Note: Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop CS2 on Windows Vista.

ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates are wonderful tools that scrappers and designers can use to create a custom look for their digital scrapbooking. There are two kinds of files that you will find with embellishment templates. One kind of template is a shape that you can fill with a paper or a photo. The other type includes a grayscale item to be colored in.

This tutorial will explain different methods of coloring the grayscale type of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates. A grayscale template is useful because it includes all of the shading and texture of a finished product. Because of this, we have to be able to color the template without losing all of that wonderful information.

 

Single Color:

 

Using a single color is the easiest method to color your template. Open your template in Photoshop and go to Image> Adjustment> Hue and Saturation. (In Photoshop Elements, you will find this under Enhance> Adjust Color> Adjust Hue and Saturation.) Make sure to check the box for “Colorize” and then you can adjust the colors as you would like.

 

Using ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: All Buttoned Up, I made this blue button.

Sometimes, just recoloring an item will leave it looking a little bit flat. You can make your element look more realistic by duplicating the original template before you start coloring. When you have worked with the color on the top layer, play with the Blend Modes, at the top of your Layers Palette, to blend the top layer with the bottom layer. This will allow even more of the shading and texture to really come through. You can also adjust the curves or the brightness and contrast to lighten or darken the final product.

 

I used this method to create a ribbon using ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Extra Ribbon Toppers.

 

Using more than one color:

There may be some embellishments where you would like to use more than one color. For example, using the ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Flowers Biggie provides a lot of opportunities for making unique embellishments by using several colors.

 

Since these flower templates are generally round in shape, I used a radial gradient to color them. Here is how I did it. Open your template and click on the layer in the Layers Palette for the Layer Styles dialog box to open. Under Layer Styles, there will be a box called "Gradient Overlay." (In Photoshop Elements, you may have to create a new layer and use a Gradient Fill to get this effect.)

 

When you have selected the Gradient Overlay option, make sure to change the “style” of gradient to “Radial.” This will make the gradient into a round shape.

 

Where you see the colors of the gradient, you can click on this box to open up the Gradient Editor. Inside the Gradient Editor you can choose the colors you wish to use to fill your template.

The bottom section of this box will allow you to click on any of those boxes with the triangles on top. These are called “stops” and you can add or delete stops. If you double-click on the color of the stop, you can open up a color picker to select your custom colors for your gradient. Each of those stops can slide to the right or the left. If you can see your template on your desktop, you can see the effects in real time as you move your sliders. This is the gradient I chose for the sunflower above.

When you have selected the colors for your gradient, hit "OK." This will take you back to the Layer Styles dialog box. Here, you can again play with the Blend Modes until you achieve the effect you are looking for. For my sunflower, I chose to use a "Color Burn" Blend Mode. I also lightened the original template a bit using the brightness and contrast adjustments.

 

Here is another example where I used a gradient to color a ribbon. This example uses ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Folded Ribbons. I tried to use a lot of colors in this one to demonstrate the possibilities and of course, I changed the gradient to "Linear" for this ribbon.

One more option for using multiple colors when coloring your Embellishment Templates is to use digital background papers as a pattern for coloring. You can use the same method of duplicating your original template to make sure you don’t lose detail.

 

Coloring by Hand:

 

Another method of coloring grayscale templates is to make a selection of your template by Ctrl+Clicking on the thumbnail of the image in your Layers Palette. Create a new layer, pick out a brush and begin painting the general areas you wish to add color to. I paint in general broad strokes and then apply a generous Gaussian Blur so that you only see the colors I am applying to the template. I like to use a different layer for each color. You can adjust the Blend Modes to ensure that you don’t lose any detail.

 

After applying a Gaussian Blur and adjusting the Blend Modes.

Digital scrapbooking allows us the freedom to customize embellishments to perfectly match our layouts. By using ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates, you have the perfect tools to create interesting accents for your digital scrapbook pages.

Tutorial Ingredients:

	Note: Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: All Buttoned Up Biggie, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Extra - Ribbon Toppers Biggie, ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Flowers Biggie and ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Folded Ribbons are also available.

Layout by Melissa Renfro
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	Note: Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Flowers Biggie are also available.

Tutorial written by Melissa Renfro