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Backgrounds 101
Tara DrummondDigital Deck Crewmember
Last month I showed you how to use digital elements created by others. This month, I'll begin teaching you how to make your own. We'll start with backgrounds. When I began digital scrapping, all of my backgrounds were just one solid color. While this is perfectly acceptable, they just didn't look quite right. No real piece of paper is a perfectly solid, smooth color. Go grab a piece of cardstock or paper. Unless you are holding a piece of glossy white, the paper has some texture or color variation. Your digital "paper" should, too!
To start, open your software and create a new file. I like to set the size to 12 inches by 12 inches. At this size, I can always crop it to make it smaller if I want. Make the resolution AT LEAST 200-250 pixels per inch, especially if you plan to print your finished page. You can set the background to either white or transparent. I find white easier to work with for backgrounds.
Now let's get started! It's always a good idea to work with a new layer when adding to a page, so go to Layer - New - Layer... name your new layer if you want, then click OK. Now, choose a color for your background paper. If I have a specific photo in mind for my page, I like to choose a color directly from the photo, using the eyedropper tool. To do this, pick the eyedropper tool, click the eyedropper on the color you want in your photo (of course, you have to have the photo open, also), then choose the paint bucket.
Make sure your new layer is selected, and then click the paint bucket on the page. This will fill in the page with the color you chose.
Next we'll add the texture. Add a third layer and then select the paint bucket again. This time, change the paint bucket "Fill" from "foreground" to "texture."
Choose a texture, and use the paint bucket to fill the new layer. In the layers menu, make sure the texture layer is selected, and change the pull down menu from "normal" to "overlay." There's your textured background! It looks much more like real paper, doesn't it?
Here is a simple layout using the textured background that we just created.
Go ahead and make your own backgrounds! Make sure to try lots of different colors and textures.
Tara Drummond
taramarkley@ssreflections.com
Digital Scrapping
Digital Deck Crewmember
S.S. Reflections, Inc.
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