ChickieShannon
03-19-2008, 09:45 PM
In Photoshop (or any photo-editing software), brushes are basically digital stamps. They come in all kinds of shapes and can be used in any size and color. When using them you can drag them across the page (like a paint brush) or position them in one spot and click the mouse to *stamp* them. We are going to create a hybrid project, a bookmark, and use brushes in our project.
For this tutorial, I'm using the March 2007 free kit from 2peas to create a bookmark.
download kit here: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/digitalKits_free_200703.asp
1. Download the kit and unzip.
2. Create a new canvas that is 2x6", 300dpi, transparent background.
3. Open the blue cardstock paper and crop to 2X6". Drag onto the new canvas (bookmark).
4. Create a new layer and name it *Brushes* (click Layer> New> Layer). In the Layers window, make sure the Brushes layer is above the blue cardstock layer.
5. Load the flower brushes in this kit. To do so, click on the Brush tool.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/1.jpg
5a. Click on the drop down menu for the Brush tool.
5b. Click on the round circle with the arrow in it and select Load Brushes. Locate the brushes file on your computer and click Load.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/2.jpg
6. Click on the Brush tool drop down menu again and you will see all the brushes you have loaded. Scroll down the list to the bottom and the last brushes you loaded will be there. You will see the flower brushes. Click the one you want to use. Here you can also adjust the size of the brush by sliding the marker back and forth under Master Diameter. To see the changes in size, simply slide the marker and then mouse over (don't click) to the center of the screen and you can see the brush before using it. When you get the size you like, click outside of that window (but not on your canvas or else it will apply the Brush to your image).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/3.jpg
7. You can change the color of your brush by clicking on the color in the Tool Menu. You can also change the Opacity and Flow of the brush to get different looks. These two options are located along the top of the menu. Opacity changes the opaqueness/transparency of the brush (100% is completely opaque and lowering the number makes the brush more transparent). Flow determines how quickly the Brush tool applies the paint (100% is a fast flow which means the brush is dark and lowering the number makes the flow slower which means the color is lighter).
8. Set your Opacity to 25%. We want to stamp some flower brushes all over the bookmark but we want them light to create a subtle pattern. Try choosing different flower brushes and make them different sizes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/4.jpg
9. Open the floral ribbon. Rotate the ribbon to a vertical position. To do so, click Image> Rotate Canvas> 90 CW. Drag the ribbon onto the bookmark and align it along the left side of the bookmark. (I did resize mine a bit and made it smaller. To do so, make sure the Move tool is selected, mouse over one of the corners of the ribbon, press and hold the Shift key down, and then click on the corner of the ribbon layer and drag it back and forth to the desired size. The Shift key is important. It helps maintain the ratio of the image as you resize.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/5.jpg
10. Click the Text tool and in the blue cardstock area, type in a favorite quote. I kept my text centered in the blue cardstock area.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/6.jpg
11. Save your bookmark as a PSD (layered) file and then print it out on white cardstock. You can do a plain cardstock or a textured one like Bazzill. In your printing options, make sure the print quality is at it's highest. Also when printing on textured cardstock, check and see if your printing options has a textured paper option.
12. Cut out your bookmark. If you want, you can matte on a coordinating sheet of cardstock, laminate it, or slide into a bookmark sleeve, etc. At the top of the bookmark attach ribbons (punch a hole and tie them on or staple them, etc.).
BONUS!
If you have mastered using the Brush tool here are a few more tricks...
At top of the screen on the right side are three tabs: Brushes, Tool Presets, and Layer Comps. Make sure the Brush tool is selected, choose your brush, and then click on the Brushes tab. Under that click on Brush Tip Shape. Here you can alter the Brush itself.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/7.jpg
If you click on:
Flip X: it will flip the Brush over the X axis (a mirror image left or right)
Flip Y: it will flip the Brush over the Y axis (a mirror image up or down)
Angle: it will rotate the Brush however many degrees you select
Roundness: will squeeze/flatten the Brush from top to bottom
Spacing: if you were to click the Brush and drag it on your page, Spacing will determine how far apart the brush images are (slide the marker back and forth to see the variations - the smaller the number, the closer the images are and the larger the number, the further apart)
Just a few handy tips to know. Sometimes you might have a Brush that you need to rotate or flip from its original state to work with your particular project. Try playing around with these settings and see what you can do!
