Masks Workshop (2025)

[Cindy Sheets]

I am working my way through the workshop. While I am not completing spreads, I am learning the skills. I loved learning how to do the matching plaid.

[Karen Borgmann]

whew!  I finally finished the last lesson.   Loved the Polka Dot paper tutorial.  Thank you Carole for your help and patience.  I refreshed my PSP skills but discovered I have a lot to learn.  I need to practice, practice, practice.   Here's Lesson 7 layout.

[Susan Ewart]

6 hours ago, Sue Thomas said:

Yes, they are a member of the corvidae family. They are all also known for their mimicry  abilities.   We do, I  talk to all creatures.  It is inaccurate  to say bird brain  as an insult to someone.  As birds posses incredible abilities, and intelligence.

I wonder if they call us "human brain".  In the song "I'm like a bird" (Nellie Furtado) the lyrics are:

"I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is (soul is)
I don't know where my home is
And baby, all I need for you to know is"

It really bugs me because a bird knows exactly where it's home is, even migrating 1000's of miles.  Whereas, my human brains sometimes gets lost on the 8 minute drive home from work!  Birds are awesome!

[Cassel]

To clarify something, the link to the survey was "accidentally" requesting permission to fill out from some participants. This was a glitch and I changed the settings so if you were asked for a special permission, can you try it again? It should be fixed now.

@JacquesThanks for confirming. Pic-to-Painting was integrated in recent versions of PSP. Simple polkadots' very effective effect.

@Carolyn RyeNice smile from Daniel. You managed to get those mask effects very nicely. It is great to see those silhouettes as part of the mask.

@AprilDawnThat is a very interesting use of the mask on only part of the photo. I might try this effect!

@Jeni SimpsonIf you want to use brushes away from the center, you can always use light grey and go darker as you go further. That is a way to fade the brush imprints of the mask. The issue you have around the ellipse, is possibly because there seems to be another layer under the image/mask (a solid color) so the edges don't blend into the background.

@SharlaDid you try the Voronoi with different size tiles? Maybe a smaller one would please you better? For the polkadot, just note that not only you can have smaller/larger scale, you can also use a smaller dot on a larger "tile" and that would give dots that are spaced out differently.

@CristinaEven with a larger mask, the polkadots are still visible and you get your assignment is in!

@Robert GarrettI am glad you enjoyed this workshop. I hope you will stick around for upcoming workshops and classes too!

@Susan EwartI think that those hearts work fine with the mask. If you want to create a transition from the "faded" central part and the "defined" hearts, you could use go in steps: create a slightly faded central part, add some "sharp" hearts on the same layer, add a blur to that layer, add more "sharp" hearts around. Repeat as needed.

@fiona cookGreat end result with that polkadot and mask.

@gwen jewittTwo delicate layouts. Polkadots can be bold or delicate. Isn't it nice to have such flexibility?

@Ann SeeberIt is nice to see how a small-scale polkadot can be subtle without overpowering the project.

@Corrie KinkelDid you use the same scale for the two colors of polkadots? I do see different colors, but wondering how it could show different colors if the two patterns align with each other?

@Karen BorgmannI also hate that the Scale mode is inaccurate too. At least, we see when it is NOT scaled correctly. Unfortunately, some people don't notice 😞 It seems that if you use Ctrl for something right before, it is like that modifier is "stuck" in the settings. On the James layout, did you add shadows to the ribbons at the bottom?

@Donna SilliaAnother non-fan of voronoi. However, if anyone can find something more similar to the linoleum effect, let me know!

@Gerry LandrethIt is nice to see how you use those different resources, including the Scattered Photos script!

@MoniqueN.Great layouts. For the second layout, may I suggest adjusting the color of the title to make it a bit more contrasting?

@Connie CollierThis is such a great way to showcase those paintings of yours! no more "boring" white frames only! 🙂

@Linda RexfordYou show a great application of the polkadot technique with a different shape from the "dot". As you see, the possibilities are endless.

@Jean NaumannThroughout different workshops and classes, we often reuse similar tools and effects. After all, there are only a limited number of them. Just like the alphabet includes only 26 letters, we can combine them to create an almost infinite number of words and sentences. Isn't it amazing when you consider that?

