Transcripts
1. Introduction & Class Overview: Creating digital collages is a playful and accessible
way to make original, sometimes quirky,
surreal, or funny, but always engaging
illustrations. And whether you want
to create a quick and spontaneous composition or a carefully constructed
artwork with neatly cut and arranged elements with a range of tools
available in Adobe Photoshop, you can easily transform
your found images into something entirely new and
often completely unexpected. I am Jenya from Attitude Creative, and I love working with
vintage graphics and giving them a new life as
prints and surface patterns. And with this class, I invite
you to explore creating captivating digital
collages, using vintage Illustrations,
all freely available online. This class is beginner-friendly and perfect
whether you're just starting out in
Adobe Photoshop or simply looking for
a low pressure and fun creative project. And even if you're not
new to Adobe Photoshop, I'm sure you will pick up
some new tips and techniques for using a range of different
tools and working smart. Throughout this class,
I will walk you through the complete
step-by-step process, including sourcing
vintage illustrations from online image archives, approaches to creating collages
and combining elements, cutting out images of different
levels of complexity, using a range of Adobe Photoshop
tools, arranging, scaling and layering
your cutouts to build your
collage composition, creating geometric elements to add more visual interest
to your collage, enhancing the aesthetics of your collage with non-destructive
image adjustments, fine-tuning the colors and texturing your collage
to bring it all together, and saving your work for
print and sharing online. Whether you want to
create eye-catching collages just for fun, make designs to sell as prints, t-shirts, or posters. or just want to get more
confident at using Adobe Photoshop, this class is for you! I cannot wait to
see what kind of collages you create
following this class. So join in now, and let's make
something awesome.
2. What to Expect & Your Class Project: Since I first taught a digital collage
workshop at Uni back in 2009 and later created the first iteration of
this online class in 2016, both Adobe Photoshop, and I
have evolved quite a bit. It took me a while, but I'm super excited to
finally share with you a brand new edition
of this class that reflects all the
changes in Adobe Photoshop, features some of the
latest game changing tools and introduces a
smarter way of working. Digital collages come in
many different forms. And in this class, we'll
be exploring using digital techniques
to create collages reminiscent of traditional
physical paper collages, which involve
cutting, combining, arranging, and
layering elements, but with the added digital
benefits of easily scaling, reflecting, recoloring,
and duplicating images. And we'll also be using some
simple digital shapes to mimic colored paper cutouts
or lines drawn with a pen. Collage as a technique is a
great way to tell a story, but you can also approach it in a more abstract or
playful manner, where the final piece doesn't need to have a clear narrative, but simply look
intriguing or beautiful. Inspired by my original
archetypes collage series, where this whole
journey began for me. In this class, I
will be creating a new collage that
follows a similar theme, but I will be taking it further visually so that I can
share with you a range of tools and techniques
you can use to create your collages using
different kinds of elements and
visual approaches. In the main body of this class, I will step by step, walk you through all of
the tools and techniques you might need to create
your collages from scratch. And in a separate bonus lesson
at the end of the class, I will share a different, more advanced collage example and talk more about my
creative process and decisions and share
a few extra tips and alternative
technical workflows. You can create your collage purely as an artwork,
for example, for prints, wall art or postcards and keep
things minimal. Or if you want to take
it a step further, you can consider
using your collage in a specific design context
such as book cover, calendar graphics, a
social media post, or a packaging label. But if you're just starting out, I highly recommend
keeping things simple and focusing on creating your actual collage
and not worrying about adding any extra design
elements just yet. And if you're
interested in exploring typography and combining
the advantage graphics, once you have
finished this class, be sure to check
out my other class where we dive deeper into that. For your class project,
follow along with the class and create at
least one digital collage and share it alone with the
original images you have used in the project and
resources tab for this class. You can complete
your class project and share it all in one go. We start by uploading the
source images you have gathered and add your finished
collage when you're ready. If you want, you can
also snap screenshots of your process as you go and share them in your
class project, along with the source images, and eventually your
finished collage. I love seeing your work in progress images and seeing
your process also makes it easier to provide more
detailed feedback and answer any questions
you might have. I cannot wait to see what
images you choose and how you combine them in
your own unique collages. Without further ado,
let's get started.
3. Vintage Image Archives & Copyright Considerations: Whilst a lot of museums
started digitizing their archives quite a
long time ago, these days, there is finally
a great range of public domain and creative
commons image archives, which include a variety of different images,
and importantly, for us designers, the
size and quality of these images make them suitable for use in any kind of projects. Following this class, you
can create your collage using any kind of
vintage images you like. I'll talk about what
types of images make good collage combinations
in the next lesson. But first, in this lesson, I want to quickly cover the copyright considerations
and share with you some of my favorite
online resources for finding public
domain images. To help you get
started with sourcing your images in the
class resources, you can find APDF with a list of direct links to the albums
containing different kinds of copyright expired images
that I specifically recommend you to check out as they will make great collages. But if you want to browse broader archives and
select other images, here are a few tips to help you find whatever you're
looking for faster. If like me, you're in
the plants, animals, and natural history, be sure to explore the biodiversity
Heritage Library archive. It is an extensive archive where you can get
lost for hours, but you are bound to find a good range of exciting
images to use in your work. If you are after other types
of images, including maps, architecture or vintage adverts, check out the British
Library Archive. The images here are organized in the albums
by subject matter, which makes it easier to browse. But the downside of this archive is the quality of
some of the images. Archive of the
University of Seville is my recent favorite for
some more original images, including various
objects, portraits, scientific, cultural and
religious illustrations. Generally, this archive features a vast range of
different images, and most are in super high
quality and resolution. Regardless of which flicker archive you'll be getting
your images from, always make sure to download
the largest size available to give yourself
maximum flexibility when creating your collages. Before you start downloading
images for your collages, you need to check their
copyright status. The good thing about using flicker and trustworthy
institutions is that the correct license for each image is
displayed right here. If the copyright status says either public domain or no
known copyright restrictions, these images are in
public domain with the expired copyright due to their creation and
publication dates. This means that you
are free to use these images and you do not have to credit
the original source. You might also come
across some images under the Creative Commons license or with Sam rights
reserve status. And in this case,
you need to look into which specific
license it is. As long as it is a
creative commons license, which is not a non commercial and not a
no derivatives kind, you can use the image
for any purpose. And if the license
requires attribution, you must include a
credit somewhere, for example, in the
images caption. One thing to keep in
mind here is that attribution should go to the creator of the
original artwork, not the person or institution that scanned and uploaded it. And if the original work
was created centuries ago, it is in the public
domain by default. So if someone asks
for attribution, it isn't technically required. If you find the images under attribution non commercial,
share like license. You can use these images for personal or
educational projects, but you cannot use them in commercial project or sell
your derivative work. But if you want
to make something just for fun for yourself, your friends or family,
that's absolutely fine. You shouldn't come across any
all rights reserved images in the archives I
recommend you to explore. But if you do, remember
that you cannot use any of these images
without permission. All that said, it is
always best to stick to public domain images that expired copyright
whenever possible. Thankfully, most
of the images in the archives I have recommended
fall into this category. Keep these copyright
considerations in mind when you source
images for your collages. But before you start
looking for images, join me in the next
lesson in which I'll cover a few
different approaches to creating collages. Uh,
4. Approaches to Sourcing & Combining Images: There are a few different ways. You can go about searching
images for your collages, and which one you go with
will mostly depend on your creative goals and how much time you have
at your disposal. If you already have
a strong vision for your collage, for example, if you want to create a
narrative illustration or a conceptual artwork, you can begin by looking for specific images
that fit your idea. This approach is
great if you are working on a brief, for example, for an editorial illustration or on a personal project
with meaning behind it. But the downside is that it can take ages to find
the right images, and sometimes they simply do not exist in
the form you want. So if you're here for
the creative play, just getting started
or don't have all the time in the world
to dig through archives, skip this method for
now and save it for later when you're working
on a more defined project. Alternatively, you can try what I call the lucky dip approach. It is the most playful and organic way to create collages, which is perfect for when
you want to experiment, loosen up, or just get going
without overthinking it. So if this sounds
like fun to you, start browsing through the
public domain archives with an open mind. Save anything that
resonates with you, either visually or conceptually, but don't go too crazy
and be selective. I know how easy it is to spend hours just
looking for images. So to avoid getting
lost in the archives, it is a good idea
to set a timer, say for 15 or 50 minutes
and challenge yourself to find a selection of interesting images in
that allocated time. And when ready, review
your findings and decide which images you want
to use in your collage. I love using this approach
because you never know what you'll end up
finding and creating. The third approach
is to start with one specific element and
build a collection around it. This is a great middle
ground if too much choice overwhelms you and
you want a bit of direction. This approach provides you with a helpful constraint
to work within, while still leaving room for spontaneity and
unexpected combinations. Simply start by picking
a general theme and finding one specific subject
image you want to work with. W one image selected, look for other images
that work with it. The whole point of collage as a medium is to create
something new from existing parts by combining juxtaposing and altering
your original images. Regardless of what source and
approach you choose to use, what you need to look
for will be the same. That is images with
either visual, contextual or
conceptual contrast. The most exciting thing
about collages is that there is really no limit of
unexpected combinations. But to help you get started, here are a few proven themes and approaches you can explore. My personal favorite is organic versus structural
or geometric forms. For example, pairing animals or plants with geometric
shapes or architecture. Then there is an approach
which I call a head swap. Simply replace a human head with an animal head
or some other object, and your collage is ready. You can also create contrast
through subject matter. For example, animal or human versus object or machine
or something alive, contrasted with something
anatomical or skeletal. Another thing to
explore is context. For example, you can put sea creatures in the
sky, birds on the water, or any animal in space and then push the narrative further with some additional
unexpected elements. Then you can create
collages with an apparent strong
visual contrast. These can explore scale contrast and exaggerated
proportions to create a serial fill or feature a combination of elements which have very
different aesthetics. For example, black and
white versus full color, pteralistic versus graphic or highly detailed or textured
versus flat shapes. And finally, if you don't
want to make it conceptual, you can create collages which
are based on visual unity. These can utilize repetition
or arrangement of elements which are tied together by
specific theme or aesthetics. By the way, all of the examples I have
just shown you are from the projects created
by the students who have taken this
class over the years. You can see all these
projects and more in the projects and resources
tab for this class. When you start
collecting your images, you should also think about how you want your collage
to be constructed. You might want to
create something layered and complex where the elements intertwine and form a single
composition or object, or you might prefer to arrange your elements moloosly
placing them next to each other and letting
them overlap and layer slightly so they
still feel separate. Either way it works,
it is just about how complex or messy you
want your collage to be. Also, you need to consider the visual style of
your sourced images. If you're going for a distinct cut and paste collage look, then choose any mix
of images you like. But if you want to create a more minimal and
refined collage, concentrate on collecting
images which are created using the same technique
or can be easily edited in Photoshop
to look similar. Take your time at the
stage of looking for images and enjoy the process. As you gather your images, you'll start getting ideas just from seeing them
next to each other. And if you end up
collecting a lot of images, consider grouping
them together to be used in a few
different collages. For your collage, you'll need just a handful of
interesting images. Anything 2-5 images is usually
enough to get you started. Once you have a small selection of images for one collage, you can move on to
cutting them out. We'll get to the cutting
techniques shortly, but first, let's quickly talk about the
file organization.
