Creating Emphasis (Photoshop)

Did you know your words are important? No? Well they ARE! If the stories behind your photos were not important, if the thoughts and emotions you strive to document were not important, you would just print your photos and slip them into albums.

I’m not saying that everything you write is (or has to be) profound, inspirational, or even spelled correctly. I just want you to remember that the job you’re doing is an important one. Your words ARE important.

Today, on the subject of journaling, I’d like to show you how to take an ordinary block of journaling and add a little “oomph” to it.

Here I have my journaling. And although there is nothing wrong with leaving it just like this, I just want to emphasize some of the important “key words” in it. I’m going to do this by creating the look of chalk or paint behind the words I choose.

Step 1) Preparations

• Select the Move tool, make sure Auto Select Layer is checked in the Options Bar, and click on the text layer. This will make your type the active layer in the Layers panel.
• Press and hold Ctrl (Mac: Cmd), and click on the Create a new layer icon on the Layers panel. Adding the Ctrl (Mac: Cmd) key will create a new layer below the type layer.
• Get the Brush tool, and make sure the Mode is Normal and the Opacity and Flow are both 100%.
• Open the Brush Picker and choose a brush you think will work. I’ve chosen the Dry Brush shown.

Step 2) Choose your color and brush it on

• Move your mouse over your page. Press the Alt key (Mac: Opt key) to temporarily access the Eyedropper tool.
• With the eyedropper tool, click a spot on your page to choose that color. You will notice this color will become your Foreground Color Chip.
• Release the Alt key and brush on the words you want to accent. If you have the right layer active–the one under the text layer–the brush mark will actually appear behind the text.

Step 3) Adjust

I typically make lots of adjustments when I use this technique. Sometimes I make the brush smaller or larger by pressing the left or right Bracket key, or I change it to a different brush altogether. Depending on what brush you choose, your highlighting can look like chalk, paint, or watercolor. I almost always try different colors. One easy way to try another color is to choose a new Foreground color, then press Alt Shift Backspace (Mac: Opt Shift Delete). This will fill the solid pixels on that layer with the new color.

You can even throw the layer away and start over!

Here is my finished layout. I even added some “chalking” behind the title. This easy technique can help give your journaling the emphasis it deserves!

Credits: Tutorial and page by Jenny Binder, www.HeirloomScrapbooks.com. Background papers by Jill Means, Life’s Little Celebrations kit. Font: CK Regal and Century Gothic.

Download a PDF version of this “Creating Emphasis” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

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