Creating
Your First Digital Scrapbook Page in Photoshop CS5
By Nicole Young of Urban Wings Art
Making a digital scrapbooking page
can be a lot of fun! This tutorial uses the Urban Destruction Graphics
Pack available HERE in the Creative Pixel store! Let's get started!!!
1. Open Adobe Photoshop CS5.
Create a new file. (File- New)
2. Enter the desired scrapbook page
size into the boxes as shown below. To create a 12 in by 12 in
document, enter a width of 3600 pixels, 3600 pixels for height and
300 pixels/inch for resolution. Hit OK.
3. Open your photos (File –
Open). Browse your hard drive to find the photos you wish to include in
your scrapbook layout. Then click Open. Hold down the control
button while clicking to select multiple photos. Your photos will open in
the same workspace as your new file.
4. Open your graphics (File –
Open). Browse to find your desired graphics. Hold down the control
button while clicking to select multiple graphics. The graphics will open
in the same work space as the photos and new file.
5. If the window is maximized, the
active file will be the only one on the screen. To see all of your
files click on the Arrange Documents Button and choose Float All In Window.
6. Click on your new blank file to
bring it to the top of the workspace. This will be your layout file.
7. Then do the same with the
background of your choice.
8. You can move the files around on
the workspace by clicking and dragging on the top bar of the image window,
using the Move Tool (the top tool in the Toolbar).
9. Using the Move Tool, click
anywhere on the background file and drag the file onto the new blank image
while holding down the SHIFT Key. Holding the SHIFT key will “snap” your
background into the center of your blank document. You may now close the
background file. Since I am using the Welcome Kit that was created at
200ppi, I will need to resize the background to fit my new document. I
will hit Ctrl + T to Transform my document. I then hold down the SHIFT
key and drag the corners out until I hit the corners of my blank
document. This will keep the ratio of the background and not stretch it.
10. Click on your first photo.
Using the Move Tool, click and drag it onto your layout.
11. If you would like to resize your
photo. Hit Ctrl + T (transform) to resize and rotate your photo.
Always hold down the SHIFT key when resizing (clicking and dragging one
of the side or corner boxes) to keep the correct aspect ratio of your photo.
12. If you wish to rotate your
image, hover your mouse outside the corner of your image. You will see a
small set of arrowed angles appear. Click and drag to rotate your image
in any direction. Hit Enter to turn your Transform tool off and accept
your changes.
13. For a scrapbook layout to look
realistic, add a drop shadow to your photo with a Layer Style. To open
the layer style box, you can double click on the layer you want to add the
style to, or click on the fx button at the bottom of the layer palate, and
select drop shadow.
14. Click on the box that says “drop
shadow” and adjust the settings to get your desired shadow. Most
graphics from the Creative Pixel come complete with an appropriate drop shadow
and need no extra shadow added unless "no shadow" is specified on
graphics packaging. Remember to add shadows to each of your photos for
realism.
15. Now click on the element you
wish to add to your layout. Using the Move Tool as before, click and drag
it onto your layout and position where you desire.
16. Repeat this procedure with any
additional photos or embellishments you wish to add to your layout.
Each item will be added in its own layer automatically in your layout file.
17. You can move any of the items in
your layout at a later date by clicking on the relevant layer in the Layer
palette to select that item. You can also move any item above or below
another item clicking on the relevant layer in the Layers palette and dragging
it above or below another layer.
18. When you are happy with your
layout, save your file (File – Save As) as a Photoshop file (.psd) with a unique
name in a folder on your hard drive. This file will remain with all layers
intact and you will be able to reopen and edit it at a later date. You will also want to save (File- Save As) a
jpeg file for printing (.jpg) This file
will be flattened and non-editable.
Scrapbook
page created by Nicole Young of Urban Wings Art
Graphics from the Urban Destruction Graphics Pack by Nicole Young of Urban
Wings Art
Adobe, the Adobe logo, and Photoshop
CS5 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
