Calendar Workshop 2025

[Donna Sillia]

One thing that I noticed when saving as jpgs is that the resolution was 100 px. I checked the other templates, and they varied from 100 to 200. Carole, should we be changing the resolution to 300 if we are planning to have our calendar printed?

[Julian Adams]

November

[Julian Adams]

7 hours ago, Mary Solaas said:

@Julian Adams I like both pictures, but I like the darker mask doodles the best.

Thank you for all the replies about my August project.  I agreed with everyone actually.  The original picnic photo is much larger than I need so I was able to resolve the blown out bllacks and whites on the high rez copy (they got blown out reducing mostly) and reduce it and use the frame and background that we all liked better.  It is perfect now.

[Julian Adams]

1 hour ago, Donna Sillia said:

One thing that I noticed when saving as jpgs is that the resolution was 100 px. I checked the other templates, and they varied from 100 to 200. Carole, should we be changing the resolution to 300 if we are planning to have our calendar printed?

I'm sure Carole has the definitive answer but I always use png, not jpg for printing because the quality of a png is pixel for pixel perfect whereas a jpg always loses a little.  

The originals are 2400 X 3150 pixels which at 300 dpi would print out at 8" X 10.5".  What I did last year was use the AI resize tool to get them to fit on an 8.5" X 11" sheet of glossy photo paper.  It wasn't much of an enlargement or distortion so they printed very nicely.

I don't understand why you are getting 100 to 200 px.  Maybe you're reading pixels/cm not pixels/inch?   @Cassel ?

[Ann Seeber]

And here's December featuring one of the Nashville Zoo's Giant Tortoises. The background is a paper that I colorized. I've been using the same fonts throughout.

Edited October 27 by Ann Seeber

[Daniel Hess]

On 10/23/2024 at 9:17 PM, Cassel said:

Although I plan on making written tutorials in the form of blog posts, you can check out the webinar that I hosted for Corel, a few years ago. Maybe I could revisit it as a Master Class? What do you think?

I used that webinar to "remake" all the calendar portions of your templates last year (2024 calendars).  This year I decided to use the ones provided with a few small modifications.  That was a great webinar and that was how I got "introduced" to you.  It was the first time I got the benefit of your expertise.

[Sue Thomas]

1 hour ago, Julian Adams said:

I'm sure Carole has the definitive answer but I always use png, not jpg for printing because the quality of a png is pixel for pixel perfect whereas a jpg always loses a little.  

The originals are 2400 X 3150 pixels which at 300 dpi would print out at 8" X 10.5".  What I did last year was use the AI resize tool to get them to fit on an 8.5" X 11" sheet of glossy photo paper.  It wasn't much of an enlargement or distortion so they printed very nicely.

I don't understand why you are getting 100 to 200 px.  Maybe you're reading pixels/cm not pixels/inch?   @Cassel ?

I use png too. For the same reason.

[Susan Ewart]

6 hours ago, Daniel Hess said:

And here are the last three, October thru December.

Wow Daniel!  Fabulous and cohesive.  the photo's were all beautiful and the fit the month and are interesting.  Who doesnt love horses? I loved those pages.  Very cool to have the state in the background of the date boxes, it was a little something extra to discover.  

[Susan Ewart]

5 hours ago, Donna Sillia said:

One thing that I noticed when saving as jpgs is that the resolution was 100 px. I checked the other templates, and they varied from 100 to 200. Carole, should we be changing the resolution to 300 if we are planning to have our calendar printed?

I cant see where it shows 100 or 200 px.  When I save the jpgs it just has a compression slider.  I'd like to know where this is in case i'm missing something.  I'm sure you'd want 300 if you were printing.    I'm interested to find the answer to this too.

[Susan Ewart]

3 hours ago, Julian Adams said:

I'm sure Carole has the definitive answer but I always use png, not jpg for printing because the quality of a png is pixel for pixel perfect whereas a jpg always loses a little.  

The originals are 2400 X 3150 pixels which at 300 dpi would print out at 8" X 10.5".  What I did last year was use the AI resize tool to get them to fit on an 8.5" X 11" sheet of glossy photo paper.  It wasn't much of an enlargement or distortion so they printed very nicely.

I don't understand why you are getting 100 to 200 px.  Maybe you're reading pixels/cm not pixels/inch?   @Cassel ?

I can see the difference in jpg and if use Tiff or png and have started using tiff or png to get better resolution.  Especially png for anything that needs transparency; and I noticed when I print the png, the margins dont shift around like jpg and even pdfs do.  I'm doing wedding invites and need the page to stay centered in the printing process.  I though pdf were the most stable for outsourced printing, but testing on my computer shows it doesn't stay centered like the png tests i was printing does.