5. Organising Project Files: With all images you want
to use in your collected, now it is a good idea to organize your files
in a project folder. Because creating
collages usually requires quite a few elements, it is best to set up
a separate folder for your collage
experiments and create a few folders within it to
organize all of the files. Start by collecting all of your downloaded source
images in one folder, named something like
source or materials. And if you want to be able to easily find your images later, be sure to rename your files. This folder will contain your unmodified
downloaded images, and it is always a good idea
to keep them just in case. In this class, we
will be cutting each collage element in
its own separate file. This way, you will be able to easily reuse any of
the materials in your future collages without needing to get them
from any previous work. So you'll need a separate
folder for your cutouts. Don't put any files
into it just yet. This is where we'll be saving our cutout elements
from Photoshop. Next, create another folder for your future collage files, and name it CollagesPSD. Then you'll need a
couple more folders. One for final flattened
images in full resolution, and another for any scaled
or cropped versions for sharing in your portfolio on social media or in
your class project. You might also need a few additional folders, for example, for mockups or for separate versions of
your final collages, converted for print in CMYK. So if you're going to
create anything else, set up a separate folder
for each type of files. Organizing your project files into separate folders and giving all folders and files understandable names might seem like an unnecessary
waste of time, but believe me, in the long run, it will save you a lot of time and frustration when you need to look for something or want to put your project in an archive. So organize your project
files, and when you're ready, join me in the next lesson
in which I'll share with you tips for preparing your
sourced images for cutting.
6. Preparing Images for Cutting: With all source files
ready and organized, we can now start preparing
them for cutting. Start by opening your
files in Adobe Photoshop. Then hit Command Shift
S or Control Shift S in Windows and receive each
file in your cutouts folder. Send the format to
Photoshop here, embed the color
profile, and hit Save. Then repeat this process for all the images you plan to use. If you have an image
with multiple elements, but only want to
use one of them, now it is a good idea
to crop the image to get rid of anything
unnecessary in the document. Switch to the crop tool
in the options bar, hit clear if any values are set, then select the width by height
by resolution preset and leave the field blank to preserve the original
scale and resolution. Make sure delete cropped
pixels is checked, and then crop the
element you want to use. When ready with your selection, hit Enter and then
save the cropped image in your cutout folder
as a PSD document. If you want to use
another element from the same source image, just undo the crop and crop the image differently
for that second element. Then hit Enter, open save as dialog and save this new
image in the cutout folder, but be sure to use
a different name. For example, like this
and save your document. When you're done cropping, switch back to the Move tool. And if you have saved multiple elements from
the same source image, go ahead and open
these new files now they are all
ready for cutting. With all your elements now
saved as separate PSDs, you can resize them if needed. Press Command Option I or Control Alt I in Windows to
open the image size dialog. Make sure the width
and height are linked, and then change one of the dimensions to
your desired value. And you'll see both
values change. If you're creating your
collage for print, it is best to change the
units here 2 " centimeters or millimeters depending on what units you are
used to working with. Then set the
resolution to 300 DPA, if it is lower than that. Then just the image
dimensions for the approximate size you'll
use in your collage. For example, this
size is way too big, so I will resize it to 30
centimeters wide like this. When you switch to print units, you'll also see the
pixel dimensions here. Keep an eye on them, and if your computer isn't
very powerful, avoid working with huge files to prevent any performance issues. After setting size
and resolution, go to the sample method menu and select Preserve Details 2.0, which helps to improve image
quality when scaling up. Play around with the
reduced noise slider here and watch the preview
to see the effect. A small amount of
noise reduction often makes a big difference. Don't overdo it and avoid making your images look overly
processed or too sharp. Once you're happy with
all these settings, click Okay, and your
resized image is now ready. So make sure to save it. But in my case, to avoid any issues whilst
recording this class, I will undo the changes and
stick with the original size, which is already big enough
for what I have in mind. It is fine to enlarge
your images a little, but if you want to
create high quality, large scale collages, it is always best to look
around and try to find the largest and best quality
source images to begin with. Now, before we
move on to cut in, let's take a quick look at which panels you'll need
in your workspace. When working in Photoshop, it is essential to keep the
layers panel visible at all times so you can work
with the different elements. So be sure to keep it open. We'll be also using the
properties panel in this class. So if it is not already open, go and add it to
your workspace via the Window Manu other
than these two panels, if you have any
other panels open, you can minimize them for now, so they don't clutter
your workspace. Resave and resize your
source images if needed. Next, let's get on with cutting.
7. Cutting Techniques: Introduction: To cut your images out
of the background, you can use a few
different techniques depending on the type of
images you're working with. In recent years, Adobe
Photoshop has come a long way, and now it offers a
range of tools to help you cut out images
quickly and cleanly. And in this class,
I will show you a few different tools
so you can decide which ones work best for your particular images and
the way you want to cut them. Cutting tools in Adobe
Photoshop range from super simple automatic
options like the Object Selection tool and
the Quick Selection tool, which let you quickly
select objects or areas in the images to some manual tools like the different lasso
tools and the pen tool, which allow more control. And finally, there is
Select and Mask tool, which you need to use to cut out more complex and
detailed images. We'll go through all these tools in increasing order of
complexity in a moment. Photoshop also has
some old school tools like the Magic one tool, which allows to select
areas based on color. But when dealing with collages, with the object selection
tool now available, you can forget about
these basic tools, as the new ones give you much
better and cleaner results. So let's have a
look at how you can use different cutting
tools and techniques to effectively cut out various kinds of images
for your collages.
