About Me
- Name: Barbara
- Location: United States
Mom. Wife. Daughter. Digital Artist. Amateur Photographer. Digital Scrapbooker. Memory Keeper. Mompreneur.
I work and blog at Cherish Collages
Friday, October 27, 2006
Digital Scrapbooking, the basics
If you are looking to get into digital scrapbooking, but not sure exactly what it's all about, read this article to pick up the basics of digital scrapbooking.
Basics of Digital Scrapbooking
By Lisa Miller
A digital scrapbook is a digital layout of photos, embellishments and journaling that is created by manipulating and layering computer graphics. Digital scrapbooking elements can be in the form of .jpg, .png or .tiff files to use freely among digital image editing programs.
Organization is a very important part of digi-scrapping. Keeping your files organized will allow you to create layouts quickly. You can start by scanning or uploading your digital pictures onto your computer. When you scan a picture in, be sure to give it a relevant name and date such as Year_Month_Day_EventorPerson. This will help you find the pictures you need and also eliminates the need to open up numerous files to find an exact event/person you are looking for. Save the original copy of the photo as a .tiff file. You will also want to scan your files in at 200-300 dpi. This is the resolution of the picture and the higher you have the dpi set the better quality the picture will be. If you are planning to print your pictures, 300 dpi is the correct resolution. It will ensure superb quality when printed. If you are only making layouts to share online then you can lower the resolution to 72 dpi. This lower resolution is fine for web graphics that you post to a website or forum to share.
Different file types will allow you to manipulate the elements or photographs in certain ways. A .png file has a transparent background so you can layer it on top of other files. A .tiff file is the easiest way to save original photographs without compromising quality of the photograph. A .jpg is the final format that layouts are typically saved in. A .jpg file cannot be resized without losing quality of the image though. Use the .jpg format when you are done creating your layout.
One of the great benefits of digital scrapbooks is that they can be saved onto your computer. You then have a few choices as to what you would like to do with the layouts you have created. You can burn them to cd and either save them to view on your computer or have them printed out and inserted into traditional albums. Burning them to cd will save you the space on your computer since the finished layouts tend to have large file sizes.
Assembling and laying out your pages will require an image editing program. These programs allow you to copy and paste layers onto a background and manipulate where and how you would like your page to look. There are endless possibilities.
Some of the programs are designed specifically for scrapbooking. You can find these programs in any place where software is sold. The scrapbook programs have custom elements built in to the software so your backgrounds, frames, embellishments, journaling, etc are already made for you and can be layered in the program itself. They also tend to require a lot of memory on your computer. Double check that you have the space needed on your pc before you purchase or try to use one of these programs.
Digital image editing software also requires a lot of memory. Before investing in any software, always be sure that your computer can handle the program and shut down any other programs that may be running (such as Internet Explorer, Quicken, etc). These software programs will allow you to do just about anything you wish and most of them will require some kind of learning process.
Corel® Paint Shop Pro is a great program that allows you to manipulate and fix photos, elements, create and save layouts. It has many functions and runs about $99. You can download a free trial of the software here. It is very user friendly but will still require some learning on your part. If you search online for Paint Shop Pro tutorials you will find they are very abundant and most users will testify that the program is very user friendly.
Adobe® Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are also wonderful programs for the digital scrapbooker. Photoshop is very expensive and requires a bit more experience than Photoshop Elements. Learning these programs may be more difficult for the beginner but are definitely worth it if you have a passion for graphics.
There are many other programs that you can use such as Ulead Photo Impact, Microsoft Picture It, Printshop, and Printmaster to name a few. All of these programs will require memory. Take the time to delete your temporary internet files, cookies and cache daily as well as empty your recycle bin to keep your computer in ideal condition to run these programs.
Digital scrapbooking is a wonderful and easy hobby that allows you to assemble layouts quickly and with no mess. You do not need crop totes or paper organizers or die cut tools (so it is a great money-saver) but you will need some organized files to save all of the elements that are available to download on the internet. Check out the freebies section at www.thescrapprincess.com/freebies.html
for some basic elements.
Article courtesy of Lisa Miller, Owner & Digital Designer, www.TheScrapPrincess.com
© 2006
Lisa Miller, a graphic designer, has been creating digital scrapbook layouts for 5 years and is the owner of http://www.thescrapprincess.com which offers digital scrapbook elements, freebies, tutorials, web graphics and contests. Join the mailing list for her monthly newsletter with tips and articles to help organize, create and inspire!
Barbara
Cherish Collages - Custom Photo Collage Design
Technorati Tags Digital Scrapbooking scrapbooking
Basics of Digital Scrapbooking
By Lisa Miller
A digital scrapbook is a digital layout of photos, embellishments and journaling that is created by manipulating and layering computer graphics. Digital scrapbooking elements can be in the form of .jpg, .png or .tiff files to use freely among digital image editing programs.
