ditzyscrap
New member
(I'm just putting this up here, I had posted it on another board and wanted to have it over here to direct people to when they have questions about how to use them)
Have you always looked at layered sketches and wondered how they work? Well, I'm here to help you along with your first try at them, with a little basic info about the sketches and how to use them, and then step by step instructions on how to complete the layout!
A layered sketch is simply that...a mass of layers arranged in a sketch format and you are putting your papers, photos and elements on top of that and "cropping" them to the layers shapes.
Since you don't have to really worry about design, you can focus on kit selection and making your pages come to life with colors, patterns, journaling, and your photos!
An important thing to remember is that layered sketches are not concrete. You DON’T have to use everything in the layered sketch, if you want to delete a row of brads or a layer of paper you can, just delete it! The sketch is to help you get started, you can make it into your own in any way you want! And just because you put one paper down doesn't mean you need to use it. You can replace them, trade them, whatever you need to do to make it feel "right" to you!
Every designer does their sketches a little bit different. I tend to do things the same in each collection. You will notice that I name each layer specifically for what they are (ie. background, patterned paper, element/accent, photo). My layered templates also have drop shadows. They are NOT set in stone...you can quickly replace them with your own preference if you would like to. I include them for depth and for taking out that "extra" step for some users.
So, let's get started:
Open the layered .psd file in your program. You might get a message that your sketch needs to be updated, go ahead and update it. Usually this happens if it has text on a path or fonts that you don't have on your computer.
Save the layered .psd file as something else, so you don't accidentally save over the original.
It is probably easiest to start from the bottom up, so go to your Layers palette and scroll down to the bottom until you get to the layer named "background". Click on this layer to select it.
Open up the paper you would like to use as your background, and move it over to the layered sketch (either drag/drop or copy/paste the background paper over). It will insert itself just above the layer named "background".
The next layer is a bit trickier...but it's still pretty easy! Open up the paper you would like to use for the next layer, and move it over to the layered sketch (again, by using the drag/drop or copy/paste methods).
Once it is in the layered sketch, you'll notice that it takes up the whole layout. That's OK! Over in the layers palette, move the paper DIRECTLY above the layer you want it to take the shape of, and hit Ctrl+G (in PSCS2 it's Ctrl+Alt+G). It will "crop" to the shape of the layer below it, but the paper will still be intact so you can move it around or resize it if need be!
Continue doing this for all of your paper layers, and also your photos!
Now come the elements. Usually in the sketch, the element layers are just placement layers, giving you ideas of where to put your elements. Put the elements you would like on the page and arrange them to go with the sketch, and then either hide or delete the placement layers, since you don't need them anymore.
The last step is the title and journaling. There tends to be a text layer that has all of the text together to show general placement. Select this layer and delete it to add your own title and journaling. Once again, you don’t have to put it where it recommends, you can mix it up!
Now, simply save your layout again, and you are finished!
Have you always looked at layered sketches and wondered how they work? Well, I'm here to help you along with your first try at them, with a little basic info about the sketches and how to use them, and then step by step instructions on how to complete the layout!
A layered sketch is simply that...a mass of layers arranged in a sketch format and you are putting your papers, photos and elements on top of that and "cropping" them to the layers shapes.
Since you don't have to really worry about design, you can focus on kit selection and making your pages come to life with colors, patterns, journaling, and your photos!
An important thing to remember is that layered sketches are not concrete. You DON’T have to use everything in the layered sketch, if you want to delete a row of brads or a layer of paper you can, just delete it! The sketch is to help you get started, you can make it into your own in any way you want! And just because you put one paper down doesn't mean you need to use it. You can replace them, trade them, whatever you need to do to make it feel "right" to you!
Every designer does their sketches a little bit different. I tend to do things the same in each collection. You will notice that I name each layer specifically for what they are (ie. background, patterned paper, element/accent, photo). My layered templates also have drop shadows. They are NOT set in stone...you can quickly replace them with your own preference if you would like to. I include them for depth and for taking out that "extra" step for some users.
So, let's get started:
Open the layered .psd file in your program. You might get a message that your sketch needs to be updated, go ahead and update it. Usually this happens if it has text on a path or fonts that you don't have on your computer.
Save the layered .psd file as something else, so you don't accidentally save over the original.
It is probably easiest to start from the bottom up, so go to your Layers palette and scroll down to the bottom until you get to the layer named "background". Click on this layer to select it.
Open up the paper you would like to use as your background, and move it over to the layered sketch (either drag/drop or copy/paste the background paper over). It will insert itself just above the layer named "background".
The next layer is a bit trickier...but it's still pretty easy! Open up the paper you would like to use for the next layer, and move it over to the layered sketch (again, by using the drag/drop or copy/paste methods).
Once it is in the layered sketch, you'll notice that it takes up the whole layout. That's OK! Over in the layers palette, move the paper DIRECTLY above the layer you want it to take the shape of, and hit Ctrl+G (in PSCS2 it's Ctrl+Alt+G). It will "crop" to the shape of the layer below it, but the paper will still be intact so you can move it around or resize it if need be!
Continue doing this for all of your paper layers, and also your photos!
Now come the elements. Usually in the sketch, the element layers are just placement layers, giving you ideas of where to put your elements. Put the elements you would like on the page and arrange them to go with the sketch, and then either hide or delete the placement layers, since you don't need them anymore.
The last step is the title and journaling. There tends to be a text layer that has all of the text together to show general placement. Select this layer and delete it to add your own title and journaling. Once again, you don’t have to put it where it recommends, you can mix it up!
Now, simply save your layout again, and you are finished!