8. Using Object Selection Tool & Layer Masks: If your image has
a clear difference between the object
and the background, and the object has well
defined shapes and edges, you can use the object
selection tool to isolate. When this tool is active, hovering over the object, we highlight it like this. But before clicking to
create the selection, check your settings
in the options bar. Make sure hard edges is selected to create
clean and crisp edges, perfect for a
traditional collage look without any soft feathering
or transparency. In the dropdown menu here, choose Cloud for better
detailed results. It might take a little longer to process, but it's worth it. Since I'm not selecting people, this option here isn't
important right now, but if you're working
with images of people, this option will come in handy. With your settings ready,
click on the object in your document and wait for
the selection to process. You will see marching
ants appear around the selection and you can now zoom in and inspect your
selection if you want. With the selection ready,
go to the layers panel, unlock the background
layer here, and then click on the Ed
New Layer Mask button to apply the
selection as a mask. And if you're lucky,
this technique will give you a perfectly usable
element for your collage. And if not, now you can inspect
the edges in more detail and clean things up if something was selected by
mistake or missed. To check the quality
of your cutout, go to the Laris panel, click on the Add New fill or adjustment layer button
and choose solid color. Click Okay. And then quickly drag this new color fill layer below your cutout like this. Now you'll be able to clearly
see any cutting issues. So double click on the fill
color Lea thumbnail and pick any color you want to better see the edges
of your cut element. I usually check my cut out against a few different colors, including something
bright like magenta, as well as white and black because they usually
highlight different issues. But something bright
is usually my go to background whilst I'm
refining the edges. So set your color and it okay. If you spot anything that needs fixing, like in my example here, go to your image layer, select the mask thumbnail and make sure it shows
a border around it, which means that it is selected. Layer masks, let you remove parts of an image
non destructively, meaning that any
changes you make with your mask can be undone at
any stage in the process, which makes it a smarter
way to work in Photoshop. Unlike cutting or erasin which
permanently delete pixels, masking keeps all of the
original image information. If you have never used
layer masks before, there is a bit of
a learning curve, but the concept is simple. Black color hides
parts of the layer. White, makes them visible, and shades of gray create different levels
of transparency. For collages, I recommend sticking to pure
black and pure white to keep a clean graphic look and avoid soft edges or
translucent bits. So, for example, to hide any visible bit which was added to the
selection by mistake, like this one here, you need
to cover it with black. And you can paint on your layer mask using the brush tool. With the brush selected
in the options bar set the hardness to
around 95 to 100%. To create hard edges with
just a touch of softness. Next, press D to reset the colors in a tall s
panel to black and white, and then press X
to bring black to the foreground and paint over any unwanted
bits to remove them. And that's how easy it is. So inspect the edges and clean
them up where necessary. Use the square bracket keys to adjust brush size quickly as you work to make the size work better with the area
you are working with. With elements like this
that have clean edges, it really doesn't take
much time or effort. But sometimes the
object selection tool might miss some parts
of your elements, and then you will also need
to paint some areas within the object back in using the white color to
make them visible. Once you're happy with the mask, press V to switch back
to the move tool. You can now delete
your color let here or keep it hidden if you want to refine the mask
further later. With your object
cut out and ready against the transparent
background, hit save. Now this element is ready to
be placed in your collage. This is the easiest cutting
technique, always try first. For any elements, you need to cut out fully from
the background, but not all images
can be cut this way, let's move on to the
next cutting technique.
9. Creating Manual Selections with Polygonal Lasso Tool: If you're working with the images where it
is difficult for Photoshop to work out what is the subject and what
is the background, you need to use the manual
cutting techniques. Cutting things manually
is also the way to go when you need to isolate
specific parts of an image, cut out custom
shapes which don't follow the exact
outline of a subject, or simply when the object has a basic outline and you
want precise clean edges. Many old tools that allow you to create precise selections include the polygonal
Lasoto and the Pentl. Let's start with the
pretty straightforward polygonal Lasoto and I'll share with you the
benefits of using more complex Pento
in the next lesson. Before you start
creating your selection, go to the Layers panel and
unlock your background layer. Then go and add LAA mask
to it and make sure it is selected to keep
all the changes you will start making in a
moment non destructive. Starting with the mask is particularly handy
when working with more complex images that you cannot select for
cutting in one go. Now, to use the
polygonal las tool, zoom into your image, click to place your
first anchor point and then continue placing points to create straight
line segments. Think of it as using a scalpel to cut
paper along a ruler. You need to be quite precise
when placing your points, but if you put a point
in the wrong place, you can press delete or backspace to remove
the last point. For simple objects like this, you can easily go around the
full perimeter in one go. But for more complex shapes, it is better to
work in sections. For example, like this. To close a selection, return to your first point. And when you see your cursor
change to indicate closure, click to close the selection. To hide the selected area, make sure your foreground
color is set to black. Your mask thumbnail
is selected here, and press Option Delete
or Alt backspace in Windows to fill the selected
area on the mask with black. And this will hide that
part of the image. Next, press Command D or
Control D in Windows to the select A and then continue selecting and masking
any other parts you want to hide the same way. One annoying thing when using
the polygonal Lasso tool is that double clicking with it automatically closes
the selection, which sometimes can make it tricky if you're working
with something complex. If you close the
selection by mistake, press Command D or Control D in Windows and start the
selection again from scratch. And once finished, again, close the selection,
fill it with black, and the select all the
polygonal las tool is great for clean
straight cuts, which are perfect for geometric shapes or
structured forms. But you need to be careful
with your point placement and always check that
you're working on the mask before
filling anything in. But it is a very
useful tool to master, be sure to give it a go. After completing your mask, you can check the quality
of your cut out against a solid field background like I have shown you in
the previous lesson. I will skip that here since
this was a fairly simple cut. But if you need to, be sure to inspect and refine the edges. And once you're happy
with the result, as usual, save your document. Next, let's have a look at a more advanced menial selection technique
using the pentel
10. Creating Manual Selections with Pen Tool: If you need to manually
select and cut out some complex elements
for your collages, you can use the Pento instead
of the polygonal asuto. Before creating a selection, go to the Layers panel, unlock the background layer
and add a layer mask. Although with the pent, you can also easily create the mask later from
the final selection. To create a selection
using the pentol go around the element you want to isolate and draw a path for cutting. This is similar to using the
polygonal acutol but with the pentol your selection
remains editable as you work. You can move points
by holding down Command or Control key like this and then continue
from where you left off. If you're used to working
in Adobe Illustrator, this will feel familiar. With the pentol you
can also create both straight lines and curves. If needed, you can
also convert curves into corners by
option or clicking on a point and create a curve from a corner by dragging your mouse
out from the point, whilst holding down
the option or old key. This gives you way
more flexibility when outlining your object. Whilst more advanced,
it can also be less stressful than using the
polygonal Lasot because the selections made with the pentol are non
destructive and can be saved at any point throughout the process and edited
whenever necessary. It is really useful if you're working on a complex outline and intricate non linear
shapes and on to take breaks or return to
refine your work later. Once you're finished
with your outline, close the path and
switch to the move tool. Now to turn the path
into a selection, you'll need the paths panel. If the panel isn't in
your workspace already, go and open it via
the window menu. With the panel open, you'll
see your work path here. To convert it into a selection, simply Command click or Control click in Windows on a
thumbnail like this. Now, since we already
have a layer mask added, we need to invert
the selection so it covers the background
instead of the object. Press Command Shift I or Control Shift I in Windows to
invert the selection. Then make sure the mask is
selected in the Layers panel, and black is set as
the foreground color. And hit option delete
or out backspace in Windows to fill the selection on the mask and hide
the background. With that done, press Command D or Control D in Windows
to the select hull. You can now close the paths panel or minimize and docket
with some other panels, so it is readily
available later on. If needed, now you can
inspect and refine the edges of your cut out against a solid
background color, like you have done earlier. And once you're happy with the result, save your document. In this case, this was just
to demonstrate the technique, and I'm not going to use
this shape in my collage. So just save it for future
collages and close it for now. Using the object selection, polygonal lasso and
the pen tool to create the initial selections and then making minor manual
edits to your masks. Using the brush tool
will allow you to cut out most of the
images for your collages. But sometimes when
you need to cut out something even more
tricky and complex, you need to use the
select and mask tool with all of its
available features. And I'll walk you through this more advanced workflow
in the next lesson.
