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Digital Scrapbooking - What is it all about anyway?
Note from Andrea Steed
If you’ve ever wondered how amazing digital layouts are created, here’s a fantastic article and resource to tell you how! Michelle Shefveland from CottageArts.net is an expert on the topic and provides multiple CDs and downloadable resources to make digital scrapbooking easy and fun for anyone! Read on to find out more about getting started with digital scrapbooking
------------------------------- It seems digital scrapbooking is getting a great deal of attention lately, especially with the major scrapbook publications putting out special issues devoted to digital arts. A large majority of traditional scrapbookers are having fun creating word art and journaling for their traditional pages with computer software, which is really a form of digital scrapbooking. Some just take it a level further and create their entire pages on the computer. It’s exciting when new tools are introduced to help artists with their craft, but at the same time, it can also be overwhelming. Many scrapbookers are digital photographers and are storing photographs on computer hard drives instead of photo albums and boxes. Being able to use photos archived on your computer is one of the main reasons digital scrapbooking is increasing in popularity so rapidly. If you’re a digital photographer and need to do any type of photo editing tasks, you most likely already own one of the fabulous image editing packages on the market, such as Adobe® Photoshop® or Photoshop® Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Pro®, Ulead PhotoImpact®, or Microsoft® Digital Image Pro, just to name a few. They all have incredible photo editing features, but did you know you can also create entire scrapbook layouts from scratch using these tools? Your Photos - Your Style
In creating a digital layout from scratch, there are the same basic steps: design background paper, add photos, create photo mats or accent papers, add effects such as drop shadowing, create embellishments (if desired), and finish with titles and journaling. It’s up to you how you use those steps to define your own unique style. Some like clean graphic lines giving the look of a magazine ad, while others like the look of traditional paper-pieced layouts, with “paper”, embellishments, and the illusion of three-dimensions. The beauty of digital is that either is possible with the same photographs. Using the same digital photo, I will show you multiple looks you can create showing the power of digital imaging software. Ready-made templates, like our Simply Digital™ product line, are also available for those who like the look of traditional scrapbooking, but want beautiful results in little time. This article is just a general overview of what's involved in creating a digital layout, so you can see the possibilities of scrapbooking the digital way. For detailed step-by-step instructions with specific software, see our other tutorials. Equipment/Software needed for Digital Scrapbooking:
- Computer with at least 256 KB RAM; Mac or Windows operating system.
- Digital Imaging Software that supports layers, such as Jasc Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photoshop/ Photoshop Elements
- Photos available on your computer system, either by scanning or by importing digital photographs
- Optional: Simply Digital™ Scrapbooking Template CDs
- Optional: Photo quality printer and photo paper, if you want to print your layouts (see our tutorial on printing layouts for more information)
One Photo Three Ways
We'll first take a look at three different looks you can achieve with the same photograph. Each of these are completely digital layouts. 1. CLEAN LINES
Use a precious photo as your background. This is a very popular design choice in the world of digital, as it’s a unique look that cannot be created in the traditional world. You resize the focal photo to the size of your finished layout and then create a misty effect by adding a layer of white on top of it, in which you decrease the opacity.
Supplies:
Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8, free 30-day trial available from http://www.jasc.com/
Font: Garamond, Microsoft; Monterey BT available for purchase at http://www.myfonts.com/ 2. TRADITIONAL FUN
Using standard features available in most digital imaging packages, you can create the layout below that mimics the look of a traditional paper layout. An awesome feature of digital scrapbooking is the ability to duplicate photos with the click of a button and then cut small focus photos as fun accents.
Supplies:
Adobe Photoshop Elements
Font: Peach Fuzz, available for purchase at http://www.myfonts.com/ 3. SHABBY IN AN INSTANT
Using a scrapbook template is a great way to start learning digital scrapbooking without the time-consuming task of making all the individual elements. Simply add your photos and journaling, and change the colors of the papers to match your photos (if necessary) for instant beautiful pages. All the papers, torn edges, mats, titles, and embellishments are already there! CottageArts.net’s Simply Digital™ Template CDs come with background papers, embellishments, and fully-layered templates in PSD format, which are compatible with many image editing packages. The layouts are also in .jpg format for those of you who would rather print them and just adhere photos and traditional embellishments.
Supplies:
Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8
Layout template from Simply Shabby CD, available from CottageArts.net
Journaling included on template…can change its colors, re-size, move, and rotate it. Can make it invisible if you want to add your own. The Makings of a Digital Layout
The following is an outline of the steps needed to create a basic digital layout from scratch. The steps defined below describe each process, but don’t show specific keystrokes, as this tutorial isn’t software specific. - Create a New Image/File
- Add Photos
- Create Background Paper to complement photos
- Create Photo Mats
- Add Titles and Journaling
- Add Drop Shadowing
- Add Ready-made Embellishments, if desired
CREATE A NEW IMAGE (BLANK CANVAS):
- To begin we need a blank canvas, right? So, determine the size of the layout you would like, such as 12” x 12” or 8.5” x 11”, or whatever suits your tastes or albums.
