ArtPlay Meets Traditional

Handing today's post over to AnnaTeamers, Amber Ries and Katherine Bley, both of whom dance on the traditional side of ArtPlay.  If you are intrigued by ArtPlay Palettes but struggle to incorporate them into your traditional style, this post is for you.

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Anna’s creative style is unique and purely her own. It is artsy and free-feeling, so completely removed from a traditional sense. That can be quite intimidating to those of you who are traditionalists at heart. Step in Amber and Katherine . . . both of us have strong traditional backgrounds and continue to create the bulk of our art from a traditional point of view.

Amber says:

“Above all, I am a traditional scrapper. Back when I was scrapping with paper, I swore up and down I’d never go digital, which is funny because even then, I was scrapbooking about 90% of my layouts on the computer. When I finally did go digital (thank-you to my daughter), I decided I would only do it if I could make my digital pages look like my traditional pages. That was my ultimate goal, to become a traditional digital scrapper.”

Katherine says:

“My dive into digital was purely accidental, and completely unexpected. Before I went digital I simply sought to learn how to create sketches of my traditional paper layouts on the computer (so that I could include them with the traditional paper scrapbooking classes that I was teaching).  I had signed up for an on-line class to get me comfortable with PSE, and the rest is history ;D”

Both of us agree that the core (or base) of our layouts remain strongly traditional and where we used to turn our noses up at the blended photos, and all the swoopy artsy stuff, we are completely entranced with what we can create when we step outside our comfort zone and mix traditional with artsy.

Traditional tends to be very linear and dimensional with the use of drop shadowing to mimic pages created with paper.  Artsy pages lean more towards the abstract in which definitive lines begin to disappear and the components of a page become more blended.  You may lean towards one or another but there is no reason why you can’t combine a little bit of both.

Listed below are five simple techniques for using ArtPlay in a traditional way and for taking an already traditional page and giving it an ArtPlay twist.

1.  Think of each ArtPlay paper as a sampler of patterned papers. While patterned papers can be and are used as the base for a layout, more often a solid color background or cardstock style paper is preferred with patterned papers being cropped or trimmed to coordinate and accent the overall theme and tone of a traditional-styled layout. Generally the bolder and/or brighter the pattern in a paper, the smaller the usage on a page. Creating with artsy papers in the traditional sense, the “rules” essentially remain the same; solid color or cardstock style background with smaller sections of patterned papers used to coordinate and accent.

:: Crop linear shapes using the Marquee/Custom Shape/Cookie Cutter Tools and then clip your papers to them.

Digital Supplies: MYO FotoFrames Layered Templates No. 1 | Stitched by Anna Frames No. 3 | Dark Textured Neutrals Paperie No. 1 | Two-tone (Note) Worthy Paperie

Vicki has created nesting squares to set off her beautiful photograph, clipping a paper to the photo mat and outlining it all with a border stitch.

:: Clip pieces of paper to shapes within templates. Using a template is an ideal way to let your artistic creativity flow. The template already lines up your layout and leaves you free to experiment as little, or as much as you want.

Digital Supplies: ArtPlay Palette Strawberry Preserve (paper)

Anna has replaced one of the photo clipping masks in this layout with a cropped piece of strawberry preserve paper.

:: Apply drop shadows to cropped paper pieces and elemets, as demonstrated in all these layout examples.

:: Frame the ArtPlay papers.  Use them in place of photos in all your staple photo frames.

Digital Supplies: ArtPlay Palette Autumn Haze (accent paper, dot splatter, dotted overlay, staples) | ArtPlay Palette English Rose (accent and background paper recolored, flower) | ArtPlay Palette Find My Way (border overlay, butterfly trio, clock hand, flourish, loopdaloop) | ArtPlay Palette Find My Way No. 2 (butterfly, clock, fleur de lis, flower) | ArtPlay Palette Scholarly (grid stamp) | AnnaSampler No. 2 (paint splatters) | Dotted Korners N Edges No. 

Katherine has taken a frame cluster and replaced three of the photos with patterned paper. She has kept the layout perfectly linear and traditional, adding realistic drop shadows to all 3-D elements, but introduced a touch of ArtPlay by including brushes.

2. