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Note: Digital scrapbooking tutorial written in Photoshop Elements 3.0, but can be adapted
to other programs.
Mixed Media watercolors come in the basic primary and
secondary colors that you would find in any watercolor set, but can
be customized to suit your layout, no matter what the color scheme.
Layout by Durin Eberhart
The empty watercolor palette is the most obvious choice
for a customized look. If your layout color scheme is limited to just
a few colors, this would be the best option for you. In the layout above,
the colored watercolor palette with the primary colors would simply
not work. The colors would clash with the reds, pinks and taupes of
this layout. Here, the best choice for this layout is the empty palette
that can be filled with custom colors.
Select a few colors from your layout or photo to work
with. Make sure they are visible in your color palette in your program.
Open the empty watercolor palette in your graphics program. Create a
new transparent layer and drag it beneath the watercolor tin. Activate
the empty watercolor tin and click on the first empty "paint space"
with your Magic Wand. Make sure it is set to "Contiguous."
Activate the transparent layer and fill the selected area with one of
the colors from your layout. Here I have filled my palette with one
of the colors from this beautiful, but limited color layout.
Repeat these steps for each of the spaces in the watercolor
palette. To give a more realistic look to the watercolors, duplicate
the paint layer you just worked with. Activate the top layer. (The bottom
layer is your "backup" layer, just in case you don't
like the effect you achieved.) With the Dodge and Burn Tools, choose
a faux finish brush set at medium opacity and hit the
area a few times, dodging and burning alternately until you get the
effect you want. Here I have finished adding the colors to the palette
and have used the Dodging Tool to distress the paint colors and the
Burn Tool to add some depth.
Layout by Durin Eberhart
Even though the colored watercolor palette has limited
colors, even this can be customized for your layouts, especially if
the layout has a broader color scheme.
This layout is perfect for using the colored watercolor
palette because of the number of colors in the photo and background
papers. The colors are also primary, which works well with the colored
palette.
Open your layout and the colored watercolor palette. Drag
the palette onto the layout. Create a new transparent layer above it
and activate that layer, or you can duplicate the watercolor palette.
Using the Eyedropper, choose a color from your layout. With a faux
finish or wet materials brush set at about 30 – 50 % Opacity,
apply a bit of the color to the closest matching colors in the palette.
For example, if your photo has dark denim in it, the blue picked from
the denim could be brushed on the blue and the black. A peach skin tone
could be brushed onto red, yellow, orange and/or brown. Repeat this
for several colors in the layout. Don't worry about "muddying"
the colors or being a bit messy with the brushing. Real-life watercolor
palettes get messy.
In the example above, I have used several faux finish
brushes at about 50% Opacity to add the colors from
the layout to the corresponding colors of the watercolor palette. The
difference in the colors is sometimes slight, but does make the watercolor
palette coordinate better with the colors of the layout. Notice that
I brushed the color onto the metal of the palette to create a more realistic
and messy look.
You can customize Mixed Media paintbrushes too. To add
a bit of paint to the tip of your paintbrush:
Open your layout and a paintbrush. Create a new layer
above the paintbrush. Choose a color from your layout. Activate the
transparent layer above the paintbrush. Brush the color on the tip of
the paintbrush using a faux finish or wet media brush. Press Ctrl+G in PSE3 (Ctrl+Alt+G in PSCS2) to create a clipping mask. Adjust
the Opacity and/or use a Blend Mode to get the look you want.
You can also add a transparent layer beneath the paintbrush
layer and add some paint drips or smears. Just choose a color from your
layout or customized palette and brush it on the layer. Blend or adjust
opacity as needed.
Try out these brushes from Scrap Girls to add some fun
drips and splatters to your Mixed Media layouts:
Tutorial Ingredients:
Tutorial written by Durin Eberhart
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