11. Creating Complex Selections in Select & Mask Workspace: Using the tools I
have covered in the previous lessons will work for cutting out most images. But when you need to cut out something tricky and
confusing for Photoshop, you will need to use
a combination of the different tools available in the select and mask workspace. It is a more complex and
time consuming workflow. If you're just getting started with creating your collages, I highly recommend
picking your elements carefully and avoiding
anything with hair or really complex
details that you cannot easily isolate
or cut out manually. But if you're up for a challenge and want to level up
your masking skills, here's how to go
about the process of cutting out more
complex images. Start by unlocking
the background layer here and then switch to the Object Selection tool first and check out what
results it produces. In this case, it selects some
of the shapes really well, but it also misses some
parts because Photoshop can distinguish
what's the background and what's part of the subject. The fact that this image is a monochromatic
print doesn't help, but this selection is
a good starting point. The initial selection created with the Object Selection tool, go to the options bar. And click on the Select
and Mask button here. And this will launch the
Select and Mask workspace. The Select and Mask interface combines a lot of different
tools and features, which allow you to
refine your selection, preview it in different modes, and also gives you access to the same tools you can use in the regular
Photoshop interface, including the Lasso tools, the brush tool, the
Quick Selection tool, and the Object Selection tool. Before you start
refining your selection, go to the properties
panel and the view mode, select the view that helps you best see the edges
of your selection. In this case, I recommend
using an overlay, which imitates the view
against a colored background. You can set the color
for the overlay here and pick any color you
want in the color picker. You can also control the
opacity of the overlay here. This will allow you to faintly see your image as you work, so you don't miss anything
whilst refining your mask. In this menu here, be sure to select masked areas so you can clearly see which
areas are being masked and which remain visible. Then before using any tools
to refine the selection, you need to select the
refined mode here. Use color aware
when your image has a good contrast between the
object and the background and both are relatively
simple and set it to object aware
when working with complex objects and
busy backgrounds. In this case, because
I'm working with a melochromatic print
against a plain background, I'm going to use color
aware to ensure that all tiny fur details
are selected properly. Next in the edge
detection section, you can set the radius. The smaller the radius,
the sharper the edges. I recommend setting it to
zero for proper sharp edges. You can also enable
smart radius, which adjusts the
edge detection radius dynamically depending
on the image content. But when preparing images for collages where you
want hard edges, I suggest keeping smart radius unchecked to avoid
any fuzzy edges. There are also global
refinement settings, and these you can tweak later on after refining your selection. To start with,
keep them at zero, so they don't affect the preview and don't
slow everything down. When the setting is
ready, now you can go and manually refine the selection
using any available tools. First, there is the
quick selection tool. It allows you to automatically select well defined
objects or their parts, as well as any areas of a similar color which
have clear edges. As with any other
brush based tools, you can change the
brush size using the square bracket keys
as you go like this. To add to the selection, just paint over the
area you want to add and to remove
from the selection, either select the subtract
from selection option here or keep it set to add to selection here
and simply hold down the option or old
key whilst painting. Quick Selection tool
can be good for some small adjustments
and tricky edges. But if there are larger
areas you need to fill in, like inside these spikes here, it is better to use the
brush tool instead. This brush tool works just like any regular
brush in Photoshop, then you can adjust
its settings here. Again, set the hardness 95-100%. I will use 100% for hard edges. Then either resize it here
or go to the area you need to refine and adjust the size in relation to it using
the square bracket keys. Then simply paint to fill in the areas that
should be selected. Compared to the quick
selection tool, this gives you clean fields and no weird or fuzzy
areas or edges. Brush is also a great
tool for cleaning up the edges and removing
bits of the image. To remove areas, again, simply hold down the option or old key and carefully
brush them away. Since it works like
any other brush, you can also hold down shift to draw straight lines
between two points to speed up the
process and create clean straight selections
along the edges. If you need to refine corners or small tricky areas like this, you will need to use
either of the lastols. For example, you can use the polygonal lastol
as we have done earlier and trace around a
shape and close the selection. In this case, it will add to the selection to subtract
from your selection, you will need to hold
down the option or old key wh creating a
selection like this. When using the lasso
tool to subtract, make sure you start
holding down the option or old key before you start
creating the selection. Otherwise, it won't
activate subtraction. You'll notice that
the edges created with the lasso tools
are quite harsh. But once you refine them with
the refinement settings, they will look similar
to the rest of the edges in your selection. Besides the polygonal Lasotol, you can also use
the regular Lasot draw your selection
free hand like this. It automatically
closes the selection when you release the
mouse button and it can be super quick
to use to fill in some areas within the shapes. I find it to be super
useful for refining any corners and
subtracting small areas, for example, like this. The asto is great for refining selections in a
predictable and precise way, but it might take
some time to master drawn your selections
where you want them to be. But if you learn to use it well, it will allow you
to quickly create complex f hand
selections to imitate the look of elements cut out by hand that have hard
edges and no fuzziness, which is ideal for more
traditional collage look. But that said, even
vintage engravings can have some
elements, for example, like this for here,
which you need to refine further to avoid having a
very crude cut out look. And for this, you need to use the refined edge brush tool. With this tool selected,
just brush over the areas you want to
refine like this to add to the selection
or subtract from the selection by brushing while holding down the
option or old key. Refine Edge Brush tool
automatically detects the areas to add to or
subtract from the selection, and it makes selecting the
areas pretty quick and easy. Use a combination of these tools to refine
your selection and always pick the tool based on the details in the image
you need selecting. I'm going to refine
the porcupine elements which Photoshop failed
to select correctly, and I'll speed up this process, so you can see how
I go about it, but without taking too
much of your time. If it gets difficult to see
what you need to select, remember that you can
turn down the opacity of the color overlay to better see the details in
your original image. And then carry on
refining your selection. When cutting elements
for your collages, think about how you want
them to look in your collage rather than base
your selection on what is precisely in the image. And sometimes you need
to cut things out in a way that is different from what's actually
in the image, just to make it look
better in your collage. This masking process takes
some time and effort. So if you're not as
patient as I am, it is best to avoid overly
complex subjects like this, so you can make it to
the actual collage making stage faster. But if you do choose
something like this, just be ready to
spend the time and make your selection
as clean as possible. For most of my process, I usually use the combination
of the brush tool and the regular asto and switch
between them as I work. To make it faster when you work, consider learning and using shortcuts to quickly
switch between the tools. B is the shortcut
for the brush tool, and L is the shortcut for
the Lasotols which will be either the regular Lasote or the polygonal Lasotol depending
on what you last use. For larger shapes
with sharp corners, I find it easier to use the polygonal Lasotol and work in short line segments
to build the selection. Instead of trying to create complex and precise
selections by hand with the regular Lasot. Pick the tools which work best for the area you need to select, practice using them
and you will soon get proficient and the complex
masking refinement process won't be too hard. When ready with your selection, it is time to apply
a bit of refinement. First, increase the
contrast a little to ensure that all the edges
are consistently sharp. If you push it all the way up, you will notice super
crisp pixelated edges. So don't go too far and
stick to about 20%. When you start applying
the refinement tools, you'll notice that some
areas change a bit and now you might
need to further clean up the selection manually, for example, like this. If you apply a tiny bit of
feathering, just one pixel, together with the contrast, this can help clean
up some roughness and artifacts around the edges. Then you can add a bit of smoothing, something
around five, which will simplify
the edge Eva so slightly and remove
any jaggedness. At this stage, it
is a good idea to increase the overlay
opacity to 100%, so you can clearly see
the edges of your cutout. Then just the shift
edge value here. Setting it to a negative value moves the selection inward and helps eliminate
translucent pixels or unwanted fringe
around the object. Something around -5%
usually works well, but check it out in
relation to your image size and the level of tiny
detail around the edges. After applying the global
refinement settings, you need to quickly inspect
your selection once again and add or remove
bits to finalize the mask. And once the selection is ready, double check that everything looks correct and that you have not accidentally cut out
any parts of the image. Then go to the
output settings and select layer mask
here and hit Okay. And here is your
mask element ready, and you can now
save this document. These are the different
techniques you can use to cut out your
collage elements. To sum it up, I recommend
always starting with the object selection tool and seeing what result it gives you. If it is good, use it as it
is or build on top of it. If not, use a more
manual method. Cut out all the elements you
want to use, and when ready, join me in the next
part of the class to start putting it all
together in a collage.
12. Collage Document Setup: With all of your cutouts ready, we can now start putting them
together into a collage. We will be creating our
collages in a new document. So let's start by going to the file menu and selecting new. Decide on the size
of the document based on what you want
to create and just keep in mind the size
of the images you are working with and don't
push it too far. I'm going to create a
fairly large collage. This will be a little
bit larger than a free format and
about 13 by 16 ". In general, I would
recommend creating something that's at
least 2000 pixels white. If you're going for an Instagram friendly four to
five poster format, aim for a minimum of
2000 by 2,500 pixels. This will give you
good enough quality, but still a manageable
file size to work with. Whatever size you choose, set the resolution
2300 pixels per inch. Use RGB color mode, even if you plan to print
your work because you will be able to convert it to
CMIKey later if needed. Set the bit depth to eight bit, background contents to white, and under Advanced Options, select SRGB for the color
profile and square pixels. Then hit Create. And as soon
as your new document opens, press Command Shift or Control Shift as
in Windows to save it into your collages folder and give it a descriptive name. Set the format to Photoshop. Make sure embed color profile
is checked, and hit safe. And now we can start bringing our images into this document.
