Photo Corners

Photo Corners How do I use 'em?

#1 KelvinBVM

New Scrapper on the Block

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Posted 05 August 2012 - 07:15 PM

I purchased "ScrapSimple Tools - Shapes: Photo Corners" which turned out to be just a set of shapes. How do I turn those flat black shapes into 3d-looking photo corners like it shows in the samples on the product picture? I can play with bevel\emboss\textures\drop shadows\etc. until I figure it out, I guess, but I was hoping it would be a little bit easier.

TIA

Kelvin

#2 teecee

Scrap Girl Messageboard Wise One

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Posted 05 August 2012 - 08:07 PM

Hi Kelvin,

I'm using PSE 9 so it may be a little different for you depending on what program you are using.

Basically, After placing the shape on the page, and adding color or clipping a paper to it, it will need to be simplified (rasterized), then you can just apply a drop shadow, bevel, or other layer style to it. Normally, I just automatically simplify the shape layer before doing anything else to it. HTH, and let us know if you need more help.

#3 tinkerbell11

Collector of shoes, wearer of FLIP FLOPS

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Posted 05 August 2012 - 08:39 PM

Did Theresa answer your questions Kelvin? Ss Products are SUPER fun to use because you can make them whatever you need with papers, styles, etc... Let us know if you need more help!

#4 BarbaraC1977

Organizational Diva -- loves to play with supplies!

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Posted 05 August 2012 - 10:28 PM

Kelvin, I'm going to back up a bit, since you may be new to some of these product categories...

FINISHED products are in color, and may have all kinds of effects applied by the designer. These files are designed to just drop into your layout and use immediately.

Brushes with highly detailed shapes or textures, such as Durin's Nouveau Corners, can be resized at will before "stamping" them on a new layer. You can stamp them in color. You can stamp them in black, and then use the stamped layer as a clipping mask either for a color layer, a photo, or for a finished paper. Whether you re-size them or not, brushes stamp bitmap/pixel by pixel images. You can also apply styles to brushes, so they are very versatile. They are limited (for most versions of PS and PSE) to 2500 pixels x 2500 pixels; once you stamp it, you can enlarge, but you may get pixelation at the edges.

Shapes are VECTOR files. That means the mathematical underpinnings of the design are part of the shape, and it can be resized up or down without any loss of resolution. You can also rotate them without getting jaggy pixels when edges are turned on angle. You can create them in color or black, you can apply styles, or use the created shape as a mask for a color or finished paper, or photo. I'm not aware of a size limit for shapes. Once a shape is rasterized (converted to pixels or bitmap), either directly or by merging it with another layer, it loses the vector properties.

The other thing, although I am not certain, is that I don't think you can define a custom shape with partial transparency, but brushes can have degrees of transparency.

So the two types of products can be used very similarly in scrapbooking, and the finished results can be made to look identical if desired. Hope this helps! Have you downloaded the ScrapSimple Handbook? It has some really good information on how to use these two kinds of products.