Mask Workshop 2023

[Susan Ewart]

2 hours ago, Bonnie Ballentine said:

Day 6

 

Bonnie, that lino background is fabulous.  Love that flower.  You are on a layout roll.  

[sharon thompson]

2 hours ago, Bonnie Ballentine said:

Day 2

I created 5 different plaids. Think I would like this one better if I lowered the opacity of the background.

 

Hi Bonnie. For someone who doesn't like patterned backgrounds, that plaid is gorgeous. Sharon

[Anja Pelzer]

day 5  

 

and day 6  

Edited February 19, 2023 by Anja Pelzer

[sharon thompson]

During the pandemic, small wildlife moved into our small town and took over the deserted yards and streets. Shortly thereafter, the smaller animals seemed to disappear as foxes and coyotes moved in.  One brazen fox established a route along the front yards all along my street. They are beautiful creatures and so very good at mouse control.  One liked to lie down behind the big maple tree in my front yard and wait for dinner to scamper by. He would appear at the same time each day. The upside is that I no longer have to set mousetraps in my garage & shed.

I made the lino background with a small pattern and blurred & blended it. I focused tightly on a close up of the fox's face when using the watercolour brush for masking. The font is Segoe Print. I added a picture frame and then selected out the edge to give it a more rustic look.

 

[Lesley Maple]

Day 6's project I found easier than the 5th one.  This is Stella.  She's a giant breed - Great Pyrenees/German Shepherd mix.  We went to Puppy Kindergarten when she was about 5 months old.  She got expelled.  (She's fear aggressive and the teacher was filling in for the regular one and she wasn't comfortable with a 60 lb puppy with behavior issues).  
We returned to school when the regular teacher returned and Stella was 9 months old and GIGANTIC when she finally graduated from puppy school.

I love this method of making a background. Elements are from the Fido kit by Gina Jones.

 

[Cassel]

@Gabriela Those little gems are perfect details to match the pattern on the frogs. Maybe if you filled the text in black, it would be a bit easier to read? Great choice for the custom mask outline!

@Sue Thomas Great background! Using overlays can generate such unique effects and you are obviously having fun with them. Great masks using the vectorpaint!

@Susan EwartThat nice doodle frame is quite cute but do you know how easy it is? Check this tutorial for doodle/scribbled outline and apply the same technique to frames. It is clear that you are getting more comfortable with PSP. You are already integrating various lessons from different tutorials and master classes (blending, overlays, etc.) And it will only get easier with more practice.

@Ann SeeberA compression setting of 72 is very high. I tend to keep mine between 20 and 30! Are you otherwise having too large files? It is good on your layout with rings that you didn't add a "traditional" shadow on the bird as it would then have looked like a sticker. This is one situation where not adding a shadow is the right choice.

@Hank SobahIt looks like you were playing with some overlays. Am I correct?

@Donna SilliaYes, I think these last shadows are more appropriate. When you used the script, were the skis horizontal or did you rotate them to add to the layout? The extraction you did was well done. And yes, the smaller "tiles" in that color really match well a desert scene.

@sharon thompsonFor the text on path, there is "almost" a shortcut: make the path, then make the text separately, highlight both and go to Object > Fit text to path. Otherwise, check this article. And then, maybe these little tips could help too.

@Marie-ClaireIs it possible that you had merged all the frames before adding the shadow? The 3D effect would be more obvious if the shadows were added before the merge as they could shadow the frames individually. And I am not tired of seeing Poncho!

@Lesley MapleFor the brushes, if you were to make them smaller, they would blend in more into the mask instead of looking like standalone, and then you would have an easier time concentrating the photo into a limited  area of the mask.

@Bonnie BallentineGlad to see you catching up. Yes, plaids can be overpowering, and sometimes, it depends on what section of the image you are using. Some areas will have more contrasting colors and will show brightly, while other sections will have more subtle colors. Knowing that in advance, you can select areas to give more of the look you want, but you can also play with overlays, blend modes and opacity. They are all fair game! You know, it is so much fun to see your friends, page after page. It feels like we know them by now!

@Corrie KinkelOn that "sponge" layout, I almost thought you made a brush out of that specific fungi, which is something one could do! It matches so well.

@Ron Welcome back. I hope you are doing ok now. Speaking of translation, I once translated a tutorial, from French to English and uploaded online. A while later, I stumbled upon a translation of the English tutorial, back into French, and the instructions were hilarious!!! I know Google translate might not be good with technical terms but this was a gem!!! If you are ever stuck on a word, just ask. We have members speaking various languages who would be happy to help. I'll hunt down an old document  with translated PSP terms. I'll put that on my to-do list.

@Linda J WalkerDon't stress yourself. You probably learn details as you watch the videos, even if you don't do it immediately. We know that other things do happen. Unfortunately, PSP is not always the priority.

@Anja PelzerThat is a very interesting scalloped frame. Did you do it from scratch? I love that multiple frame. The shading is perfect too. You had great brushes to create the edge of your mask.

 

[Bonnie Ballentine]

1 hour ago, sharon thompson said:

Hi Bonnie. For someone who doesn't like patterned backgrounds, that plaid is gorgeous. Sharon

Thank you, Sharon!

[Bonnie Ballentine]

2 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

Bonnie, that lino background is fabulous.  Love that flower.  You are on a layout roll.  

Thank you, Susan. The flower is Bird of Paradise and the words are symbolized by the bird of paradise.