@Cindy SheetsThat plaid is bold and matches the vibe of the photo very well.

Although you don't have any more lessons to come, you still have some time to catch up if you encountered any obstacles. The videos will stay up and available for another 7 days. After that, they will only be available to our DIAMOND members. Of course, you can join any time!

And remember to fill out the survey when you have a chance!

[Susan Ewart]

4 hours ago, Karen Borgmann said:

Here's my layout for Day 6 of the Mask Workshop.  Loved how the background paper turned out.  Fun new way to make background papers.  Thank you for this fun technique!

 

i

This made me smile.  What a zest for life James has, and a good sense of humor

[Susan Ewart]

2 minutes ago, Cassel said:

I think that those hearts work fine with the mask. If you want to create a transition from the "faded" central part and the "defined" hearts, you could use go in steps: create a slightly faded central part, add some "sharp" hearts on the same layer, add a blur to that layer, add more "sharp" hearts around. Repeat as needed.

Thank you Carole.  I would not have even thought of that.  Such good ideas.  

[Susan Ewart]

Lesson 6 Diamond extra

This template comes with 4 photo squares as well but I chose not to use them.  I also shadowed the mask (after duplicating, hiding the orig, then rasterizing the duplicate) to be as if I dropped my photo onto hard frozen ground and it shattered.  The alpha is from one of the Build a Kits that I did.  The photo is mine that I used for a Christmas card one year (2017 I think).  I love the lino effect.  Mine as you see doesn't look like lino at all.  I only repeated the Control-Y part 2-3 times on the effect, then I duplicated that layer (after resizing and pasting into the layout) and did the plaid effect which gave a bit of a stone look to it (No typical plaid lines, but a neat looking result).  Then I added a PSP texture effect (textures, Asphalt at size 504 and depth of 5) to get a stone look to it.  the lino technique is a great jumping off point to make a textured paper, especially if the lino paper isn't the result I am looking for.  

[Susan Ewart]

Lesson 6 - the lino paper original

This is only as far as I went.  Well, actually I went really far but used undo to back up to the spot I wanted to start experimenting with.  

 

[Jeni Simpson]

20 minutes ago, Cassel said:

To clarify something, the link to the survey was "accidentally" requesting permission to fill out from some participants. This was a glitch and I changed the settings so if you were asked for a special permission, can you try it again? It should be fixed now.

@Jeni SimpsonIf you want to use brushes away from the center, you can always use light grey and go darker as you go further. That is a way to fade the brush imprints of the mask. The issue you have around the ellipse, is possibly because there seems to be another layer under the image/mask (a solid color) so the edges don't blend into the background.

Thank you, Carole, I will take a look at that.

This has been a fabulous workshop. Now I have done it in both PSP and Affinity, I think I will concentrate on one or t'other next time.  It is too much doing them all, however, it was my choice and I loved it. 

I have particularly enjoyed seeing what everyone has created. There is a lot of knowledge and creativity amongst everyone in this bunch, which I appreciate.

[Jeni Simpson]

Day 7 PSP
My cat, Abby, was quite the intrepid traveller. Subsequently, she slept a lot; she would sleep anywhere. 
I believe cats will sleep 20 out of 24 hours, when allowed. My girl wandered across the Rainbow Bridge a few years ago, at age 19, so she lived a long and varied  life.
There were two of them, originally, although Jessie was only 9 months old when she was run over by a car.
They were a delight together, played constantly, ran around, and climbed trees together.

[Jeni Simpson]

Day 7 Affinity
Abby sleeping, again. She was Abyssinian crossed with Siamese, and her father was a big,black tom.
She would often curl up between my keyboard and my monitor whenever I was working on my PC.
I enjoyed seeing how we can create similar effects in PSP or Affinity.

[Carolyn Rye]

Day 6 Affinity.  This workshop has been so good.  I have used both PSP and Affinity and loved them both.  I think I may have done the background a little too red in Affinity so that is something that I will work on with other projects.

[Carolyn Rye]

Thought I would add a frame to Daniels Superheroes Image. 

