OK ladies and gentlemen. I think there are a few guys out there.
I love the elements on this site and have made my own folders with probably all of them. But I feel like a LUMP and would like to contribute to the elements list. BUT I don't even know where to start to make one. Do you use clipart and then change it or do you draw freehand and use filters? Just how do all you ladies do this? I need to stop being a LUMP and JUMP in on this. Please help.

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The world is a novel. If you don't travel, you read only one page.

Marcia

I think it all depends on the person. People like Shannon like to challenge themselves to recreate real life objects using their graphics programs. Others have done great stuff by scanning things (someone did some neat metal charms once) and cleaning up the image digitally.

If you look at my gallery I made some bookplates. BOOK PLATES
I did these in Photoshop. I drew a rectange and some circles. I erased the center of the rectangle, made some holes in the circles and started to layer on filters and styles to get a metal look.

I say play around with anything at your disposal. You could make some great charms by taking clip art and adding filters. Or try out freehanding some things. You'll be surprised how quickly you get to know your program and how much easier it gets as you go along.

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Suzanne

This is a tough question to answer Marcia because it depends on what element it is that determines how I go about making it. I hate to say this as it sounds like the easy way out, but honestly most of my elements were created through trial and error. I'll have an idea of what I want to make and I usually find an image of the real thing. Then I try to duplicate what I see in the image by experimenting with different methods. For metal type elements (i.e. eyelets, brads, charms, etc), I usually use the custom shapes (PS7), then mess around with the effects until the metal matches the metal in the image. Adding noise and "wear and tear" to the elements also helps make them seem more "real". But, comparing my work to the real thing as I'm creating it and experimenting with different tools until I achieve a realistic look is my main course of action!

Sorry, I couldn't give you more of a thorough answer, but like I said, it's different for each element and each person making those elements!!

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:P
Shannon