Software Used: Adobe Photoshop 4.0, Free Brush Set 2
1.) You'll need to download and load Brush Set 2 from my free brushes page for this tutorial. (Continued below...)
 Another
brush that works well for this technique is the postage stamp brush that
is included in the same brush set. I used the postage stamp brush for the
picture of me at the bottom of this page. If you don't have Photoshop, you
can right click and save the image to the left, and use it to create a custom
brush for another program. |
2.) Open a new image with white background. The size does not matter, but 2 by 4 inches is probably good.
3.) Insert a new layer (Layer -> New -> Layer). Name the layer "swatch".
4.) Open the pink flannel textile fill from the last tutorial (or any other textile fill you want to use) and type Ctrl-A to select all, then go to Edit -> Define Pattern.
5.) Go back to your new drawing, and fill the swatch layer with the textile fill by going to Edit -> Fill and choosing pattern from the contents drop-down list.
6.) Insert another new layer. Select the brush I have indicated in the
screen shot.
7.) Paint straight lines around each side of the image, using the shift
key to constrain your strokes to straight lines. It's helpful to have Painting
Cursors set to "Brush Size" in your preferences so you can see exactly where
you'll be painting (File Preferences -> Display & Cursors). Before you begin
each stroke, carefully line up the zigzag pattern on the brush so that the corners
will be even.
8.) Now select the magic wand tool, and click on the black area you just painted.
9.) Switch back to the swatch layer, hide the top layer, and hit [delete] to "cut out" the swatch. You can delete the top layer now, but keep your selection.
10.) If you have a favorite drop shadow filter, you can apply a drop shadow to the swatch layer now and skip ahead to creating a template. If you want to learn to create a drop shadow with native Photoshop filters, continue on to the next step.
11.) Invert the selection (Shift-Ctrl-I) and add a new layer. Drag it
between the background and swatch layers on the layer palette, and name this
layer "shadow". Fill the selection with black, then go to Select -> None.
12.) Activate the swatch layer and use the move tool to move the swatch
up and to the left slightly. Use my image as a reference.
13.) Activate the shadow layer, then go to Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur, and use a radius of about 1.5 pixels. Adjust the opacity of the shadow layer to suit you. I used 60%.
Creating a Template
If you have several pictures that you want to apply this technique to, it's
helpful to create a template, especially if you want all the pictures to be
the same size. I'll quickly walk you through you the steps for creating a template.
1.) Create a new image with a black background (or any color other than white will do). Make the image dimensions slightly larger than you want your cropped pictures to be.
2.) Insert a new layer, name it "shadow", and paint with the pinking shears or postage stamp brush around the edges using white as the paint color.
3.) Use the magic wand to select the inside black area. Apply a drop shadow to the selection.
4.) Remove the selection and save your file as a PSD file so layers will be retained. This is your template.
5.) To crop a picture to the template this is what you do... Open any picture file, and use the move tool to drag and drop the picture onto your template file. A copy of the picture will be placed on a new layer.
6.) Drag the new layer to just above the background layer in the layers palette, under the shadow layer.
7.) You can use the move and transform effects to manipulate the layer and center the subject in your template. Be sure to save the file under a new name so you don't overwrite your template.
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