This tutorial will show you how to create a new paper for your layouts by blending two or more of your favourites.

1. Open two or more papers that you'd like to blend together.

2. Hold down your Shift key, and drag the papers so that they are all layered in one document. (Holding Shift keeps the papers lined up.) Depending on how many papers you want to blend, you should now have a layered PSD file with your chosen papers. At this point, you should save your work. A digital artist's mantra should always be "save, save, save!"

3. Make sure the top paper layer is active, then click the "Add Layer Mask" icon, which is at the bottom of the Layers Palette. If you have more than two papers, repeat the process for the top papers only. The bottom paper (Background) doesn't need a Layer Mask.

4. We are now going to use the Gradient Tool to fade the top paper into the bottom one. Select the Gradient Tool and drag from top to bottom. You should now see the bottom paper. The two papers should be blended and you're done. If you have more than two papers to blend, repeat the process on the next layer.

Tip: If you hold down the Shift key when using the Gradient Tool, it will keep the tool in a straight line.

Layer Masks - There's a lot more to using masks than I can cover in this tutorial. The basics are that when you paint with black, it deletes/hides parts of the layer you've masked. When you paint with white, you will reveal parts of your layer. When the Layer Mask is selected on the layer, the foreground and background colours are automatically set to Black/White.

You could experiment more with this by going from one corner of your image to the other with the Gradient Tool. Alternatively, use a brush and paint on the top layer with black (make sure the Layer Mask is selected), and blend the papers by painting in the mask. Most important is to have fun and be creative!

Layout by Diane Rooney

	Note: Commercial license versions of Inspired Brush Set are also available.

Tutorial written by Diane Rooney