[This tutorial was created using Photoshop CS2.]
For this tutorial, I'm using the March 2007 free kit from 2peas to create a bookmark.
download kit here: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/digitalKits_free_200703.asp
1. Download the kit and unzip.
2. Create a new canvas that is 2x6", 300dpi, transparent background.
3. Open the blue cardstock paper and crop to 2X6". Drag onto the new canvas (bookmark).
4. Create a new layer and name it *Brushes* (click Layer> New> Layer). In the Layers window, make sure the Brushes layer is above the blue cardstock layer.
5. Load the flower brushes in this kit. To do so, click on the Brush tool.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/1.jpg
5a. Click on the drop down menu for the Brush tool.
5b. Click on the round circle with the arrow in it and select Load Brushes. Locate the brushes file on your computer and click Load.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/2.jpg
6. Click on the Brush tool drop down menu again and you will see all the brushes you have loaded. Scroll down the list to the bottom and the last brushes you loaded will be there. You will see the flower brushes. Click the one you want to use. Here you can also adjust the size of the brush by sliding the marker back and forth under Master Diameter. To see the changes in size, simply slide the marker and then mouse over (don't click) to the center of the screen and you can see the brush before using it. When you get the size you like, click outside of that window (but not on your canvas or else it will apply the Brush to your image).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/3.jpg
7. You can change the color of your brush by clicking on the color in the Tool Menu. You can also change the Opacity and Flow of the brush to get different looks. These two options are located along the top of the menu. Opacity changes the opaqueness/transparency of the brush (100% is completely opaque and lowering the number makes the brush more transparent). Flow determines how quickly the Brush tool applies the paint (100% is a fast flow which means the brush is dark and lowering the number makes the flow slower which means the color is lighter).
8. Set your Opacity to 25%. We want to stamp some flower brushes all over the bookmark but we want them light to create a subtle pattern. Try choosing different flower brushes and make them different sizes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/4.jpg
9. Open the floral ribbon. Rotate the ribbon to a vertical position. To do so, click Image> Rotate Canvas> 90 CW. Drag the ribbon onto the bookmark and align it along the left side of the bookmark. (I did resize mine a bit and made it smaller. To do so, make sure the Move tool is selected, mouse over one of the corners of the ribbon, press and hold the Shift key down, and then click on the corner of the ribbon layer and drag it back and forth to the desired size. The Shift key is important. It helps maintain the ratio of the image as you resize.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/5.jpg
10. Click the Text tool and in the blue cardstock area, type in a favorite quote. I kept my text centered in the blue cardstock area.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/6.jpg
11. Save your bookmark as a PSD (layered) file and then print it out on white cardstock. You can do a plain cardstock or a textured one like Bazzill. In your printing options, make sure the print quality is at it's highest. Also when printing on textured cardstock, check and see if your printing options has a textured paper option.
12. Cut out your bookmark. If you want, you can matte on a coordinating sheet of cardstock, laminate it, or slide into a bookmark sleeve, etc. At the top of the bookmark attach ribbons (punch a hole and tie them on or staple them, etc.).
BONUS!
If you have mastered using the Brush tool here are a few more tricks...
At top of the screen on the right side are three tabs: Brushes, Tool Presets, and Layer Comps. Make sure the Brush tool is selected, choose your brush, and then click on the Brushes tab. Under that click on Brush Tip Shape. Here you can alter the Brush itself.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/smbogan2001/Freak/7.jpg
If you click on:
Flip X: it will flip the Brush over the X axis (a mirror image left or right)
Flip Y: it will flip the Brush over the Y axis (a mirror image up or down)
Angle: it will rotate the Brush however many degrees you select
Roundness: will squeeze/flatten the Brush from top to bottom
Spacing: if you were to click the Brush and drag it on your page, Spacing will determine how far apart the brush images are (slide the marker back and forth to see the variations - the smaller the number, the closer the images are and the larger the number, the further apart)
Just a few handy tips to know. Sometimes you might have a Brush that you need to rotate or flip from its original state to work with your particular project. Try playing around with these settings and see what you can do!
[This tutorial was created using Photoshop CS2.]