13. Adding Cut Images into Your Collage Document: There are a few different ways. You can add images to your
new collage document. And whilst it might be tempting, I highly recommend not copying
and pasting them directly. Instead, we will be
using smart objects, which will allow you to
work on destructively, avoid problems with
image quality, apply consistent adjustments to copies of the same elements, and keep your main
collage document a little bit less cluttered. So you can now close all your saved
cutout document tabs and keep just your new
collage document open. To place your images
into this document, go to the file menu and
select Place Embedded. Then locate your cutout folder and choose the images
you want to add. You need to select and
place them one by one. Start with the first
one and hit Place. When the image appears, it will be constrained to the
size of your new document, and you will see
the scale is being placed at in the options bar. Because you're working
with smart objects, it doesn't really matter what scale the image
is being placed at, and you'll be able to
scale it freely later. So once the image pops up
on the canvas, hit Enter. Then repeat the process for all other elements you want
to use in your collage. When placing documents as embedded smart objects in
your new collage file, the layer famnil will
have this icon in the corner and you will see only your cutout
in your main document. But if you double click
on the layers Famnail, it will open the original
contents in a YouTube and you will see a layer mask and any other layers
you might have here. Because this is an
embedded document, any changes you make
within it will only affect the look of this image in your main collage document. The embedded smart object is stored within your
collage document, and the changes you make
to it won't be saved to your original cutout
file in this folder. This is a great way to keep
your original cutouts intact. For example, if you want to
use them across a number of different collages and apply different graphic
treatments to each of them, to avoid confusion
about what is what? Pay attention to the document
tabs and names here. So this was our smart object. Let's close it for now to return to our main
collage document. And now with all the
elements placed, let's quickly save the
document once again. And next, we can start building
our collage composition.
14. Composing Your Collage: Once you have placed
all your elements inside the collage
document as smart objects, you can start arranging them in the right order in
the layers panel, moving them around
the canvas and layering them to build
your composition. During this process, it is super important to pay attention
to what is selected in the layers panel and
you can either manually select the layer you want and then use the move tool
to reposition it. Or alternatively,
if you do not have too many elements and can easily see and click
on them on the canvas, activate Autoselect here layers and then just click
and drag the elements around in any desired way. If you want to
start by arranging a main collage element first
in relation to the canvas, so you can build your
composition around it, you can turn off
the visibility of all other layers and then
move that element around. If smart guides start
popping up like here and they get in the way, go to the view menu and on the show and
check Smart Guides. So you can move things
freely without snapping them into alignment with the
canas or with each other. Because you're working
with a digital collage, aside from layering elements, you can also scale, rotate, and even
reflect them if needed. To scale an element, select it, and press Command T or
Control T in Windows to enter a free transform mode and then use the bounding box to scale
it to the desired size. In new photoshop versions, check whether proportions are constrained in the options bar. And if the link
icon isn't active, hold down shift while scaling
to constrain proportions. And if you want to
scale from the center, also hold down
option or Old key. Alternatively, if
proportions are linked, you don't need to hold
down Shift and holding it, in this case, will make
you distort your element, which you probably
don't want to do. Always check if that link is active and if
something goes wrong, just hit Command Z or
Control Z in Windows to undo and go back to the
desired previous state. The biggest advantage of using smart objects is that
they allow you to scale your elements as many times
as you need without affecting the image quality and to a certain extent
avoiding pixelation, provided that you don't
scale the elements up too much beyond their 100% scale. In this case, this element is much larger than the
canvas as it is, which is great as it gives me flexibility to scale
and experiment freely. So I'm going to scale
it to the size I want and place it somewhere
that feels right for now. When you're done
with the scale and general placement of your
first element, hit Enter. And then turn on the visibility of the
next layer or layers, you want to add to your
collage and carry on building your composition using the move and free transform
tools when required. If you need to
rotate an element, move your mouse just outside
the bounding box and hold on the mouse button
and drag to rotate your element as much or
as little as you like. I find that adding one element
at a time really helps to stay focused and not get distracted by everything
else in the document. If you have multiple elements, you are yet to add
to your collage, you can hide them
for a moment to concentrate on arranging
other elements first. For example, I'm going to build the composition of my
porcupine floating in space, and I want to include a few copies of this
geometric shape. Because it is a smart object, I wanted to link to the
same document so I can make consistent changes across
all copies at once later on. If you need to create
copies of a Smart Object, select it in the layers panel, and press Command J or
Control J in Windows. This creates duplicates that are instances of the same
smart object contents, and this will allow you
to make unified changes, for example, color
adjustments to all of the copies
at once later on. If you right click on
the Smart Object layer, you'll also see an option called New Smart Object via Copy. Avoid using this in this case, as it creates a new
separate Smart Object with independent
contents instead. And Command J or
Control J in Windows is the shortcut for the
duplicate layer command here. As you build your composition, you might need to
rearrange the layer order. Remember that like
physical paper layers, whatever is on top in the
layers panel appears on top on the canvas and it covers
whatever is underneath it. To change the order
of the layers, just drag the layers
up or down in the layers panel to create
the desired layering effect. Then either select
layers manually or use autoselect and carry
on composing your collage. If you need to make
tiny adjustments to the placement of the
elements in your collage, instead of moving them manually, you can nudge
elements into place using the arrow keys like this. As you create your collage, pay attention to
the relationship between the shapes, the scale, and how they overlap, so that everything
works nicely together, and you get an interesting
layering effect. If at this point,
elements start to blend with each
other, do not worry. You'll be able to differentiate
between them later with simple edits to add
more depth to your collage. So experiment with rotating and scaling your elements to
make them work better together and keep adding more elements to build
your composition. In my collage, I want to use
this as a sort of landscape, so I will make it fairly large, but I still be mindful
of the scale here, and I won't scale it too much
and keep it close to 100%. If you want to
reflect any elements, select them either
in the layers panel or using auto select, then go to the edit menu, transform and choose flip
vertical or flip horizontal. I want to flip this cut
out horizontally so that this part of the image ends up on the opposite
side like this. Then I'll just place
it where I want. If you want to move
several elements at once, just shift click to select them together either on the
canvas with the auto select being active or in the layers panel and drag
them wherever you want. I want to create a bit more
complex composition here, so I'm going to add a few
more geometric shapes and place them
around the canvas. In this case, I'm simply
dragging the elements on the canvas whilst holding
down the option key, which also duplicates
them and keeps them linked to the same
smart object contents. One of the great things about digital collages is the
ability to scale elements freely and also use multiple repeating elements in different ways throughout
the composition. Have fun experimenting, but remember that you
don't need to make something super complex
and you don't have to use a lot of elements
like I'm doing here. Just explore different ideas and compositions using your sourced
images and see what you come up with and make sure to press Command S or control as in Windows from time to
time to save your work, so you do not lose anything. So build your composition using your cutout elements and
see what you can create. But make sure that you do not
restrict yourself by using the images you have chosen
and cut out originally. When you create your
color composition, you might find that
you need more images to tie it all together. So if necessary, source and cut out more images to bring
your idea to life. Likewise, do not hesitate to remove some of the elements
to simplify things. Besides using vintage
source images, you might also want to
enhance your color by adding some geometric shapes created directly in Photoshop. I'll show you how in
the next lesson. A
15. Enhancing Your Composition with Geometric Shapes: Using only sourced
vintage images in your collages can
work absolutely fine. But sometimes you might want to add a few additional touches but imitate the look of shapes
cut out of colored paper. To do that, you can use various
shape tools in Photoshop. You can use any shapes you want, for example, to create a circle, select the Ellipse tool. Hold down the Shift
key to constrain proportions and draw
your circle like so. Holding Shift works
the same way for all shape tools and allows
you to create perfect shapes. Once your shape is created, you'll see it in
the layers panel. If you want to change its color, you can do that in
the properties panel and you can change
both the field color and the stroke color. Since we're imitating cut paper, I recommend setting
the stroke to none. To change the field color, simply click here and either select Ace watch or use the color pie to
choose any color you like. For example, I want to use a bright green color to contrast with the other
elements in my collage. Pick your color and it. After that, you can rearrange your shape
layer like any other. For example, I want to move
it below all other elements, so I will drag it down here. This will allow me
to easily experiment with different placements
of this shape. Using additional
geometric shapes is a great way to add
a pop of color to another itemchromatic
collage or to add a spot of white or black
color to a colorful collage. And it is also an
