Photo Manipulation Tutorial: A Postcard Home by Adryane Driscoll
Crafting comes in many different shapes and forms. From paint to paper cut-outs, and ink sprays to fabric alterations — for us creative types, there’s an abundance of outlets for self-expression. Relatively new but no less inspiring, is the world of photo manipulations and digital artwork. Scanning and editing has become a new take on cutting and pasting, and we love it! That’s why we’re very proud and happy to introduce today’s guest artist, Adryane Driscoll.
Adryane was featured in the spring 2013 and 2014 issues of Somerset Digital Studio, and she will also be making an appearance in the upcoming spring 2015 issue of the same title. Her artful handling of old, family photographs and memorabilia has also earned her a place in the autumn 2011 and spring 2012 issues of Somerset Memories. Her work is beautifully colored and always very well composed, and today she’s agreed to share with us an exclusive project that showcases some of her tips and techniques. So grab your box of old family photos, fire up PhotoShop, and please join me in giving Adryane Driscoll a warm Somerset Place welcome.
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I inherited a box with hundreds of old photos from my grandmother. I can place some of the faces and guess at others, but most of the people in the photos are unknown to me. I knew about this box of photos before my grandmother died, and I tried to get her to revisit them with me and tell me about them. However, she found the experience to be too painful as many of the people in the photos had disappeared during World War II.
When the photos became mine, my goal was to find a way to organize the images and give stories to the people in them. So, even though I can’t put names to many of the faces, and I am not sure how I am related to many of the people, I try to find ways to connect with them. When considering how to do this I often look for something familiar either in a face or the background — a point of reference to create a story that I think fits with the photo. In A Postcard Home, the couple reminded me of how my grandparents looked in their travel photos, and the wonderful postcards they would send while away.
A Postcard Home by Adryane Driscoll Project Materials:
All of my images are scanned then manipulated in Adobe Photoshop CS6.
-Anna Aspnes Designs
-ArtPlay Palette for the Record
-ArtPlay Palette Home
-ArtPlay Palette Winter Sunrise
-FotoGlows No. 2
-Cloud Brushes No. 2
-MultiMedia Documents No. 1
-Layered FotoBlendz No. 3
-Decor Stamps No. 1
-GoldPaint No. 3
-GoldPaint No. 4
A Postcard Home by Adryane Driscoll Project Instructions:
Step 1: Choose a Photo
I chose a photo with a nice focal image and a background that is not in focus. The faded background allows for easy blending into the composition I want to create for this couple. When working with old photos, I usually start with a neutral background. This allows me to focus on the image. After I finish with the image, I can stay with the neutral background or build on it.
Step 2: Decide on a Design Concept
Consider what type of story you want to tell about your photo and how you want to tell it. For A Postcard Home, I decided on a travel story and started with a centered design with movement across the page from left to right. Often, the design changes as I start to play with the image but it’s nice to have a general starting point.
Step 3: Mask the Photo
You can create a custom Layer Mask for your photo or use one that you have in your digital supplies/archives. I chose an image that was divided into two parts — a light area and a dark area. The photo is positioned above the mask layer and then clipped (ALT+CTRL + G on a pc or CMD + G on a Mac, or, with the photo layer selected, go to Layer and choose Create Clipping Mask) to the mask. I repositioned the photo so that it was over the lighter area in the mask. Then, I applied a Layer Mask to the photo layer so that I could erase the tree from the photo with a soft round brush.
Step 4: Add to the Masked Image to Create Depth
I added multiple layers, using various digital elements, both over and under the masked image to create depth. I wanted to keep the people and the left side of the page lighter than the right side of the page. To do this, I set the blending mode on many of the layers on the right to either Linear Burn or Multiply, while the layers on the left tend to be set to Overlay or Soft Light. I also added some text to the background under the image on a separate layer.
Step 5: Add Dimension
I don’t work with a lot of elements, but I do like my pages to have some dimension. Here, I added a large frame behind the image. A Layer Mask was added to the frame so that I could blend out parts of the frame. I also added shadows around the image and under the main mask. Next, I added the clouds, birds, and the text from the back of the photo. Whenever I find writing on an old photo, I try to incorporate it into my design. It may be the only information I have about a particular image.
Step 6: Consider the Background
At some point, I consider whether I want to keep the background plain or I want to add to it. Here, I decided to warm up the background and add a little texture. To do this, two digital papers were blended over the original, neutral background. Both of the additional papers were set to Linear Burn.
Step 7: Finish
To finish, I added some additional brushstrokes.
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My personal experience with PhotoShop does not extend far beyond cropping, resizing, and enhancing images — all of which are pretty elementary skills. Even so, for me, these techniques were difficult to get a handle on. This step-by-step tutorial removes some of the intimidation that comes with working with Photoshop. I don’t expect that my first project will look anything like Adryane’s, but having her detailed tutorial will make it easier to acquire the skills.
If you’re an avid PhotoShop user we hope this tutorial inspires you to try something new, and if you haven’t taken the plunge into photo manipulations and digital artwork, then we hope the project might make the waters look a little more inviting. Finally, please help me give Adryane Driscoll sincere and heartfelt thanks for sharing her beautiful project with us.
To see more of Adryane’s beautiful artwork, you can visit her gallery at Oscraps.com.