[Cristina]

8 hours ago, Jeni Simpson said:

A few years ago, I would check some out, possibly upstate New York, I don't remember. A friend got me started on watching each day for a while, they are fascinating, and it is so great there are cameras so the eagles can be seen.

I agree, Jeni. There is something special about seeing them in their habitat, watching how the parents interact, take good care of them, and still provide food.

It's also lovely to know that the two sisters are close, flying together to get to know their territory. This is from the Big Bear Lake Bald Eagles page on FB.

[Cristina]

7 hours ago, Jeni Simpson said:

Day 6 PSP
I had some difficulty creating masks for these two. I don't know why.
These beautiful swans were popular in New Zealand from the late '40s when Crown Lynn began creating them. 
By the 1980s, they had lost favour, and eventually Crown Lynn stopped making them.

For the background here, I placed the linoleum page in as a pattern at 20% and poured it onto my page, which meant a smaller linoleum pattern.
I added a preset shape heart and used an AlienSkin glass filter on it, picking out the pale pink in the swan glaze.

 

Jeni, I really like the layout, especially how the background blends with this beautiful photo. I believe the Linoleum Effect has great potential, particularly with the right color choices.

I rarely use busy patterns because I’m not sure how to incorporate them effectively, and when I do, I usually don't like the result. However, I enjoy seeing how others utilize them.

[Jeni Simpson]

1 minute ago, Cristina said:

Jeni, I really like the layout, especially how the background blends with this beautiful photo. I believe the Linoleum Effect has great potential, particularly with the right color choices.

I rarely use busy patterns because I’m not sure how to incorporate them effectively, and when I do, I usually don't like the result. However, I enjoy seeing how others utilize them.

Cristina, I so agree. I'm not one to use busy backgrounds, I like the photographs to stand out, yet it is great learning how to, in case we have something that works. In my Swans, I believe the photos are strong enough for those backgrounds, especially when I used the linoleum effect as a pattern in the PSP page. I went to an exhibition of those swans with my art class, and I found them stunning as an exhibition. I had never been fond of the swans in my youth, and I find them quite lovely now, in my 70s.

[Cristina]

12 minutes ago, Jeni Simpson said:

I went to an exhibition of those swans with my art class, and I found them stunning as an exhibition.

Jenny, they are already beautiful; just looking at the photos makes me imagine how stunning they would be in an exhibition.

[Carolyn Rye]

Day 7 PSP I made it, and it was fun.  This is Daniel with one of his friends.

[Connie Collier]

12 hours ago, Cindy Sheets said:

I am working my way through the workshop. While I am not completing spreads, I am learning the skills. I loved learning how to do the matching plaid.

And what a nice, realistic plaid it is, too!

[Corrie Kinkel]

15 hours ago, AprilDawn said:

@Corrie Kinkel... i am glad you found those Dot brushes Corrie, there are a few packs of them, did you download them all. Stuart has done a great job creating them and such a variety to choose from.   I  will be using them often because they will add a  great effect  especially with masks.

best wishes 

Dawn. 

Yes Dawn I downloaded them all and I love them. With the variety it will give a different result for as many masks as I want to create for a long time. So again thank you for sharing and best wishes to you, Corrie

[Harmony Birch]

Here is my day 7. 
The font is Brahn Mufun

[MoniqueN.]

Lesson 3

In my opinion the kaldeiscope is a bit to busy, even when you chnag the size, so I added a mat. It's ok for an excercise, but in a "real"project I won't use it much. But how easy this is in Affinity! 🙂

[Corrie Kinkel]

13 hours ago, Cassel said:

To clarify something, the link to the survey was "accidentally" requesting permission to fill out from some participants. This was a glitch and I changed the settings so if you were asked for a special permission, can you try it again? It should be fixed now.

@JacquesThanks for confirming. Pic-to-Painting was integrated in recent versions of PSP. Simple polkadots' very effective effect.

@Carolyn RyeNice smile from Daniel. You managed to get those mask effects very nicely. It is great to see those silhouettes as part of the mask.