easy way to make the whole collage more
visually exciting. So try adding shapes
to your collage and experiment with
the placement and layering in relation
to other elements. In this case, I want to
place the shape centrally. To do that, I will go to the alignment options
in the options bar, make sure align to
Canvas is selected, and then click on
the align buttons here to center the shape. I like using geometric
shapes this way to add a focal point
to my compositions. So consider trying
this out as well if you when using
geometric shapes, be sure to experiment
with the scale and use the free transform tool to do it right on the
canvas like this. Again, if you want to scale
from the center point, remember to hold down the option or old key whilst scaling. This works exactly
the same way as with any image layers and because
it is a shape layer, you can scale it as much as you want without losing quality. After adding any
geometric shapes, you will most likely need
to slightly rearrange the other elements to make the whole composition
more balanced. For example, I'm going to select the porcupine and these shapes
whilst holding down shift, and then just nice them all
together to better align them with the circle and the
center of the composition. And then quickly nudge
the other shapes to make everything sit nicely
in relation to the circle. Another way to add interest
to your composition is by using some lines
or stroked elements, which will create contrast with the bulky or filled
elements in your collage. To draw lines, you
can use the line tool or just use the rectangle
tool to create tall, narrow rectangles like this. Again, select the desired
fill color for your line. Photoshop shows you
recently used colors here. So I'll apply the same
bright green color to keep the coloring
minimal and consistent. To keep the shape
clean and simple, set the stroke to none. Or alternatively, if you're using a line or any other shape, you can apply a thin
stroke and no fill to it. After setting up your new shape, switch back to the move
tool to seed clearly. Then select the shape
in the layers panel, and if necessary, you just its size in
the property panel. You can lock or unlock
proportions depending on how you want to scale it and
change the values here. Changing the size
of the elements, this way is considerably
less fiddly than trying to scale them
using the free transform tool. If you try moving them with
the auto select feature on, you might find it to be
quite tricky as well. In this case, it is
better to turn it off and select layers manually in the layers panel and move
them around this way. If you want, you can also easily copy your linear elements, so you've got more
to play around with. To do this, simply drag
them on the canvas whilst holding down
the option or old key. When using multiple copies, you can also explore coloring your lines differently from
each other if you want. For example, I'm going to make this copyright and I will layer it over the circle
to make it more visible. Then I will make
another copy and set it to a dark gray
but not pure black, so it is not too harsh and works better with the
rest of the colors, which I'll be adjusting shortly. Add any linear elements to
your collage if you want and arrange them around the
canvas by selecting layers. Imagine dragging
them into place. I after adding new elements, you feel that some elements aren't positioned too well
in relation to each other, do not hesitate to scale
or move things further. Creating collages
is all about making changes until everything
falls into place. For example, I
think the porcupine and these shapes are
a little too big. Again, I'll activate
auto select, then shift click to
select these shapes the free transform mode and scale them down
ever so slightly. And then I'll nudge them
into a better position. I also feel like these
lines are too narrow, so I'll unlock the proportions and make them a bit
wider one by one, so they are more visible. So keep adjusting and
refining your composition as needed and use
scaling rotation and alignment to improve the
relationship between the cutout elements and
any shapes you have added. If you have been working
against a plain background, like I've been doing
here, now you can also quickly change
your background color. To do this, start by selecting your background layer to add
a new layer just above it, and then click on
the Add New fill or adjustment layer button
and choose solid color. And pick any color to
imitate colored paper. I'm going to go with a
light gray and hit Okay. If you want to adjust
this color further, simply double click on the fill color layer famil to reopen the color picker and take
the color as required. You will be able to see the
changes you make as you go, which is great for fine tuning
the look and much better than filling in the background there with the
paint bucket tool. When ready, apply changes. And if you want,
you can even delete this background
layer at this point as it is no longer
affecting anything. Finalize your composition and remember to save your
document regularly. Once your collage composition is complete and you have added
all the elements you want, next, we'll look
at adjustments and bringing everything together
with a bit of color editing.
16. Applying Non-Destructive Image Adjustments: With all your collage
elements arranged, you can keep your
collage as it is to retain a genuine
vintage look, or you can take it as the filter and make your collage
feel more refined, sophisticated, or playful by applying some tonel
and color correction. For example, if like me, you're working with
multiple images that are supposed to
be monochromatic, you might want to make
them all black and white to simplify the overall
look of your collage. Or if you're working
with color images, you can adjust contrast what
the colors for consistency. In this lesson, I will show you a non destructive way
to make adjustments to your source images to
further develop the look of your collage using human
saturation levels, brightness and contrast and
invert adjustment layers. To get started, choose the smart object you
want to edit and double click on its Fumnil in the Layers panel to
open its contents. To edit non destructively, you will need to add
new adjustment layers inside this Smart Object
content document. For example, if
you want to change colors or desaturate your image, go to the add new fill or adjustment layer button and
choose hue and saturation. Place it above your image layer and edit its properties
in the properties panel. To desaturate the image, simply drag the
saturation slider down to -100 or increase saturation if you want the image
to appear more vibrant. If you want, you can also use
the colorized option here. By checking it, you will apply a single hue across
the entire image, which you can control
using the hue slider and control the saturation
using the saturation slider. Or if you don't check colorize and don't turn the
saturation all the way down, you can shift the hues of your original colors
using the hue slider. Experiment and see what
works best for your collage. In my case, I will simply
desaturate this image. Besides color changes,
you might also want to adjust
brightness and contrast, and there are a few
ways to do this. One option is to use a
levels adjustment layer. When you add a new levels layer, a histogram will appear
in the properties panel and you can make adjustments
using these sliders. Drag the black slider to the
right to darken the shadows, drag the white slider to the
left to brighten highlights. And use the midtone slider
to adjust contrast. This gives you a lot of control over the
tunnel adjustments. Play around with the sliders
and see where it takes you. There are a few other things that you can do with
the levels adjustment, and I'll share them shortly. When you're done
adjusting your image, remember to save
the smart object, close its stub, and the changes will appear
in your main collage. Now you can move on to
editing other elements. Open the contents of the next smart object and
apply the desired adjustments. For example, I will quickly
desaturate this one as well. Then I will add a
levels adjustment again and quickly tweak
the slider's here. Apart from using sliders, you can also use the
eyedroppers here. For example, to set a white point and make a
specific tonal range white, select the white point
eyedropper and click in the image on the area which
is supposed to be white. In grayscale images,
this is just the tones, and in color images, this also affects colors
and white balance. So use it with care. If you hold on option or Alt
whilst using the eyedropper, Photoshop will show you which
areas are being affected. Next, you can do the same with the black point
eyedropper to set the Blackpoint and use the gray one if you want
to set neutral mid tones. These eyedropper tools are especially helpful
when working with black and white images and particularly vintage
etchings or engravings. So be sure to try using them to adjust your images and
make them look cleaner. Again, once you're done, remember to save the Smart
Object document and close its tab and then move on to the next
collage element, which requires adjustments. I save the best that my
geometric shapes for last because they all come
from the same smart object, I only need to apply adjustments once and I can access
the contents of the smart object by
double clicking on any of the smart object instances
in the layers panel. So again, I'll quickly
desaturate the image inside the smart object and adjust the levels to
increase contrast. Now, when I save it and return to the main
color document, all instances of the
shape are updated. This looks great, but I
want to try inverting the colors to make the shapes
appear darker and heavier. So I'll go back into the Smart Object and add an invert adjustment
layer above everything. So here's the inverted look. Now I'll save the document again and check the effect in
the collage document. There's a bit too
much contrast now, so I'll go and edit it further. For example, I can go and tick the existing
adjustments a bit more, but I want to share a different
useful technique instead. To adjust the brightness
of the shape, I will add the good
old brightness and contrast adjustment layer
above all other layers. Then in the properties panel, check legacy here and move both sliders to the left to reduce both the
brightness and contrast. This little trick works well
for all sorts of images, use it if you want to create
a dark low contrast look. I still want to bring
back a bit more detail, so I will keep tweaking the adjustments until
it fills right. And then I'll save the changes and return to the main
collage document. So these were a few simple but impactful image adjustments, you can apply to your
sourced collage elements. They can help unify
your composition and elevate the overall
look of your collage. Have fun experimenting and don't forget to save your
document frequently, and be sure to close any smart object tabs
when you're done editing. I love using this
approach of using mechromatic elements and then adding APOp of
single bright color, try it out as well if it
appeals to you or use full color images or other color combinations that suit your own collage style. In the next lesson, I will share with you if you
finish and touches, you can add to your
collage to complete the.