Exclusive Offer: $5 off Digital Inspiration
If your muse has been roused by Adryane Driscoll’s stunning photo manipulation, then you’re going to love the artwork that’s featured in Digital Inspiration. This special book-azine showcases the best of the best in photo manipulations and digitally-altered artwork, as collected from past issues of Somerset Digital Studio. Don’t miss your chance to save $5 off this beautiful magazine.
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Posted: Tuesday, January 27th, 2015 @ 11:36 am
Categories: Digital Art, How-To Project Tutorials.
Tags: Digital Alteration, Digital Artwork, Digital inspiration, Guest Artist, How-To, Inspiration, Photo Manipulation, Somerset Memories, tutorial, Vintage.
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Thank you for the tutorial. I don’t like to scrap old photos because my pages never look very interesting. I am going to give this a try!
Let us know how your project turns out Lisa!
Love the piece of art you’ve created out of a simple old photograph Adryane! There is so much depth created by the framing inserted behind yet this couple clearly remain the focal point. I’ll have to try creating a layout with this depth of layering!!
Beautiful! Love how extra dimension was created by adding the clouds.
The clouds are one of my favorite parts too!
Loved the presentation of the many steps! You make it look do-able–the layers make me think I am looking thru the years. those subtle layers make sense visually and especially with the subjects, resound with meaning. I am fascinated by your appreciation of the past and its importance in the present. These are exactly the inspirations for my creative projects as well.
Thank you!!!
Thank you for the tutorial! This is an amazing take on heritage scrapping! Your piece looks great :)
Your work always blows me away Adryane :) Love it as I do all your work.
Adryane – your wonderful art and tutorial together makes it so easy to understand how and why you added the layers – I just ordered the first edition – I can’t wait to play with your tutorial – thanks for the inspiration – you are an extra amazing talented artist!!!!
Wonderful tutorial! I love the depth you have created. A simple vintage photo now comes alive in your artistically blended layers. The golden bronze colors and clouds add so much depth to the black and white photo. You are truly an inspiration! Love your gallery!! Thank you!
This is lovely! Thank you, so much for sharing~
The elements of nature, the birds and clouds add some a great representation of daydreams and hope!
I so want to try this art form~
Thank you, Lisa. If you have any questions let me know :-) I’d love to see your project when it’s done.
Thank you, Linda :-)
I love how you see this, Kelley! Thank you :-)
Thank you, Ella. This type of page is fun to create. You can imagine your subjects in to so many different scenes. I hope you give it a try.
Thank you, Jennifer :-)
Thank you, Anna. You art is so often the starting point of mine. You inspire me to be creative.
Thank you, Debbie! I know you will create something awesome!
Thank you, Francine!
I really appreciate the step by step directions and the way you added such depth to your artwork. thank you
Really enjoyed this tutorial; step 3 was like “oh, that’s nice”; but then step 4 was like “Pow! That’s fantastic!”. I’ve done some work with my old family photos; on my fledgling blog, the post “Living Cool” is an old photo of my dad layered with a photo of an abstract painting of mine. I liked the idea of pairing my past with something from my now. Thanks for sharing your work and your process!
Wow Adryane, another stunning heritage page. Love your explanation of all the masking. What a treasure that box of photos is. So sorry that it was so painful for your grandma. Lots of very very bad things happened during WOII. Love that you try to make stories with the photos. You are so creative and talented, I love your art! Thanks for sharing this wonderful tutorial. I am gonna give it a go with some old photos I got to scan from a niece of my mom. I am so happy with these photos and thankful that she trusted me with those old albums.
I so admire the outcome of this process but I don’t understand how to create this way. I enjoyed studying your tutorial nonetheless. By the time I read it twice I think I was able to understand some of the steps you took. Of all the techniques out there this is one I think I would most enjoy as a student. The finished piece is so powerful. Beautiful!!!
I always am in awe of your talent A! Wonderful tutorial and beautiful piece!
Thank you, Cindy :-)
I went to your blog and looked at your “Living Cool” piece, stunning work!
Thank you, Monique :-)
Rita, if you decide to give this a try and have any questions feel free to contact me.
Thank you, Vicki :-)
Adryane, your work always blows me away. I have a box of old photos that are now scanned and ready to be scrapped. I am looking forward to trying your techniques. Your tutorial is fabulous. I only hope I can create something anywhere close to what you do. I am also a huge fan of Anna Aspnes and have a lot of her product. This is going to be so much fun. Thank you once again.
thank you for sharing your work. I’m never able to achieve such depth in my Layouts. I’m hoping to try some of your techniques.
Thanks for the visit to my blog Adryane; I appreciate very much the nice words about ‘Living Cool’ :) Made my day!
stunning, Ilove the depth you created and how you transformed a simple photo into another masterpiece .Thanks for taking the time to take us through the whole process.
This truly took my breath away! You started with a pretty neutral, common (familiar?) photo and transformed it into a distinctive, attention demanding, mind shattering piece of memorable art. I have always stayed away from digital projects because I don’t have much photo editing knowledge. (I can do the basics, but know nothing about brushes and the other technical tools – they all sound so intimidating!) Anyway, after seeing your process laid out so openly, I am beyond STOKED to try this! You created something special – and you (somehow) made it seem “doable” and possible for others to emulate. I am still amazed…I LOVE IT!!
Lovely post with great tips. Thanks for sharing.