- My favorite is 12” x 12”, as I can then print it at this size, or 8” x 8” or 6” x 6” for the fun new mini-albums available.
- Let’s create an 8” x 8” layout to be able to print on a standard printer. 180-225 dpi is a good resolution for inkjet printers; 300 dpi is professional quality.
- Enter the settings in your software’s new image dialog box, including a white background, then press OK.
- At this point, and frequently throughout the design process, save your layout in your program’s native format so all the layers remain intact and you can go back and make changes to individual layers whenever you wish. Choose File > Save As and then save in your package’s native format to keep all the different layers intact.
ADD PHOTOS:
- Since the photos determine the color scheme of the layout, I add these before selecting paper and mat colors.
- To add a photo to a layout, browse your file system, and find your photos.
- Click and drag photos into the layout or use the edit/copy and edit/paste commands to paste them into your new layout.
- Now, move the photos to desired position. You may end up moving them to different positions later, but that’s one of the wonders of digital. Nothing is glued down!
- Resize photos if necessary.
CREATE BACKGROUND PAPER:
- Now that the photos are added, we can pick complementary colors for the papers using your software’s color picker tool.
- Use your software’s paint bucket tool in your color of choice to fill in the background, then use effects or paint brush tools to design your background.
- Add some effects, such as texture, or use the paintbrush tool to design your own, and just like that you have a gorgeous background to set off your memories.
CREATE PHOTO MATS:
- In scrapbooking, it’s a good design idea to have coordinating photo mats to complement the background paper.
- Use your photo editor’s rectangular shape tool in a color of your choice and draw a rectangular photo mat (or use whatever shape you desire).
ADD TITLES AND JOURNALING:
- My personal preference is to wait until the end of the design process to add the titles and journaling, as I’ve had time to work with the photos and see what story I want to tell or what feelings I to share.
- Using your text tool, pick the text color, font, and font size. Then click the mouse on the page where your text should be placed and type away. Play with different text sizes, effects, bevels, etc to give your text dimension. You can even warp text to make it wavy.
Congratulations! You have created a digital layout from scratch! You might be satisfied and want to leave it as is, which is great. But, read on if you’d like to jazz it up a bit.
Don’t forget to save your work again! APPLY DROP SHADOWS:
- My favorite way to enhance a digital layout to make it look more realistic is to add drop shadowing. It’s amazing the illusion of depth created with just the click of a button (well, maybe three clicks).
- Most digital imaging packages have drop shadow capabilities under their Effects or Layer Styles functions. Check your package’s HELP for more information. I prefer a small, faint, drop down right shadow for realism.
ADD READY-MADE EMBELLISHMENTS:
- For a punch of detail and splash of color, you can add some fun ready-made embellishments from the Simply Digital CD line, which can easily be dragged into your layouts from the CDs. You can even change their colors to perfectly complement your photos or style.
- While your layout is open, choose File > Open and browse your CD drive with one of the Simply Digital CDs. Browse the CD for which embellishment(s) you’d like to add, open them, and then cut and paste or drag them onto your layout. You can change their rotation, color, and size, if desired. You can even duplicate them if you want more than one. See our other tutorials for more information on how to do this.
SAVE FILE FOR PRINTING AND/OR WEB DISPLAY:
- Save final image to same filename as in beginning of tutorial. You can print directly from this file for high resolution.
- If burning to a CD to take to print at a professional copy center, save as a full-size .pdf, .jpg, .tif, or .bmp file.
- For posting to Internet sites or e-mailing to family and friends, also save to different name at 150dpi, 500 pixels wide, .jpg format, keeping file size less than 100KB (some sites require 72dpi).
Well, that's just a little bit about this wonderful art form so many are embracing. See our other tutorials for more detailed instructions. Get to know your photo editor's functions by reading the help guide, as well as searching the Internet for fabulous websites and forums.
About CottageArts.net
The CottageArts.net product line, "Simply Digital™", offers CDs of custom designed layout templates (fully-layered PSD files, as well as flattened JPEGs), background papers, and embellishments to help you create stunning digital scrapbooking layouts, or to print for use in traditional scrapbooks. Our CDs work in conjunction with many digital imaging software packages, such as Adobe® Photoshop® and Elements®, Jasc® Paint Shop™ Pro® 7 and higher, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Ulead PhotoImpact 7 and higher, and Microsoft® Digital Image Pro (.psd layers are flattened in Digital Image Pro). All of our backgrounds and layouts are saved as full-sized 300 dpi images for high print quality. See our product line overview for computer hardware and software compatibility. Please see our samples page for free images to download and try with your digital scrapbooking.  Supplies:
All elements to create this page including poem and title art, plus more, are in our new Baby Moments downloadable Page Pak. Read more about CottageArts.net here at Scrapjazz. View layouts using products from CottageArts.net. Michelle Shefveland, Copyright 2003-2004, CottageArts.net, LLC, All Rights Reserved
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