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QUESTION: I would like to use the very cool ASO_Houndstooth chipboard style that I purchased on an alpha number. I need a deep blue for the houndstooth pattern, but I only see an aqua. How could I change the colors to make them work with the layout I am doing? I know you smart and talented girls will know how! Thanks for any help.
ANSWER: These come in a layered PSD file, which you can use in PSE.
In Photoshop, you can double-click the fx symbol after you've applied the style. You can then examine the properties of the style more carefully, and see if one of them can be changed to meet your needs. Color Overlay is the most obvious, but it can also be in the Pattern Overlay itself, or in the inner and outer glows. (I don't own houndstooth, so I can't address it specifically.) Changing the color is sometimes easy, and sometimes tricky, as the designer may have used other Blending Modes to create the effect.
Once tweaked to your satisfaction, you can save the style by clicking "New Style" and giving it a new name. In Photoshop Elements, you can do all the steps above, but cannot save the new style.
ANSWER: You can simplify (rasterize) your element after you've applied the style and recolor it then. I've found this is the easiest way.
ANSWER: You can also save that style to its own layer (in CS3 you would right-click on the Layer Style in the Layers Palette and then choose "Create Layer"). Then, adjust the colors by using Hue/Saturation or your other favorite recoloring method.
ANSWER: Great idea! I'll file that away in my head for the next tricky recoloring job.
ANSWER: Yay! Success! Don't know why you weren't able to rasterize/simplify the layer. I work in PSE exclusively. I know that CS users can do everything that PSE can and more, but I'm not sure how things translate between software.
For you PSE users who want to recolorize an element after you've applied a style such as this one, apply the style and then click Layer> Simplify Layer from the top menu, or right-click on the layer in the Layers Palette and choose "Simplify Layer" from the pop-up menu. I'm always sure not to have a drop shadow applied here, because that style will be embedded in the layer and will not be editable later.
To recolorize it, I'll add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer over the element layer and clip it to the element layer (Ctrl+G). Then, you can choose the hue you want to change or mask out the areas you don't want recolored.
ANSWER: It turns out if I go to "Layer" on then top bar, then I can click on "Rasterize." I had tried to right-click on the layer on my Layers Palette, and there the "Rasterize" is grayed out.
QUESTION: I use layer masks when I want to "crop" my photos in a layout, since I may want to change the size. I put the full photo in my layout and then make a layer mask to crop out the part I don't want. I have three photos that I want to be the same size. How would you do this? There must be an easy way, but I just can't think of it, so I'm hoping to get some ideas here on this helpful Message Board!
ANSWER: I make a shape and clip my photos to it. The first shape can be duplicated, preserving the size, and if you want to resize them all, you can select all the layers and link them together. That way, you can resize the photos independently of the shape to zoom in, zoom out, or move around any way!
ANSWER: Here's how I do this:
I use the Marquee or Rectangular Shape Tool to draw out the size of photo I want. If I know I want three, for example, and all the same size, I choose the Move Tool, hold down the Alt key while left-clicking and dragging over the mask, then hold Shift key if I also want it to be on the same straight line as the first. The Alt key is the shortcut for making a duplicate. When I have all three masks done, then I drag the photos onto the layout right above the mask they belong on, and clip them into place. I love this Alt trick for duplicating anything!
ANSWER: There's another way to do this, too. (Of course in Photoshop, there are a million ways to do one thing.) I do this using the Shape Tool. On the menu bar at the top, there is a small triangle pointing down - it's right after the option for Custom Shape (or the squiggly blob as I call it). When you click on that triangle, a menu appears, and you can change the style to fixed dimensions, and I enter my measurements, such as 3 inch x 3 inch. Then click anywhere on your document, and voila, a 3x3 square. To get the Shape Tool back to its original setting, just click on "Unconstrained" in the same menu where you changed the setting to fixed dimensions.
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