Digital Image Instructions and Hints

As you use our images we are happy to answer any questions you may have. Contact Sandra.

In working with digital images, I use the following programs:

• Adobe Photoshop CS2 - very expensive but great for altering images and working with layers
• Photoshop Elements 6 - under $100 Works similar to Adobe Photoshop has some scrapbook layouts included.
• Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Designer Platinum - $30 Lots of papers, embellishments etc. Rakscraps.com has tutorials on how to use this program.
• Scrapbooks Plus 2 - $10 at Target This program has a trading card layout included plus papers, clipart etc.
• Hallmark Card Studio 2009 - $30 I use mainly for cards.

The following programs do not work well with png imges:

Print Perfect Deluxe, Cosmi - although the software advertises that it is usable for digital scrapbooking, it can only create an 8.5" x 11" page. It cannot import a .PNG file, it immediately converts it to a JPEG, there by making it totally unsuitable for quick pages, and for importing elements. The software will not export as a JPEG, although you could save it as an image and e-mail it and then use the e-mailed version as a JPEG. The quality, however, is lost, and the user has no control over the resolution.

Scrapbook Deluxe, Cosmi: cannot import a .PNG file, it immediately converts it to a JPEG, there by making it totally unsuitable for layers and for importing elements. The software will not export as a JPEG, although you could save it as an image and e-mail it and then use the e-mailed version as a JPEG. The quality, however, is lost, and the user has no control over the resolution.

Hallmark Scrapbook Studio: file will not export as a JPEG, although you could send it as an image in an e-mail and then use the e-mailed version as a JPEG. It does lose all quality and cannot then be used for online viewing or even for printing.

Many of the word processing programs do not like transparent png images. Word Perfect 9 will not import a transparent png.

This top hibiscus image is a jpg with a white background. The bottom hibiscus has a transparent background.

In the artist trading card shown above I layered a green scrapbook paper on a black paper. Then I placed the hibiscus (with a transparent background) on the ATC. Colored the hibiscus with the paint bucket and brush. Added digital scrapbook embellishments, text and a gradient filter to change the color at the bottom.

Artist trading card with the rose background image layered on green and black papers.

The rose background was colored and the filter plastic wrap added in Adobe Photoshop.

ATC completed by adding a photo and digital scrapbook embellishments.

I subscribe to the free papers and embellishments from RAKscraps.com and pay for a subscription to ScrapWOW.com. Scrapwow is also a once a month download.

You will need a computer with room to store your images on the hard drive, a backup drive, flash drive or cd/dvd. The file folder name will look like C:/digital images or F:/digital images depending on where you store the folder.

Make a folder on your storage device and name it "digital images" or whatever you can remember.

Once you've downloaded a Qwikart digital image, your path to find the folder may look like this:

The folder called "digital images" for this tutorial is where you will download the archived (zipped) image that you purchase from Paypal. After you have purchased your image and received a notification email, you will download the image. Unzip the image into the same file, "digital images".

Copy the zipped image and the unzipped image (9907H10_Hibiscus.zip and 9907H10_Hibiscus.png)to a secure file like a cd/dvd or your flash drive where you can access it should you mess up the image you are working with. Amazing how easy it is to hit the wrong button and delete the whole thing. Ooops! Having the backup copies saves you from having to go through the download process again. In the event of file loss just copy the backup file and place it in the "digital images" folder again.

Note: If you do not have an unzip program you like, there are free downloads at winzip.com and win-rar.com

The rose image below in the black and white ATC has not been altered with the exception of resizing and placed on a white background.

The png images do not have a background so when you open a project whatever color the background paper is will be the background color of the image. The digital ATC shown here had drop shadow plus bevel and emboss applied in Adobe Photoshop. Text was also added in Adobe Photoshop.

Note: If you copy the image and save it as anything other than a .png file (such as .jpg or .tif file) the image will no longer have a transparent background.

How you get the image into the program you are using will vary from program to program. Most have an open image, replace image, insert graphic, insert picture/photo, import file or some method similar to these mentioned. If the program you want to use is new to you, I recommend that you do the tutorials for your program first. This will make the use of your digital images much easier.

Hint: Always copy your original image and work with a duplicate of the image. Be sure to save and rename the duplicate so that you don't overwrite your original image by mistake.

Hint: If you are using a 5-inch image and want to place it on a 3-inch x 2-inch background resize your image before you place it. Some of the programs will give you "handles" to adjust the size after you have placed the image, but if the image is too large, finding the "handles" can be difficult at times.

Sometimes you may want the ink outline a different color. In the rose image below I have changed the color to fushia. This is the same image as above. I used Adobe Photoshop CS2. I followed these steps: select the layer of the rose image, click Image, Adjustments, Variations. When the next menu came up, I clicked on yellow several times. Then I chose, Image, Adjustments, Hue/Saturation and moved the toggle under Hue which gives you a limited number of colors until I found the color desired.