[Susan Ewart]

here is an almost finished October.  I made the calendar smaller to fit the days of the week across the top and so I could enlarge the Month.  Still playing with placements, month in the centre, month to the far left or centered on the date boxes.  So, I'll live with this for a bit.  The extra space I had planned on using quotes so i will stick with that.  I used a gradient on the background (made of one of Cassel's gradients - sunset), two of them, one with an angle and probably a blend mode to blend them together and the fading white as well.  kept a copy of all of them then merged the other layers into one layer.  Added a texture to the background and to the boxes to make them look like they are part of the background.  Havent changed the numbers yet and decided if I'll keep black text or try something else.  I did try to blend the rasterized quote and it looked cool, but not sure the calendar would remain cohesive if I did that with all the months.  So, this one isnt all the way done but thought I'd show some progress.  Now to go back (and forward to Nov/Dec) to complete them all.  I'll post as I get each one done.   

I might have forgotten to take the blend mode of the first part of the quote (it's a separate layer than the word Flowers), it's looks lighter and not black. 

Edited October 27 by Susan Ewart

[Julian Adams]

8 hours ago, Sue Thomas said:

 I would promote the background layer, add the image, then apply a blend mode. I as like to keep the texture, if any on the background paper only.  You can also change the  promoted background colour etc, to get the desired effect.  

I don't understand what promoting a layer does?  Could someone please explain?  I used the Background layer to color what I want the mask to let through around the photo.  Then I created a new raster layer and pasted the image that is to show through the dates there.  How would it work by promoting a layer?

[Daniel Hess]

51 minutes ago, Julian Adams said:

I don't understand what promoting a layer does?

When you start with an image like a jpeg, it is a "background layer".  If you use the eraser tool, it will leave whatever color you have selected as the background color in your palette wherever you erase.  When you promote the background layer and turn it into a raster layer, if you erase, it leaves transparency wherever you erase.  There are MANY cases and situations where that is much more desirable then leaving a "color" behind when you erase, especially if you have added any layers "below" the original layer. 

[Donna Sillia]

September put me way behind and will get a do over. I changed the resolution to 300, and then my calendar was way too big. That will teach me to leave things alone. Then I had a horrible time deciding on a background and finally resorted to Adobe Express. I had to lighten it a little. All the photos are from David. I made a mask for the golden lady and highlighted it in gold using layer styles to make it more visible. Hopefully, I will finish in the next few days.

[Cassel]

@Julian Adams It is an interesting idea to add an image behind the dates. I am always amazed at how participants really think out of the box and show so much creativity.

@Sue Thomas I didn't know the non-capitalizing of names was common in French movie credits. I have not watched French movies in many years!

@Corrie Kinkel Once you get your calendar printed, take a picture of it, just like you did for your book. It is one thing to see the digital version, but seeing the printed project on a table is another level.

@Sharla That will make a fantastic flower calendar!

@Daniel Hess It is fun how some of the fonts match either the month or the picture!

@Donna Sillia That is a good question about the resolution. I never noticed that they were different as I created all from the same "template". When the template is 2400 pixels wide, at 200 px/inch, it means it would, in theory, print at 12 inches wide. If you go to File > Print Layout and put the image on your page, it will prompt you to resize it to fit the image because your paper is only 8.5 inches (or so). My guess is that if you send it to a print shop, they will also adjust to the size of the paper. However, if you want to do the "fix" yourself, you would go to the Resize command and select "By print size". There, change the resolution to 300 pixels/inch. You will then have to adjust the size above, to 8.5 inches wide (it will automatically adjust to 10.5 in height). I don't think it will make much difference though. I rechecked all the pages and you are right: the April, May and June ones show as 100px/inch. No idea why.

@Susan Ewart Your gradient is so subtle and beautiful!

 

[Susan Ewart]

6 minutes ago, Cassel said:

Your gradient is so subtle and beautiful!

Oh my gosh!  Thank you so much.  

[Julian Adams]

3 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

I used a gradient on the background (made of one of Cassel's gradients - sunset), two of them, one with an angle and probably a blend mode to blend them together and the fading white as well.  kept a copy of all of them then merged the other layers into one layer. 

I'd love to get a lesson from both you and @Gerry Landreth on the techniques you used in your gradients.

[Julian Adams]

Finally December.  Now what shall I do for the cover?

[Susan Ewart]

1 hour ago, Julian Adams said:

I'd love to get a lesson from both you and @Gerry Landreth on the techniques you used in your gradients.

Yikes, I'm usually a hot mess when I'm playing around and I never write stuff down.  I will see if I can recreate it, in steps, again...might be later this week though.  

