Watercolor technique using the pattern stamp

[dzinah]

Hi all!

A few people were interested in the "pattern stamp" technique from my "Daddy.jpg" layout, and I found a tutorial that I think illustrates it best:

http://www.planetphotoshop.com/tutorials/harris07.html

Here are a few tips that weren't on the tutorial that I learned from trial and error:

*At first glance, there seem to be a lot of steps, but don't get discouraged! You'll find that it's a fairly easy technique once you get all the brush settings in place.

*Make sure that all layers are turned off (except for those associated with the painting technique) when you go through this process. (I learned this hard way.)

*This technique works great for areas that don't require a lot of detail (such as the background of your photo), but in order to preserve the detail on something like a face, I would suggest one of two things: 1) use a very small brush to paint the details (which could be very time consuming) or 2) paint the edges of the face (or whatever it is) as you did the background, and then "cut out" the face from the original layer using the pen tool and paste it on a layer above the rest. (This is what I did for the subjects of my layout so you could still see make out what they were --hehe.)

*If you are painting on 12x12, I would suggest a bigger brush size than the tutorial uses -- it gives a more realistic look, in my opinion. Having said that, though -- just choose the brush size that suits your taste and works best with your photo!

*You can use the eraser tool (brush setting) to erase out irregular edges with the look of a paintbrush. Make sure you get a heavy stroke with full opacity or the edges might start to look too fuzzy.

*This technique probably only scratches the surface, so please share any more tips/discoveries with us that you find along the way so we can try them!

Have fun!

Dinah

[ptknox]

Thanks for sharing this Dinah! Your layout was breathtaking and it's so sweet of you to let the rest of us in on your design secrets!

[susancurtis]

Dinah--thanks so much for taking the time to share! I have got to try that!

Susan