Recycling Stripes (Photoshop)

I am a big time bargain hunter.

But that’s not always good… I’d buy a used coloring book as long as it was marked “80% off”.

Lucky for me, I’ve got Adobe to help me be frugal in the digital aspects of my life. In this tip you and I are going to recycle. It just doesn’t get more bargain-y than that! We’ll take any ole piece of striped paper and give it a fresh new look.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Prepare

• Open (File > Open) a piece of striped paper. For this tutorial I’m using ‘paper1’ from One Little Bird’s Menagerie kit.
• Follow good advice and never work on an original. To do this,
  • Choose Image > Duplicate from the Menu Bar.
  • Click OK to accept the name for your new image.
  • Close the original.

  

  Step 2: Wave

  • Choose Filter > Distort > Wave from the Menu Bar.
  • In the Wave box that pops up, play with the settings till you come up with something fun. I chose the following settings:
    • Type: Triangle
    • Number of Generators: 5
    • Wavelength: Min 211, Max 211
      Tip: Move the Max bar first, then the Min bar.
    • Amplitude: Min 24, Max 24
  • Click OK to accept the changes.
  • Unfortunately the Wave box does not offer a Preview option. So if you don’t really like the results, simply undo the changes by pressing Ctrl Z (Mac: Cmd Z). Then you’ll just have to redo it. I usually have to do this several times before I get settings that look good to me.

  

  Step 3: Crop

  Many times when you apply filters to patterns, the edges will be a bit distorted. But not a problem, we can just crop off the edges. To do this:

  • Get the Crop tool in the Tool Bar.
  • In the Options Bar, click on the button labeled ‘Front Image’. This button will make sure you are cropping with the same settings as the original image.
  • You should be able to see the distorted edges of your patterned paper. With your cursor, click and drag a selection outline that will crop those out.
  • Press Enter on your keyboard to accept the changes.

  

  Step 4: Save

  Now you have an original piece of paper to add to your collection.

  Be sure to save it (File > Save As) with an original file name.

  I think that is really cool! Now I’m going to get busy and create a scrapbook page with my new creation. I hope you will do the same and then share with me in the Tip of the Week Gallery.

  

  Credits: Photoshop CS3 tip, photo and scrapbook page by Jen White. Kit: Menagerie by One Little Bird. This kit is part of the September 2010 Premier membership. It will be available in our store for general purchase in October 2010.

Download a PDF version of this “Recycling Stripes” 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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