@AprilDawnThat is a very interesting use of the mask on only part of the photo. I might try this effect!

@Jeni SimpsonIf you want to use brushes away from the center, you can always use light grey and go darker as you go further. That is a way to fade the brush imprints of the mask. The issue you have around the ellipse, is possibly because there seems to be another layer under the image/mask (a solid color) so the edges don't blend into the background.

@SharlaDid you try the Voronoi with different size tiles? Maybe a smaller one would please you better? For the polkadot, just note that not only you can have smaller/larger scale, you can also use a smaller dot on a larger "tile" and that would give dots that are spaced out differently.

@CristinaEven with a larger mask, the polkadots are still visible and you get your assignment is in!

@Robert GarrettI am glad you enjoyed this workshop. I hope you will stick around for upcoming workshops and classes too!

@Susan EwartI think that those hearts work fine with the mask. If you want to create a transition from the "faded" central part and the "defined" hearts, you could use go in steps: create a slightly faded central part, add some "sharp" hearts on the same layer, add a blur to that layer, add more "sharp" hearts around. Repeat as needed.

@fiona cookGreat end result with that polkadot and mask.

@gwen jewittTwo delicate layouts. Polkadots can be bold or delicate. Isn't it nice to have such flexibility?

@Ann SeeberIt is nice to see how a small-scale polkadot can be subtle without overpowering the project.

@Corrie KinkelDid you use the same scale for the two colors of polkadots? I do see different colors, but wondering how it could show different colors if the two patterns align with each other?

@Karen BorgmannI also hate that the Scale mode is inaccurate too. At least, we see when it is NOT scaled correctly. Unfortunately, some people don't notice 😞 It seems that if you use Ctrl for something right before, it is like that modifier is "stuck" in the settings. On the James layout, did you add shadows to the ribbons at the bottom?

@Donna SilliaAnother non-fan of voronoi. However, if anyone can find something more similar to the linoleum effect, let me know!

@Gerry LandrethIt is nice to see how you use those different resources, including the Scattered Photos script!

@MoniqueN.Great layouts. For the second layout, may I suggest adjusting the color of the title to make it a bit more contrasting?

@Connie CollierThis is such a great way to showcase those paintings of yours! no more "boring" white frames only! 🙂

@Linda RexfordYou show a great application of the polkadot technique with a different shape from the "dot". As you see, the possibilities are endless.

@Jean NaumannThroughout different workshops and classes, we often reuse similar tools and effects. After all, there are only a limited number of them. Just like the alphabet includes only 26 letters, we can combine them to create an almost infinite number of words and sentences. Isn't it amazing when you consider that?

@Cindy SheetsThat plaid is bold and matches the vibe of the photo very well.

Although you don't have any more lessons to come, you still have some time to catch up if you encountered any obstacles. The videos will stay up and available for another 7 days. After that, they will only be available to our DIAMOND members. Of course, you can join any time!

And remember to fill out the survey when you have a chance!

@Cassel I used two different brushes same size and same scale. One brush was a basic round brush as in the lesson and was on the bottom layer. The second brush was a round flair brush and was on the top layer. The bottom layer was green and the top layer yellow. I played with the blend modes to see if I by chance could get something interesting and with the Divide blendmode it resulted in a white layer with mostly blue dots and some greenish ones that due to the flair looks in this reduced version as if the dots are a bit mismatched. On a larger scale you see the flairs.

[MoniqueN.]

Lesson 4

Liked the lesson 🙂

I consulted(?) my Affinity book how to create the gradient and ChatGPT provided me with the sentence 🙂

Font is Amazone BT

Elements are from Pixelscrapper

In Dutch it says:"Over the red bridge they forgot the world in each others arms"

 

[Corrie Kinkel]

55 minutes ago, MoniqueN. said:

Lesson 4

Liked the lesson 🙂

I consulted(?) my Affinity book how to create the gradient and ChatGPT provided me with the sentence 🙂

Font is Amazone BT

Elements are from Pixelscrapper

In Dutch it says:"Over the red bridge they forgot the world in each others arms"

 

Monique will you be so nice to tell the title of your Affinity book, is it in English or in Dutch?