[Mary Solaas]

I'm working on catching up.  I did do Project 4.  Making the mask was interesting.  Working on the picture you choose was great.  I do like the McBad brushes if you use the F11 Brush Variance.  However, I still do not understand it, but Carole shows us what settings to use.  The picture is of Joe and Lucy on the NC beach last spring.  I had fun making a silhouette of them.  I did a kaleidascope (I can't spell) from the picture with a darken blend mode and then put a layer on top of white canvas which I texturized and used an Overlay bend mode and opacity of 83.  Think it turned out pretty good.  You can just barely see the kaleidascope pattern and so it doesn't distract from the picture.  The title font is Cattleya (CF) and the state and date is Free Universal. The cluster at the bottom is mine.

[Donna Sillia]

My grandson is in Mexico and sent me this picture saying that it would be perfect if his dog was in it. I selected the dog from another photo and instead of extracting it, I used a rectangular mask and used black to eliminate the mask around Chooch. It was so much easier than extracting! The only thing I worry about is the proportion of the dog and asked Matt to let me know if it is too small. If so, I will use a larger picture of Chooch.

[Gabriela]

Here is another one !

Font used :Kelly Ann Gothic

Paper created with Pattern Tile

Elements from a long time ago 

Picture is mine 

[Corrie Kinkel]

11 hours ago, Anja Pelzer said:

day 5  

 

and day 6  

Anja I like the mask on your Rose very much!

[Julie Magerka]

Day 6 finally done. Used my own photo taken at the marina/park near where I live on a crisp autumn day. I spent way too much time on the lino effect and then playing with the frame. I wanted to try dynamic frame style but it really didn't work for me, so I opted to cut off a bit at the bottom right. Then,, when I thought I had something, I realized I'd forgotten the mask! I know what I want in my head, but it usually comes out differently in the layout.

[Hank Sobah]

Day 5 Masks Class - Cassel, you were right in everything you said.  Not sure how to answer questions in your comments.  On that first one, I didn't even see the line at the top.  Hope you like this one...

[Jnet Allard]

Wowww a lot of participants and a lot of beautiful layouts!  Congratulations to all!

[Tonimarie]

Day 5 

I was stuck when learning this, but then it all came to me after a bunch of tries, and I just love it. I can't wait to continue to use this. ?

I used a scattered hearts brush around the photo

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Tonimarie

[Susan Ewart]

2 hours ago, Julie Magerka said:

Day 6 finally done. Used my own photo taken at the marina/park near where I live on a crisp autumn day. I spent way too much time on the lino effect and then playing with the frame. I wanted to try dynamic frame style but it really didn't work for me, so I opted to cut off a bit at the bottom right. Then,, when I thought I had something, I realized I'd forgotten the mask! I know what I want in my head, but it usually comes out differently in the layout.

Julie, this is really beautiful.  I miss seeing cormorants.  Your lino background is really nice and fitting with the rocks in the photo.   I know what you mean, what I first envision isnt what the end result is.  Often thought, inspiration takes you in a different direction.  I like what you did with the frame.

 

[Bonnie Ballentine]

2 hours ago, Julie Magerka said:

Day 6 finally done. Used my own photo taken at the marina/park near where I live on a crisp autumn day. I spent way too much time on the lino effect and then playing with the frame. I wanted to try dynamic frame style but it really didn't work for me, so I opted to cut off a bit at the bottom right. Then,, when I thought I had something, I realized I'd forgotten the mask! I know what I want in my head, but it usually comes out differently in the layout.

Love the background! Perfect!

[Susan Ewart]

Day 6 Diamond Extra.  

I tweaked the blue frame by the little circle. Made it bigger and used it as a frame, as the inner frame seemed distracting.  It was hard to find a background I liked.  I tried many versions of the lino paper but could find one I liked.  Used a gradient that seemed like the sky... and now having typed that I could have found a photo with the actual sky.  Font is Adobe Devanagari and the water droplets on the sign are from Digital Scrapbook - Jessica Dunn Coastal Spring Water Droplets.  You can see in the smaller photo that I was shooting through the window.  You can see a reflection, sometimes there is no getting away from it.  Angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection... sometimes you just cant get out of the angle. I hate physics.  

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Susan Ewart

[Karen Borgmann]

Better Late then Never.....this was a struggle for me....but I finally worked it out (kinda')  Anyway, here's my entry for Day 1.....CorvetteKaren

[Marie-Claire]

16 hours ago, Cassel said:

 

@Marie-ClaireIs it possible that you had merged all the frames before adding the shadow? The 3D effect would be more obvious if the shadows were added before the merge as they could shadow the frames individually. And I am not tired of seeing Poncho!

 

yes I merged the frames and then applied the shadow. I wasn't sure how to do it. Because I interlaced them at the bottom
Thank you.

[MoniqueN.]

Lesson 2

I don't know what I did with the edges around the photo's at the bottom, but they are not the same width.?

Fonts: Celtic md and centaur

[Rene Marker]

After a busy 2 days (lunch with out of town family, then funeral visitation on Friday and the funeral on Saturday with a wedding last evening), I have finally had time to do the last 3 days.

Day 5:

I used a snowflake brush for the mask then made the snowflakes following the Snowflake (2) tutorial in Lab 9, Module 12. I used a flood fill for the background, blending it with ps_elif-sahin_196132_gold-textures-texture-08-template_pu (Darken 100). Igloo Caps is the font.

Day 6:

I made a bunch of linoleum papers and chose 2 that I felt worked the best. The yellowish one was then used as a frame and has an inner bevel. The background is blended with an RGB of 77-119-60 (Multiply 100) for the background. Font is Only By Request.

[Rene Marker]

And, Day 7:

The polka dots were blended with a flood fill of 113-196-206 (Multiply 100). Fonts: Only By Request and The Vintage Typewriter.

[Hank Sobah]

Day 6 Masks Workshop