Here's an easy way to get a hand-stenciled
or chalked look on your pages with Photoshop Elements 2. This tutorial also
gives you a good basic understanding of making selections on one layer and
applying that selection to other layers.
The iris above and the flower in
the examples are done with images from a dingbat font (Printers Ornaments One,
downloaded from http://www.typenow.net). You can use any text or ding image,
the preset shapes from PSE2, black and white clipart or scans of your own
stencils or artwork. The image to be stenciled doesn't need to be black and
white, but it does need to be in highly contrasting flat colors with a bold,
distinct pattern. Think about stencils you've seen or worked with before.
Highly detailed line art won't work well here.
1. Open a new document in PSE2,
set to RGB, 300 dpi, white background to whatever size you want your stenciled
element to be.
2. Place your black and white
"stencil" image onto a new layer above white layer and resize as necessary.
This is your "stencil" layer. Rename the layer "stencil" if you like. This
flower is a from a ding font, which is why it’s on a text layer.
3. Open a new transparent layer
between white background and "stencil" layer. This is the layer you'll do your
painting on.
4. Click on stencil layer. Click
on the magic wand tool, then select any area to be "stenciled". If you hold the
<SHIFT> key as you click, you can select multiple areas. Here I’ve selected the
3 leaf areas I want to stencil in green. Check that "marching ants" outline
all areas you plan on stenciling. (NOTE: If you use PSE2 shapes, it will ask
you if you want to "simplify this layer" first -- click YES, then select your
area(s) with the magic wand.)
5. On the Layers Palette, click
off the "eye" on the stencil layer so you don't see it any more except for the
"marching ants" selection. Click on the transparent layer to make it active.
The white background layer will let you easily see your "painting.”
6. Select a color to begin
stenciling with, and choose a soft-edge brush tool. Set the brush size to
somewhere between 25-100 -- a size that doesn't completely fill the open areas
of the motif, but big enough so you can go at a reasonable pace. Set opacity to
around 40% to start, and increase or decrease it after you see the results.
7. Start painting in the selected
areas. Adjust your brush size and opacity as you prefer. Only the areas inside
the "marching ants" will be painted, so your brushwork doesn’t need to be very
precise! Moving the brush tool while clicking as though you were pouncing with
a real stencil brush gives a classic stencil effect. Alternatively, stroke with
the brush for more of a watercolor effect. Play with different brushes to see
which effects you like best.
8. As with real stenciling, a
popular method is to make the edges of each area somewhat darker than the
centers, giving a more dimensional look. You can also blend colors for added
interest.
9. When you’ve finished painting
one color, you’re ready for your next color. Click on the stencil layer to make
it visible and active, and deselect your current selection by pressing <CNTL+D>.
Use the magic wand tool to select the areas you wish to paint your second
color. Above, the areas to be painted pink are now selected and stenciling
started.
Repeat these steps until your
stenciling is complete. Since you're painting on the transparent layer, this
stenciled image can be easily moved to any other document over any other
background color or texture you like.
COMPLETED STENCILING
You can also invert your selection to
paint in the background with a contrasting color. Do the painting of the
inverted selection on another transparent layer so that if you change your mind,
it's easy to undo. Your original "stencil layer" remains unchanged. The
pinecone image is two layers of "stenciling" -- the positive image of the pine
needles and cone on one layer, and the negative image of the black background
fading to blue in the center on a second layer. (Dingbat font HolidayPi BT)
There are tons of great ornamental
dingbat fonts available free on the web that make wonderful ‘stencils’ for this
technique. And once you understand how you can select a shape on one layer and
then use it to color or cut that shape on another layer, a whole world of
experimentation awaits you!
