All Images © 2005
Cre8it/Jessica Wesolek
PhotoShop School for Artists
There are enough PhotoShop books out there to choke an ox. Mostly, though, they just choke anyone who is not already a PhotoShop expert.

They are written for the pro designers or for new digital camera owners - as if this amazing program were only for photo editing!

None are written for artists - until now!

Artists arrived late on the digital art scene. They much preferred the hands-on experience of their paints and papers, although those of us involved in professional design fields learned early on, that we weren’t going to be allowed to sit this revolution out.

But, artists did buy computers in order to use the internet - to share ideas, view work by other artists, and benefit from the virtual world of tutorials. Then Adobe released an affordable version of their famous and incredible PhotoShop software, and many, many artists bought it - knowing intuitively that it would enrich their creative experience - if they could just figure out how to use it!

Virtual Stamping 101 is the first PhotoShop (and PhotoShop Elements) instruction that is written expressly for the paper and multi-media artist. It is organized into projects that use rubber stamping metaphors to produce art (because stamping is not scary) - using the tools and techniques one-by-one to actually “create” something. Each Chapter prepares you for the next, but also allows you the sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing a project.

The Chapters are PDF files with large type and large screen shots of every move - meant to print out and read easily as you work along on your computer screen. The projects are done in PhotoShop Elements 2,0 (because most artists have that one) but can be followed just as easily in PhotoShop 6.0, 7.0, or CS and in the new Elements 3.0.
A Preview of the Chapters . . .
Whether you know something about PhotoShop or nothing at all, you will learn a lot from this CD. There is always something new to discover about this complex program. The following is a preview of the Chapters of this first CD. All Virtual Stamps used are included on the CD.
Chapter One
Opening and Printing a Virtual Stamp Image

This is the easiest Chapter and will give you a feeling of accomplishment right off the bat. You open and print a Virtual Stamp image using Print Preview which has controls you may not previously have known about.

This Chapter also has a primer on types of printers and inks and what goes with what.

Skills Learned in this Chapter:
Open files in PhotoShop and Elements
How to Print with Print Preview Print Controls
Chapter Two
Borders and Layering

One of the most popular techniques in paper arts is to layer your artwork on several pieces of colored cardstock.

In this Chapter, we use PhotoShop’s Crop Tool to add as many layers of colored cardstock as we want - without building up any thickness or needing any glue!

Skills Learned in this Chapter:
Using the Zoom Tool (Magnifying Glass)
Choosing Background Colors
Using the Crop Tool