Organization is a very important part of digi-scrapping. Keeping your files organized will allow you to create layouts quickly. You can start by scanning or uploading your digital pictures onto your computer. When you scan a picture in, be sure to give it a relevant name and date such as Year_Month_Day_EventorPerson. This will help you find the pictures you need and also eliminates the need to open up numerous files to find an exact event/person you are looking for. Save the original copy of the photo as a .tiff file. You will also want to scan your files in at 200-300 dpi. This is the resolution of the picture and the higher you have the dpi set the better quality the picture will be. If you are planning to print your pictures, 300 dpi is the correct resolution. It will ensure superb quality when printed. If you are only making layouts to share online then you can lower the resolution to 72 dpi. This lower resolution is fine for web graphics that you post to a website or forum to share.
Different file types will allow you to manipulate the elements or photographs in certain ways. A .png file has a transparent background so you can layer it on top of other files. A .tiff file is the easiest way to save original photographs without compromising quality of the photograph. A .jpg is the final format that layouts are typically saved in. A .jpg file cannot be resized without losing quality of the image though. Use the .jpg format when you are done creating your layout.
One of the great benefits of digital scrapbooks is that they can be saved onto your computer. You then have a few choices as to what you would like to do with the layouts you have created. You can burn them to cd and either save them to view on your computer or have them printed out and inserted into traditional albums. Burning them to cd will save you the space on your computer since the finished layouts tend to have large file sizes.
Assembling and laying out your pages will require an image editing program. These programs allow you to copy and paste layers onto a background and manipulate where and how you would like your page to look. There are endless possibilities.
Some of the programs are designed specifically for scrapbooking. You can find these programs in any place where software is sold. The scrapbook programs have custom elements built in to the software so your backgrounds, frames, embellishments, journaling, etc are already made for you and can be layered in the program itself. They also tend to require a lot of memory on your computer. Double check that you have the space needed on your pc before you purchase or try to use one of these programs.
Digital image editing software also requires a lot of memory. Before investing in any software, always be sure that your computer can handle the program and shut down any other programs that may be running (such as Internet Explorer, Quicken, etc). These software programs will allow you to do just about anything you wish and most of them will require some kind of learning process.
Corel® Paint Shop Pro is a great program that allows you to manipulate and fix photos, elements, create and save layouts. It has many functions and runs about $99. You can download a free trial of the software here. It is very user friendly but will still require some learning on your part. If you search online for Paint Shop Pro tutorials you will find they are very abundant and most users will testify that the program is very user friendly.
Adobe® Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are also wonderful programs for the digital scrapbooker. Photoshop is very expensive and requires a bit more experience than Photoshop Elements. Learning these programs may be more difficult for the beginner but are definitely worth it if you have a passion for graphics.
There are many other programs that you can use such as Ulead Photo Impact, Microsoft Picture It, Printshop, and Printmaster to name a few. All of these programs will require memory. Take the time to delete your temporary internet files, cookies and cache daily as well as empty your recycle bin to keep your computer in ideal condition to run these programs.
Digital scrapbooking is a wonderful and easy hobby that allows you to assemble layouts quickly and with no mess. You do not need crop totes or paper organizers or die cut tools (so it is a great money-saver) but you will need some organized files to save all of the elements that are available to download on the internet. Check out the freebies section at www.thescrapprincess.com/freebies.html
for some basic elements.
Article courtesy of Lisa Miller, Owner & Digital Designer, www.TheScrapPrincess.com
© 2006
Lisa Miller, a graphic designer, has been creating digital scrapbook layouts for 5 years and is the owner of http://www.thescrapprincess.com which offers digital scrapbook elements, freebies, tutorials, web graphics and contests. Join the mailing list for her monthly newsletter with tips and articles to help organize, create and inspire!
Barbara
Cherish Collages - Custom Photo Collage Design
Technorati Tags Digital Scrapbooking scrapbooking
0 Comments:
Finding ways to Cherish the Moments of our lives through photographs.
Previous Posts
Free Photography Classes OnlineDigital Photo Editing
Wedding Anniversary Photo Collage
Photo Bracelet
Photo Collage Christmas Card
Free HP Online Classes
New Cherish Boutique now open!
Have Camera, Will Travel, but will you Remember?