17. Finishing Touches: When you're getting
clothes to finish collage, it is a good idea to check all the elements and
see how sharp they are. And if needed, it's just the sharpness to bring
everything together visually. To sharpen a smart object, select it in the layers panel, and go to the filter menu, sharpen and select
smart sharpen. Make sure preview is checked here so you can
see the effect in the preview window and in the
actual image on the canvas. Keep the radius fairly small around one to two pixels
depending on your image. Set reduced noise to about
10% to help minimize any pixelation and then
adjust the amount. But don't go too high and watch how it affects your image. It depends on the image, but generally 52 to 100% is
a good range to explore. Avoid over sharpening,
or your image may start looking over processed
and lose its vintage charm. A great benefit of
smart sharpen is that it also helps reduce
scan related blur. Check between Gaussian
blur and lens blur and see which one works best. Lens blur usually works
well to fix scanned images. Play around with the
settings and click Okay. Then repeat the process for any other elements
that need sharpening. If you're using
multiple instances of the same smart object, do not sharpen them in the
main collage document. Instead, open the
smart object, right, click on the image
layer inside it, and convert it into
another smart object. And then apply sharpening to it. This way, it will stay non destructive and
you won't need to apply sharpening to all of the copies in the main
collage document separately. Again, the settings will
vary depending on the image. When ready, apply changes, save this document and close the Smart Object tab
and your updates will appear across
all instances of the same smart object
in your collage. Repeat this process to make sure all elements are
consistently sharp. Besides sharpening,
you can also add texture to make your
collage feel more tactile. You can layer texture
image over or under your collage or apply texture
using Photoshop filters. If you want to learn how
to do that with filters, check out my class about
five easy techniques for texturing images using
filters in Adobe Photoshop. If you prefer a
real paper texture, you can add your own or use one I have provided in
the class resources. Or for more options, check out my High Resolution
old paper texture pack available as a separate
affordable digital product. To a texture, go to the file menu and
select Place Embedded. Blocate your texture and
embed it into the document. Scale it to cover the entire
canvas and press Enter. You can place it under all
layers as a background or on top and use a blending mode,
for example, multiply. Since it is a smart object, you can also apply quick non
destructive edits to it. For example, press
Command U or control you in Windows to open hue and
saturation adjustment. Adjust saturation to
make it less intense, the ato, and this
adjustment will be applied as a smart filter to the smart object
with your texture. If the texture looks too strong, you can experiment with
other blending mode or reduce the layer opacity
for a more subtle effect. At this point, you
can also quickly adjust colors in your collage. For example, I like
this green color, but I want to see how it would
look in a different hue. So I will go and add a new hue and saturation
adjustment layer, place it under the
texture layer, and adjust the hue. Since the rest of my
collage is black and white, this only affects the circle
and the line at the bottom. But if you have any other colored elements
in your collage, place the hue
saturation layer right above the layer you
want to adjust. Then click between
the two layers whilst holding down the option or old key to clip the
adjustment to the layer below, it doesn't affect anything
else in your document. In this case, I want to adjust both the
circle and the line. I will undo the last few steps and bring this layer
back up like this. Now I generally like
how everything looks, but I want to quickly
mask this line, so it appears to come from
inside of this shape here. I'm going to find this layer, zoom in, add a layer mask to it, and then I'm going to switch to the regular brush
tool set hardness to 95% to give it a little bit of softness and with black set
as the foreground color, quickly paint over the part
I want to hide like this. So check out your
overall collage and make any final changes. For example, here, I also want to make
the background just a little bit darker to make
things stand out a bit more. Also, if you have some layered
elements in your document, you might want to make them
stand out from each other. For example, I want
to adjust this shape here because I've got the paper layer above
everything else and unlocked, I cannot select the shape
with the auto select, so I will turn it off and go and find this layer
manually in the layer s panel. To adapt to your collage and to differentiate between
layered elements, you need to make
the elements which are further away a bit darker. In this case, I will use a
levels adjustment layer, but you can also use the brightness and
contrast adjustment to the same effect. Add your adjustment layer right above the smart object
layer you need to adjust, then clip it to it so it doesn't
affect any other layers. Then go and make it ever
so slightly darker. So finalize your collage
and save your document. And next, it is time to save it for posting online or printing.
18. Saving Your Collage for Print & Web: Your colors ready, it
is time to save it in a few different formats
so that you can share, print or use it
however you like. Start by pressing
Command Shift S or Control Shift S in Windows
to open the saves dialog. Choose your folder for the flattened high
resolution files in GB mode. Set the format to JPEG, embed the color profile,
and click Save. Set the quality to maximum. Then click Okay, and
that's one version done. Next, if you need a
version for print in CMYK, go to the image menu mode
and select CMYK color. When prompted, choose
to flatten the image because CMYK mode doesn't
support some adjustments. Once converted, you'll
see a color shift, and that's normal
and unavoidable when converting to CMYK. Now open the save
as dialog again. Choose your printing
wiki folder, set the format to TIF and
embed the color profile. If you're printing
professionally, you'll need to ask your
print shop which one to use. Click Save, then set
compression to none. I just a settings if your print shop
requires specific ones, and then click Okay. Generally, SOC
conversion is only necessary if you're working with professional print shops, and if you are
printing at home using basic services or uploading
to print on demand platforms, you can keep your file in
RGB and skip this step. Next, go and open the
JPEG you saved earlier. You can now resize this
version for sharing online. For Instagram, for example, you need to scale it down. Press Command Option
I or Control Alt I in Windows to open
the image size dialog. Set the deside width. For
Instagram, that's 1080 pixels, which in my case, will
result in a size of 1080 by 13 50 pixels, which is ideal for Instagram. In the resample menu here, choose either bicubic
sharper and check the preview or try bilinear
use whichea looks better. I usually prefer bilinear. Now you can also reduce
the resolution to 72 DPI or leave it at 300 DPI. For sharing your work online, it doesn't really matter. And once you're happy with
the settings, click Okay. Now open the save as dialog and save this
scaled version into your previews folder and make a note in the filename
for what it is for. Then select JPEG format, embed the color
profile, and hit Save. Set quality to maximum
once again and hit Okay. If you want to
share your collage as a Skillshare project, which I would love to see, go ahead and open the High
Resolution JPEG image again. Open the image size dialog, and this time scale it
to about 1,200 pixels wide and use the same
resampling method as before. You can also go
larger if you want. For example, I often use 1920 pixels out of habit for
preparing images for HD videos. But 1,200 pixels
is perfectly fine. Hit Okay, and then save this version in your
previous folder under a different name. Again, select JPEG,
embed the color profile, click Save, inset quality
to maximum, and that's it. Now you have all your files ready for sharing
online or print them. Let's wrap up the class
with a few final thoughts about where you can
take your collagen and Photoshop skills next.
19. Final Thoughts & Conclusion: So this is how you can
create digital collages in Adobe Photoshop using various
Vintage illustrations. I hope that you have
enjoyed this class, learned something new and
will have a lot of fun working with Vintage
illustrations and creating your collages. If you want to learn a bit more about how I approach creating collages from scratch and see a slightly different
technical workflow, be sure to watch the following
bonus video in this class. I cannot wait to see
what images you select and how you combine them
into your collages. Be sure to share finished
collages and source images you have used in
the Projects and Resources tab fois class. If you want some specific
technical or creative feedback, please include some
work in progress images or screenshots and
ask any questions you might have and do
not hesitate to explore the project created by your fellow students in the projects and resources
tab footie class. They are a great
source of inspiration and it is always nice
to give others kudos. If you are going
to share your work created in this
class on Instagram, please tag us at
Attitude Creative in your posts so that we can easily discover them and share your work
with our followers. We share our favorite
student projects on Pinterest, Instagram, and on Facebook, do
not hesitate to follow us there and join our
broader online community. Whether you're creating
your collage purely as an artwork or for a specific
design application, it is always a great idea to visualize the potential
applications as mockups. If you fancy creating your own mockups to
showcase your collages, be sure to check out
my classes about creating unique mockups
using Adobe Firefly and Adobe Photoshop and present your collages in any
setting you desire. If you're interested in taking your collages further by
adding typographic elements, check out my class dedicated to creating designs
which combine vintage botanical illustrations
with modern digital type. And if you're in a more minimal
and graphic collage look, be sure to join me in my other class to learn
how to reimagine found vintage graphics as timeless
and clean collages in reduced color palettes with
a hint of a risograph look. And if you want to learn a few super easy techniques
for texturing work, do not hesitate to check out my class texturing
in Adobe Photoshop, five easy techniques
using filters. So let's sit for this class. If you have found it helpful, please leave a review in the
review stub for this class. It really means a lot to us and helps other students
discover our classes. If you have any
sort of questions, be sure to leave a comment in the discussion stub
for this class, and I'll happily answer
and provide feedback. And be sure to follow
us here on Skillshare. B the first to know about
our new classes and updates. Thank you for
watching this class, and I hope to see you in
our other classes. So
20. Bonus Lesson: From Vintage Illustrations to a Surreal Vibrant Collage: Great to see you stick
around for more. In this bonus lesson, I'm going to take you behind the scenes of another
collage I created. It is quite different from
my usual collages and explore some playful
elements and vibrant colos. And it is a great example of how playful experimentation can take your collage in an
unexpected direction, even when you start
with a rough idea of what you want to create. I started with this skull
image I headline around, and I wanted to combine it with some plants and maybe
some insects to create a composition where
things are coming out of the skull and sort
