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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:
Layout by Melissa Renfro
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Tutorial written by Melissa
Renfro
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