mum2gnt
09-10-2011, 02:26 PM
Here you go henriette (and welcome to mscraps) hehehehe!!!
I wrote an article last year "Digital stitching" which got so much praise (apparently)! Anyway, I thought I would share it here now and why not do it as a challenge!!! After the challenge I will post in the tutorial section here.
Here's my page:
http://i54.tinypic.com/sxj5gg.jpg
There are many digital kits and elements that include stitching and some are incredibly real looking thread. If you want large stitching on a page then my advice would be to buy one of the digital kits/elements as, enlarged, you can see all the thread detail. But if you just want a few stitches on your digital page or a smaller version, then it’s easy to make your own.
STEP 1: Setting up. It’s advisable to make these stitches as big as you like and adjust the size afterwards. It is far easier to work with a larger image than a tiny size. It might be helpful to open the rulers for this – control R will switch them on and off. You might also find a grid helpful – Control “ will switch a grid on and off. Create a new layer. It might be good to put this new layer at the top of your layers palette so you can see it all on the layout and then move it later if you need to.
STEP 2: Making the holes. With your new layer selected, double click on this new layer in the layers palette and rename it “holes”. Choose a colour and a brush size - I chose a size of 40 (I will re-size when finished). Use a sharp edged brush. To make the holes I would suggest you stick with a very darker background colour (red paper=very dark red, etc). Now mark the holes on your grid or freeform using your brush tool (B on your keyboard). Now you need to blur them slightly: FILTER>BLUR>GAUSSIAN BLUR (I used radius 3.0).
http://i55.tinypic.com/idzwbr.jpg
If you make a mistake, press Ctrl z. Don’t try to get the holes exact as that would take away the realistic look (that’s my excuse anyway!!!)
STEP 3: Preparing for the thread/stitch. Add a new layer (Shift Control N). Double click on this new layer in the layers palette and rename this “stitch’. This layer must be above the holes layer. Choose your thread/stitch colour. You can take the grid off now (Control “). At this point it is important that you link both layers as you don’t want one to move or resize and not the other! Click on the stitch layer and hold shift and click on the hole layer. Both should be highlighted now. Right click and in the dropdown it says “Link layers” – click on this. This now means that if you move one of the layers it will move the other and the same for re-sizing!
STEP 4: Making the thread/stitch "dot to dot"!!. With your stitch layer selected and brush tool selected (just press B on your keyboard), you’ll need to change your brush size to just under half – I used 20. Now you are ready to start. If you want to have a machine thread look, hold the shift key down whilst you draw, which will make the line straight. If you want a hand stitched look just draw freehand – making a few loops and cut threads, etc. Draw each stitch individually from hole to hole - bring the thread to just inside the hole so it looks realistic. Remember if you make a mistake, Control Z will undo.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2wnveo8.jpg
STEP 5: Adjusting the stitch. Add your drop shadow. Check you have already linked the layers (see Step 3). To re-size or move the stitches use the Transform tool (one of my favourites!) Control T. To re-colour the stitches, simply click on the fx button and choose “colour overlay”. Oh and if you are a shadow FREAK like me, then you would add "inner shadow" (just under drop shadow) to the stitch!!!!!!
STEP 6: Be creative. Now that you have done the basic stitch – try some different stitches. Here are some examples:
http://i52.tinypic.com/fwodhs.jpg
Have fun!
I wrote an article last year "Digital stitching" which got so much praise (apparently)! Anyway, I thought I would share it here now and why not do it as a challenge!!! After the challenge I will post in the tutorial section here.
Here's my page:
http://i54.tinypic.com/sxj5gg.jpg
There are many digital kits and elements that include stitching and some are incredibly real looking thread. If you want large stitching on a page then my advice would be to buy one of the digital kits/elements as, enlarged, you can see all the thread detail. But if you just want a few stitches on your digital page or a smaller version, then it’s easy to make your own.
STEP 1: Setting up. It’s advisable to make these stitches as big as you like and adjust the size afterwards. It is far easier to work with a larger image than a tiny size. It might be helpful to open the rulers for this – control R will switch them on and off. You might also find a grid helpful – Control “ will switch a grid on and off. Create a new layer. It might be good to put this new layer at the top of your layers palette so you can see it all on the layout and then move it later if you need to.
STEP 2: Making the holes. With your new layer selected, double click on this new layer in the layers palette and rename it “holes”. Choose a colour and a brush size - I chose a size of 40 (I will re-size when finished). Use a sharp edged brush. To make the holes I would suggest you stick with a very darker background colour (red paper=very dark red, etc). Now mark the holes on your grid or freeform using your brush tool (B on your keyboard). Now you need to blur them slightly: FILTER>BLUR>GAUSSIAN BLUR (I used radius 3.0).
http://i55.tinypic.com/idzwbr.jpg
If you make a mistake, press Ctrl z. Don’t try to get the holes exact as that would take away the realistic look (that’s my excuse anyway!!!)
STEP 3: Preparing for the thread/stitch. Add a new layer (Shift Control N). Double click on this new layer in the layers palette and rename this “stitch’. This layer must be above the holes layer. Choose your thread/stitch colour. You can take the grid off now (Control “). At this point it is important that you link both layers as you don’t want one to move or resize and not the other! Click on the stitch layer and hold shift and click on the hole layer. Both should be highlighted now. Right click and in the dropdown it says “Link layers” – click on this. This now means that if you move one of the layers it will move the other and the same for re-sizing!
STEP 4: Making the thread/stitch "dot to dot"!!. With your stitch layer selected and brush tool selected (just press B on your keyboard), you’ll need to change your brush size to just under half – I used 20. Now you are ready to start. If you want to have a machine thread look, hold the shift key down whilst you draw, which will make the line straight. If you want a hand stitched look just draw freehand – making a few loops and cut threads, etc. Draw each stitch individually from hole to hole - bring the thread to just inside the hole so it looks realistic. Remember if you make a mistake, Control Z will undo.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2wnveo8.jpg
STEP 5: Adjusting the stitch. Add your drop shadow. Check you have already linked the layers (see Step 3). To re-size or move the stitches use the Transform tool (one of my favourites!) Control T. To re-colour the stitches, simply click on the fx button and choose “colour overlay”. Oh and if you are a shadow FREAK like me, then you would add "inner shadow" (just under drop shadow) to the stitch!!!!!!
STEP 6: Be creative. Now that you have done the basic stitch – try some different stitches. Here are some examples:
http://i52.tinypic.com/fwodhs.jpg
Have fun!