of living around it. I started by isolating
the skull, and for this, I just use the object
selection tool and it pretty much
worked in one click. Then I quickly
retouched and remove the numbers using the
spot healing brush tool, which was really easy. If you need to
retouch your images and want to learn how to
do it non destructively, you can learn this
in our class inners guide to retouching old
photographs in Adobe Photoshop. So don't hesitate
to check it out. With the scale ready,
I then edit a plant, which I also isolated using the Object Selection tool and then cleaned
up a bit manually. I started playing around with
combining the two images, but then I had this
other image here, which I thought would
make a nice addition and help frame the skull. But once I layered it over, I noticed that this
part here looked a little like a toupee
or a fancy hat, and it changed the tone of the whole collage
to more playful, which I really liked. So I decided to pursue the direction instead of
what I planned originally. I had to meticulously cut
out this image manually because all these elements couldn't be selected
any other way. I cut along the
shapes of the flowers using the combination
of the Lasots and the brush tool to
clean up the edges and also tried two alternatives. But this one with more flowers look a bit fussier
over the skull. So I went with a
simpler version. But as you can see, I kept
both versions here inside my Smart Object
document just in case I want to try out any
alternatives in the future. I layered this flower
composition over the skull and scaled
it so it would work nicely with the
shape of the skull and work with my
flower to pay idea. This is how it looked in the original colors
of both elements, but I wanted to create more contrast between
the skull and the flowers to make the composition more
vibrant and playful. Since everything was in
this warm natural palette, I started by adding
adjustments to the skull. In this case, I applied all of the adjustments in
the main document, so I could instantly
see how they worked in relation to the
colors of the other elements. Since in this collage, I'm working with just a single instance of
the smart object. Applying adjustments in the main color document
works absolutely fine. This is the approach
I usually use when I don't have multiple copies of the same smart object
or when I need different adjustments
applied to different copies. These adjustments are
applied as smart filters, and to apply them this way, you need to either
use the shortcuts for various adjustments or add them to the smart object
via the image menu. This is an alternative to using separate adjustment layers
above Smart Object. And as you can see, I've
got some of these here too. But in this case, they used
to apply adjustments to specific parts of the smart
objects which are masked. And I'll get back to
this in a moment. But if you want to learn more
about different types of adjustments and the differences between adjustment layers
and smart filters, I've got an in depth blogpost
covering all of this, so do not hesitate to check
it out and see how you can integrate different non
destructive adjustments into your workflow. But back to this collage. So first, I increased the
contrast and then recolored it into a sort of complimentary color to the
warm hues in the flowers. And for this, I used a hue and
saturation adjustment with the colorize enabled and shifted the hue to get
this bluish violet color. Then I added a few
levels adjustments on top and I like to use multiple levels
adjustments to be able to fine tune the
effect more precisely. Some of them I use for the overall tonal
range correction and others for
adjusting the contrast. Next, I also added a smart sharpen filter to make the skull
a little sharper. I love how these images
now work together, but I also wanted to push
the vibrant colors in the collage filter and
add more color contrast. I experimented with a few
different backgrounds. First, I tried a
bluish purple color inspired by the
hue of the skull, but this was not creating
enough contrast. I decided to try
something warmer and I tested an orange color
inspired by the flowers. And then I tried an even
brighter acidic green, which worked really well and enhanced the
contrast in the collage. I also checked out a more subdued gray option
as an alternative, but in the end, I settled
on this green color. But again, I kept all these color fill layers
in a separate folder in case I want to
switch between them or try out other color
versions later on. I really like the colors in
the original flower image and just increase the contra slightly using A
levels adjustment. Also applied as a smart filter. That was the only adjustment
applied to this image, and that was it for the
initial color work. I liked how the collage
looked at this stage, but I still felt like
something was missing. So as I often do in my collages, I started by adding
a geometric shape. In this case, I wanted to make a circle appear like a halo. I tried using a solid color, but I didn't like how it
interacted with the elements, so I settled on a relatively
thin stroke instead. Then I quickly masked it so it wouldn't be
visible for the hose in the skull to make it a bit cleaner and to keep it
above and around the skull, which also helps tie the
composition together at the top. With the addition of
one white element, the collar started to look
a bit more interesting. Then I thought that
since I'm working with a skull that has
both bone and teeth, maybe it would be fun to work
with the teeth separately and bring a bit
more whiteness into the composition by
whitening them. First, I worked with the mask applied to the
smart filters here, the adjustments and color shifts wouldn't affect the teeth. Then I applied adjustments to the teeth using separate
adjustment layers. I added a black and white adjustment layer to
whiten the teeth, and I clipped to
the skull layer, so it wouldn't affect
anything else. Though, in this case, I have a precise mask here
for the tif area, so this adjustment cannot affect any layers
below in any case. Then I added a
levels adjustment, also clipped to the smart
object layer out of habit, and it is used to increase
the contrast in the teeth. I really liked how
the small change instantly made the
composition more fun and added an extra focal point and made the collage
look more considered. Then I thought, why not add
a gold tooth to the skull? That way, I could
bring in more of the yellow orange hue
from the flowers into the composition and
also make the collage a bit more playful
because why not? So I added a new blank layer above the skull and
adjustment layers, set its blending mode to color, and painted the
yellow on the tooth. That was a good start, but I wanted to intensify
the color just a bit. So I duplicated the layer, sent the copy to Caliburn, and reduced its opacity to
get the color just right. And this gold tof added a fun little detail
to the collage. At this point, I looked
again at the composition. This area was really
nice and detailed, and the bottom part of the
skull was working well, too with enough
contrast and details. But the eye socket
area was boring. And since it is an enclosed
space within the skull, it presented an opportunity to put something
inside the skull, both to visually enhance the composition and to potentially introduce
a bit of narrative. Whilst my initial idea
was to add plants, I thought it might be
more exciting to add some insects or
butterflies instead. And while searching for images, I came across this image
of them off that I thought would work even better
conceptually than butterflies. So I cut them into two
separate smart objects, use the object selection tool to isolate them and clean the edges a bit with the refined
edge brush tool in the select and
mask workspace. And it worked well
for both images. Then I place them over the eye sockets and to make
them appear inside the skull, I put both layers in
the E group and added a mask to the group using the selection from the eye
sockets and the nasal cavity, which I selected using
the click selection tool, which is a great tool for
creating this selection. The mofs look nice against
the color of the skull, and these are actually the original colors of
the mofs from the print. I really liked how the orange
in the mofs worked with the flowers and how the greenish blue hues worked with the
colors in the skull. But I also wanted
to see if I could make the moths look
a bit more surreal. I tried an invert
adjustment together with a little hue and
saturation twig and a little levels adjustment
to change the look. Whilst it did make them look like they were glowing
inside the skull, which was quite fun, I still preferred the
more natural look. I decided to hide the
applied smart filters, but I kept them here just in case I changed my mind later. Next, I wanted to
make the mofs stand out a little more against
the inside of the skull. So I copied the mask
from the mos group and applied it to a separate brightness and
contrast adjustment layer, which I used to darken the inside of the skull
ever so slightly. This helped bring it all
together by increasing the contrast and adding
more focus to the mofs. With the mask applied to the
group with the mops images, it was really easy to play around with positioning
the mops to add a sense of motion as if they were flying
inside the skull. But more dynamic arrangements made the skull look
sort of crossed, which was a funny discovery, but I wanted something
a bit more balanced. So I settled on
this arrangement. As I was showing
you all of this, I already had all
my texture layers applied to the collage. And these are just
my standard textures I usually use in my collages. One is the paper texture
from my old paper pack, just like I shown
you in the class, and the other two were
generated in Photoshop. And you can learn how to
create the sort of textures in my class about texturing your work using
Photoshop filters. So this is how this
collage came together. It might look complex with
all these different elements, but in reality, it is
only five main elements. The skull, to mops, flowers, and the circle. But the way they are
arranged and recolored, make this collage feel more
intricate and sophisticated. I had a lot of fun
working on this collage, and I think rereading
100 years of solitude at the moment is influencing
some of my design choices, including colors
and general themes. And this is something for
you to consider as well. If you're here for the creative
play and experimentation, take inspiration from the
books you're reading, films or series you're watching, or even games you're
playing and see how it can influence what
you explore in your collages and
your visual language, and what your
collages can be used as beyond some
interesting prints. For example, I'm thinking
that this collage could make a fun cover for 100
years of solitude book. This is it for
this bonus lesson. I hope you have picked
up some extra ideas and technical tips for
different ways of working with adjustments, which will help you choose between applying them inside of the Smart Object document when you use multiple instances, or if you're using
individual elements, simply applying them as smart filters in the
main collage document. And if you do so, remember that they don't have to
clutter layer spinal, and you can always just minimize the smart filters here and
see your layer like this. And if you need to apply any additional adjustments to parts of the elements
in your collage, remember that you
can always work with a smart filters mask applied
to your smart object. And you can also add
additional adjustment layers, clip them to your smart
object and use masks to make them affect only
select parts of the image. Just keep in mind that if you
need to move them around, you must move them altogether
so nothing falls apart. In any case, have fun
experimenting with your collages. Keep an open mind and
enjoy the process. Um,
Evgeniya & Dominic Righini-Brand, Graphic Design & Photography
