Templates

[skvale]

I have followed the tutorial "The Power of Templates" by Irene O'Neill and I'm wondering how/if the background can be made a color or texture of some sort. I was able to create 5 rectangle layers and was able to add my photos to each per the tutorial but you start out with a transparent background. I'm not sure how to get that to be something colored/textured or if it can be done at all.

[Diana]

Hi Skvale,

Yes, you can add another image or texture in a layer above your transparent background layer, or you can fill your transparent background layer with a solid color, gradient, pattern, etc.

There are some great grungy textures for free download here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess

To bring in another photo, or a background paper from a scrapbooking kit, etc., to use for a background, have both your template and the other photo open in the project bin.

Make the background photo active in the workspace. Press Ctrl-A to select all, then Ctrl-C to copy.

Now make your template image active in the workspace. and make the transparent background layer active (because the image you are pasting in will be added above your current position). Now press Ctrl-V to paste.

You may run into a difference in sizing between your template and the background image you added. With the layer containing the background image you added as the active layer, press Ctrl-T. This should put a dotted border called a "bounding box" around the image with small square "handles" on all sides and each corner. You can drag inward or outward on the corner handles to resize the image.

If you don't see the bounding box, it may be that the background image you added is much larger than your template. To zoom out of the workspace view of the image, press Ctrl-0 (zero), then you should see the handles so you can proceed.

Layer Fill Options:
To fill the existing transparent background with a color, from the menu: Edit > Fill Layer - from the dialog that pops up, where it says Use: - click the dropdown arrow and select Color. The Color Picker will pop up and you can choose a color.

To fill the transparent background with a gradient, select two coordinating (light and dark shades of the same color), or other colors for your Foreground and Background Color Chips below the toolbar. Make sure your transparent background layer is the active layer. Select the Gradient tool (press G on the keyboard). Drag your mouse across the image in the workspace vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. There are options at the top of the workspace for the Gradient tool... you may want to experiment with those.

To fill the transparent background with a pattern, from the menu: Edit > Fill Layer - from the dialog that pops up, where it says Use: - click the dropdown arrow and select Pattern. Click the dropdown where it says Custom Pattern & choose a pattern. When that dropdown is open, if you click the little double arrows on the right, you'll see more pattern sets to choose from.

You can make your own pattern from a photograph or image. Use the Rectangle Marquee to drag out a square area on the image... then from the menu: Edit > Define Pattern from Selection. Then go through the steps in the previous paragraph and when you get to the pattern dropdown, you should see your newly defined pattern at the end of the active grid of patterns.

This give you quite a few options to use for your background... have fun.

Diana

[skvale]

Thanks Diana! I can't believe all the things I am learning from the tutorials and this forum. The possibilities seem endless and I wonder if I'll ever learn everything there is to know!

[cats4jan]

I wonder if I'll ever learn everything there is to know!

In a word, NO. ;)

There is always someone here who will teach you a new way of doing something. :D

[Bayla]

So true. Just when you think you perhaps know everything (well, at least a lot), someone will come along with a new shortcut or a different way of doing something and you will have a 'WOW' moment all over again!!:D

Bayla