what we have to start with:

I decided that I wanted all of the ribbon under the flowers and leaves, so I moved it under those layers.

Now, I want to weave a few little spots under the pink ribbon, to look as if I literally tucked part of it under there.  To do this, I choose the tool on the left that looks like a lasso.  When I click on it, it gives me a menu at the top of two lasso's to choose between. You'll want to choose the lasso that is not round but has a few angles to it.

Once you have activated this (make sure you are on the curly ribbon layer) and click with your mouse along the side of the ribbon and around the part you want to cut like this:

Hint:  Be sure and zoom in (Ctrl +)

Now just hit delete and that section of green is gone.  You can take out more parts or leave it as that.  Here is what my final looks like: