Sometimes you just want to add a
little something to your page, but nothing that will overwhelm your layout.
Twill tape has become popular with paper-scrappers, so why not add some to your
digital pages? It’s easy with PhotoImpact 8, here’s how I do it.
It’s not necessary to have the
following plugin, but it has a great texture included which helps the twill tape
appear more realistic. It’s a free filter that you can find here:
http://www.red-field.com/
Go to the page with the Jama 3D
filter, this is the one you will need to download and install if you don’t
already have it.
Now back in PhotoImpact, choose the
shape tool in the left menu bar, and with the rectangle set on white, draw out
the tape in the size and length you want it to be in on your page. I usually
make mine the full length of the page, but to simplify things, I’m keeping it
short for this demo.
Now choose Edit/Copy then Edit/Paste
as New Image to isolate the selection into its own window. Because of the way
that PhotoImpact handles layers, you need the tape to be separate in order for
the plugin to work properly.
Now, with the tape window open,
choose Effect/Redfield/Jama 3D. This will open the tape up in the Jama 3D
program.
The first step here is to choose the
Herring Bonus effect in the drop list, and using the slider bar on the left
side, slide it up to around 3 as a setting (this is the vertical spacing
slider). Then press the diagonal flip button once. Now your open window should
look like the one below. Notice the left side slider has reset back down to 40.
Now set the vertical spacing slider
to about 7, or whatever you feel that it looks good. Now your tape (still in
the Redfield Plugin box) should look like the one below.
The rest of the settings can be
played with a bit to soften the look a little. The graphic below shows a good
combination for softening the texture a bit without washing it out too much.
You can use these settings, or try different combinations to come up with your
own preferences.
Choose the green checkmark at the
bottom of the window to apply the filter. Now you have the texture on your
tape, all you have left to do is Edit/Copy, and Edit/Paste under Pointer to
place the tape back onto your original scrapbook page. You can go ahead and
delete your original tape selection now.
Next, I apply a shadow to make it
look as if it has dimension by choosing Web/Button Designer/Any Shape, and
applying the following settings:
For the Bevel, I choose 4 for the
size, and the squared off bevel.
And for the shadow I use the settings
below.
You’re finished! Now all you need to
do is choose your text tool and type out whatever you want your twill tape to
say right on top of it.