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
A Must Have Stunning Wedding Keepsake
]blue]coral]navy](](],]]]black],]3]1]6]2]1]1]1]10]1]4]1]1](](],]^23FAF3E6])])img.photobucket.com/albums/v35/barbararyan/header4copy.jpg]]],](](],](]black](](](]^23666](](](]^23333](](](],]50]10],](](]^23FBF4E6])])]^23660000]1]5],](](]^23FBF4E6])])]^23660000]^23FAF3E6])])]^23660000]30]^23660000]^23660000],](](]^23660000](],](]^23333]^23660000]^2306C],](](]^23FAF3E6])])],](](]^23FAF3E6])])],](](]^23FBF4E6])])],](]^23660000]^23660000]11]3]11]20]^23660000],](](],](],](](],](]^23660000](](](],](](](],]black](](](],](](]^23333](](](](](],]^2336F]^23333](],](]Written^20at^20^24TIME^20by^20^24AUTH.]20],](](]^23660000])])]^23FAF3E6])])]^23660000]30]^23660000]^23660000],](](]^23660000](],](]^23333333]^23660000]^2306C]Finding^20ways^20to^20Cherish^20the^20Moments^20of^20our^20lives^20through^20photographs.]]]Home]^24HOME]First^20Page]]]]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png^22^20alt^3D^22^22^20style^3D^22border^3A0^22/^3E])feeds.feedburner.com/CherishTheMoments]RSS^20Feed]Archive]]]^24ARCHIVE]^20]]Catergories]]]Photo^20Collage])search.blogger.com/^3Fie^3DUTF-8^26ui^3Dblg^26bl_url^3Dcherishcollages.blogspot.com^26x^3D0^26y^3D0^26scoring^3Dd^26as_q^3D^2522Photo^2520Collage^2522]]Photo^20Editing])search.blogger.com/^3Fie^3DUTF-8^26ui^3Dblg^26bl_url^3Dcherishcollages.blogspot.com^26x^3D0^26y^3D0^26scoring^3Dd^26as_q^3D^2522Photo^2520Editing^2522]]Photo^20Gift^20Ideas])search.blogger.com/^3Fie^3DUTF-8^26ui^3Dblg^26bl_url^3Dcherishcollages.blogspot.com^26x^3D0^26y^3D0^26scoring^3Dd^26as_q^3D^2522Photo^2520Gift^2520Ides^2522]]Digital^20Photography])search.blogger.com/^3Fie^3DUTF-8^26ui^3Dblg^26bl_url^3Dcherishcollages.blogspot.com^26x^3D0^26y^3D0^26scoring^3Dd^26as_q^3D^2522Digital^2520Photography^2522]]Digital^20Scrapbooking])search.blogger.com/^3Fie^3DUTF-8^26ui^3Dblg^26bl_url^3Dcherishcollages.blogspot.com^26x^3D0^26y^3D0^26scoring^3Dd^26as_q^3D^2522Digital^2520Scrapbooking^2522]]^20Get^20Blogger^20Categories])netcf2.blogspot.com/2005/11/blogging-categories-categories.html]]Etc]]]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_psycho.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E]^24PSYCHO]PsycHo^3A^20Free^20Template^20Generator]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)buttons.blogger.com/bloggerbutton1.gif^22^20/^3E])www.blogger.com]]]]]]^24BlogMemberProfile]]Links]]]Cherish^20Boutique])astore.amazon.com/cherishcollag-20]]Photo^20Gifts])cherishcollages.com/photo-gifts.html]]Photo^20Collage^20Gallery])cherishcollages.com/photo-collage-gallery.html]]Digital^20Photography])cherishcollages.com/digital-resources/digitalphotography.html]]Digital^20Photo^20Editing])cherishcollages.com/digital-resources/digital-photo-editing.html]]^20]]]J^20Lindsey^20Photography])jlindseyphotography.com]]Darligraphy])darligraphy.blogspot.com]]Vivacity])vivacityonline.blogspot.com]]^20Alice^20Seba])www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp^3Fafid^3D492665^26u^3Dwww.aliceseba.com]]Sponsered^20Links]]]^3CIMG^20border^3D^220^22^20^20^20alt^3D^22Shutterfly.com^22^20src^3D^22)ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show^3Fid^3DJVPkf7Dy2m8^26bids^3D119808.10000204^26subid^3D0^26type^3D4^26gridnum^3D6^22^3E])click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click^3Fid^3DJVPkf7Dy2m8^26offerid^3D119808.10000204^26subid^3D0^26type^3D4]]Digital^20Products]]]Digital^20Photography^20Success])babisbaby.digipix.hop.clickbank.net^22^20target^3D^22_top^22^20]]Digital^20Photography^20Secrets])babisbaby.dpsecrets.hop.clickbank.net^22^20target^3D^22_top^22]]^20Scrapbooking^20in^20Minutes])babisbaby.scrap2day.hop.clickbank.net^22^20target^3D^22_top^22]]^20Memorable^20Scrapbooking])babisbaby.accpot.hop.clickbank.net^22^20target^3D^22_top^22]]]]]^3Cimg^20border^3D^220^22^20src^3D^22)www.hotmamamakeover.com/button.JPG^22^20/^3E])www.quicksales.com/app/aftrack.asp^3Fafid^3D511642^26u^3Dwww.hotmamamakeover.com]^26^2361470^3BPsycHo}){kind=small}
Home About Me Pricing Contact/Order faq Photo Collage Gallery Articles Resources Links Ezines Photo Gifts