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collage (or montage)
- Thread starter hockeymom
- Start date
NowInc
Well-Known Member
Well..the most powerfull thing in photoshop has got to be layers...i cant survive without them...lets see if i can give you a comaparison as to what layers are::
Basically..imaging you have a white peice of paper...you want to make a painting..with a background..some bushes..a tree or 2...and a character...
so...youd start by painting the background....
Then..youd place a clear peice of paper on top of it..and paint the bushes..this way..in case you dont like the bushes..you can just take em out..and make new ones..without having to re-do the background...
You do the same thing for the trees...
and then the character...
all in....layers...
Thats how they work in photoshop...but digitally. (they are actually far more powrefull than that..but im not gunna get into that since you are just learning these)...
To create a new layer..you use the layers panel..which is on the bottom right of photoshop. You will see a button on the bottom that says "create new layer"..click that..and you have 2 layers (background and layer 1)...
how does this help with collages?? well..you can put different images on different layers so you can move em around and blend them accordingly....pretty neat eh?
...thank you by the way..you gave me an idea for a new tutorial for my web page (once its done)
Basically..imaging you have a white peice of paper...you want to make a painting..with a background..some bushes..a tree or 2...and a character...
so...youd start by painting the background....
Then..youd place a clear peice of paper on top of it..and paint the bushes..this way..in case you dont like the bushes..you can just take em out..and make new ones..without having to re-do the background...
You do the same thing for the trees...
and then the character...
all in....layers...
Thats how they work in photoshop...but digitally. (they are actually far more powrefull than that..but im not gunna get into that since you are just learning these)...
To create a new layer..you use the layers panel..which is on the bottom right of photoshop. You will see a button on the bottom that says "create new layer"..click that..and you have 2 layers (background and layer 1)...
how does this help with collages?? well..you can put different images on different layers so you can move em around and blend them accordingly....pretty neat eh?
...thank you by the way..you gave me an idea for a new tutorial for my web page (once its done)
got it! now how does the masking work? I'm guessing I won't need that until later on in the process?
great explanations btw, I followed your steps on rubber stamping from another post and had some success (beach pictures so far, so it was pretty easy to work with).
I am planning to start on my collage tomorrow since I have an extra long weekend :sohappy:
thanks so much
great explanations btw, I followed your steps on rubber stamping from another post and had some success (beach pictures so far, so it was pretty easy to work with).
I am planning to start on my collage tomorrow since I have an extra long weekend :sohappy:
thanks so much
NowInc
Well-Known Member
Well..the masking options on layers is a TAD bit more complex but very powerfull...and (for me at least) required to do good collages. I know some people who dont use them and get good enough results..
lets see if i can explain what masking is...
Basically...for every layer..there are levels of transparency..which are separated into 2 colors..black (opaque) ..and white (solid) ..and of course all the tones of gray in between to vary the opacity.
So...lets say you add a mask to a layer (which is near the create layers button on the same panel)...it will create an all white mask..which will not be visually effective...at the moment at least. Take the paintbrush tool...and choose black as your color..then paint on the layer mask (its obvious once you add it..you cant miss it)...you will see that parts of your image...seem like they are erased..but they actually arent...they are masked out....
What good is this? well..use a black/white gradient..to create some subtle blending effects...
...wow..that seems confusing...
*adds that to list of tutorials*
lets see if i can explain what masking is...
Basically...for every layer..there are levels of transparency..which are separated into 2 colors..black (opaque) ..and white (solid) ..and of course all the tones of gray in between to vary the opacity.
So...lets say you add a mask to a layer (which is near the create layers button on the same panel)...it will create an all white mask..which will not be visually effective...at the moment at least. Take the paintbrush tool...and choose black as your color..then paint on the layer mask (its obvious once you add it..you cant miss it)...you will see that parts of your image...seem like they are erased..but they actually arent...they are masked out....
What good is this? well..use a black/white gradient..to create some subtle blending effects...
...wow..that seems confusing...
*adds that to list of tutorials*
NowInc
Well-Known Member
Here..this site will help::
http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/
but more specifically...
http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/layermask/index.html
and
http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/masking/index.html
that'll get you started on masking....until my site is done at least
http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/
but more specifically...
http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/layermask/index.html
and
http://www.retouchpro.com/tutorials/masking/index.html
that'll get you started on masking....until my site is done at least