Techniques-Digital
Backgrounds/Paper
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General Information about Creating Digital Paper
- Create paper at 300 resolution (dpi) if you want to print the paper
- At 300 dpi, 300 pixels equals 1" of printed paper. Multiply the finished size you want by 300 to determine how large an image to start with.
- Example: You want a 12" x 12" finished page. Multiply 12" by 300 = 3600 pixels. Open a new image 3600 x 3600.
- Example: You want a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" finished page (the size of a card). Multiply each measurement by 300 and open a new image 1650 x 1275.
- Sometimes the clip art or brushes I want to use are too small to look good on such large images. In that case, I start with a smaller image. The final printed piece may not be as perfectly clear as with the larger, but it still works very well.
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Click here for directions
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Antique Pots Paper
- Create an image three times the size of your finished piece at 300 dpi
- Add a layer and fill with light olive shade
- Add layer, add various deco vase brushes, in darker shade of olive, rotating as necessary
- Add layer, add antique coins brush, using same color
- Add layer, add mesh screen brush in color several shades lighter than pots
- Add layer, add text using Arabic-looking font
Use colorize feature to change to red, or any other color you wish
Credits: Brushes: Mesh Brush - Dozi; Vases and Coin - Aldo B Deco Vases
To the left is a card made with this paper
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Click here for card directions
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"Classy" Black and White Papers
- Create an image 1575 x 1575 pixels at 300 dpi, black background (this will create a 5 1/4" square finished piece)
- Type words, using various fonts, and arrange around the edges of the square, rotating words as necessary
- Create a 900 x 900 white square and center in the black square (this is not necessary, but will save on ink when the piece is printed, since the center will be covered by other artwork)
- Create a 975 x 975 square at 300 dpi, white background
- Type the same words in black font and arrange
- Print both pieces
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Clock Paper
Make sure each item is placed on a new layer so you can make any changes or adjustments you need
- Open a new image 2550 x 3300 at 300 dpi (finished paper 8 1/2 x 11)
- Add a layer, and fill with light tan (R121, G86, B45)
- Add a layer, darken the color, and using grunge brushes, paint streaks throughout the image, and along the edges
- Add a Gaussian Blur of 15
- Using watch brushes, stamp two different large ones in two shades of brown randomly
- Reduce the size of the third watch brush and stamp in yet a darker shade of brown
- Add text using various PSP text brushes, again in several shades
- Add the word "Time" in Aquiline 2 Font randomly
To make the darker brown image:
- Duplicate your image and delete the background layer
- Add a new background in a darker shade of brown
Credits: Grunge brushes (PB Grunge); Text brushes (Greeneyes Shakespeare collection);Clock brushes (made from clip art images)
Celebrate Card
- Create a new image, 1575 x 1575
- Fill with dark brown color and use grunge brushes to add, well, grunge
- Open the tan and brown clock papers and select 4 squares from tan and 5 from brown
- Move the squares onto the brown "card", aligning them as shown, and adding a drop shadow
- Type the word "Celebrate" (or any word) in white at the bottom
At this point, I printed the card onto 8 1/2" x 11" white cardstock, trimmed and folded to make the card. I also printed a second copy of the card. I cut 5 squares randomly from the second copy and attached to the printed card with foam tape to add dimension.
I then added the ribbon and made the "shaker" box from an old watch. (For more complete directions, click here.)
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Click here for directions
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Digital Woven Paper
I started with paper designed by Julie Mead of E-scape and Scrap, but you can start with any image, or make your own.
- Determine how large each square should be - I used 300 pixels square (1")
- Open your paper image and make a selection 300 x 300
- Open a blank image 300 x 300 and paste
- Add a layer and using a Small Chalk brush and a complimentary color (I used olive), brush around all four edges of the square, unevenly
- Add a Gaussian blur of 3 (or whatever is appropriate)
- Duplicate this image and rotate the duplicate 90 degrees (right or left)
- You now have your two squares, each going in a different direction
- Open a blank document, sized to your final image
- Copy your first square and paste as a new layer
- Copy the second square and paste as a new layer - make sure the edges are touching the first square
- Repeat until the row is filled - merge these layers
- Add a layer, and repeat steps 9-11, but start with the second square
- Copy and paste each row as many times as necessary to fill the page
- Save as a PSP file to preserve the layers, and save as a .jpg
To the left is a card made with this paper
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Click here for directions
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Font Collage Background I
- Open a new 1000 x 1000 image
- Add your "shadow stamp" by creating small squares (about 146 pixels square) in the lightest color (light olive), rotating them to different angles, and reduce the transparency to 43
- Add your focal image (Geisha font, lower-case "a" at size 200) in the darkest color (dark olive) on top of each square, rotating the Geisha but not lining it up exactly with the square
- Add the medium image (Fan font, lower-case "a" at size 100) in a complimentary color (dark red), filling in some of the white space. Reduce the transparency if needed
- Add the text (Mistral font size 18)
- Add the small images (Fancy Fish font, capital "S" at at size 60) in a variation of the fan color, but darker, to fill in the rest of the space
- Paint Shop Pro has custom brushes that I used to simulate the "splatter" stamp in a light olive. I reduced the transparency of this layer to 13
- Make a copy and merge your layers. (You should keep your original with the separate layers so you can change colors if you wish). You now have your background paper.
Credits: Dingbat fonts:
Geisha, Fan fonts (House of Lime);
Fancy Fish (Moss Valley Dingbat Links)
To the left is a card made with this paper
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