[Susan Ewart]

1 hour ago, Julian Adams said:

I'd love to get a lesson from both you and @Gerry Landreth on the techniques you used in your gradients.

Here goes.  I'll do two posts.  Hoping the images are big enough to see.  First is the layers palette, I grouped the layers for my background so I had the originals.  I duplicated the group and merged it turning it into a raster in order to add the texture.  but backing up, here's how I started.  From the bottom (called background in the layers palette) I used cass-sunset07 gradient with the linear gradient (top button on my gradient type list - next post shows the materials palette).  Sometimes, I stretch gradients way up or way down using the pick tool; like, WAY past the canvas, I'm pretty sure I did that because there is also yellow in that gradient.  Then I added a new raster layer and manually played with the angle until I liked it (turned out to be 98 degrees).  I wanted that bit of yellow to be like the sun or light shining on the front of the flower so I used shear and perspective with the pick tool to manipulate the corners.  In doing so, I had some of the canvas show through at the bottom right (you can see the white sliver of it in the layers palette).  (NOTE: raster 4 added with the same initial 98 degrees, so I had one that was untouched in case I messed up - Raster 3).  If I tried to use the pick tool to cover that sliver it moved the yellow spot too much so I used a blend mode: lighten to fill in the transparent part on the canvas.  Blend Modes affect the layer below it...there is a Master Class about that in campus if you are a Diamond member. the top two white layers are the fading white gradient, I used two, and rotated one 180 degrees and used various opacities to control the strength of the gradient.  Hopefully this isnt way too confusing. 

[Susan Ewart]

Here is the materials properties box.  You can see I've chosen the gradient tab on the top and to the right you can see the gradient at zero angle and and 98 angle on the second image.  you can see the name in the drop down list bottom left.  Cassel made this gradient...look below to see how complex it is.  Blows my mind!  And yes, there are master classes about Gradients in the Campus (for Diamond members).  And those (The Master Classes) are downloadable.  You can also see in the drop down gradient menu/list (?) all the other gradients are showing the same 98 degree angle.  I first manipulated it by grabbing that stick--thing in the middle of the gradient box above the words angle and repeats (oh man, you can do crazy cool stuff with repeats using huge numbers!).  I used the top of the 4 vertical boxes on the right top side.  Does any of this help?  I'm not a great explainer.

I also probably used the pick tool to pull out from the left side, horizontally.  I stretch the corner of the canvas out so I can stretch beyond the canvas to get the effect I want.  Sometimes I need to reduce the canvas on the screen to be able the pull out the corners or edges as far as I need to.  Probably this is all stuff you know already.

Edited October 28 by Susan Ewart

[Donna Sillia]

My final September page: I made a new mask for the golden lady, changed template resolution to 300, and everything worked well. Thanks for advice about saving as a png since I am intending to have the calendar printed as a Christmas present for David and Rachel who sent me all the beautiful pictures that they took in Thailand. I had to make the template mask a little small so that the month could be seen.

[Donna Sillia]

6 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

here is an almost finished October.  I made the calendar smaller to fit the days of the week across the top and so I could enlarge the Month.  Still playing with placements, month in the centre, month to the far left or centered on the date boxes.  So, I'll live with this for a bit.  The extra space I had planned on using quotes so i will stick with that.  I used a gradient on the background (made of one of Cassel's gradients - sunset), two of them, one with an angle and probably a blend mode to blend them together and the fading white as well.  kept a copy of all of them then merged the other layers into one layer.  Added a texture to the background and to the boxes to make them look like they are part of the background.  Havent changed the numbers yet and decided if I'll keep black text or try something else.  I did try to blend the rasterized quote and it looked cool, but not sure the calendar would remain cohesive if I did that with all the months.  So, this one isnt all the way done but thought I'd show some progress.  Now to go back (and forward to Nov/Dec) to complete them all.  I'll post as I get each one done.   

I might have forgotten to take the blend mode of the first part of the quote (it's a separate layer than the word Flowers), it's looks lighter and not black. 

I love that Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, and I love flowers. Yours are beautiful.

[Susan Ewart]

15 minutes ago, Donna Sillia said:

I love that Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, and I love flowers. Yours are beautiful.

Thank you Donna. I really like the process of learning how to control the light...not always a success (mostly not) but really engaging to try.

[Cristina]

On 10/25/2024 at 3:42 PM, Sue Thomas said:

What can I  say Cristina, other than, and here is that word again! Ineffable! 

Everyone is creating such wonderful pages, they are all a credit to your creativity. There are far to many to individually comment  on.

Thank you, Sue!

I agree; everyone is creating lovely and great pages. 🙂 

Edited October 28 by Cristina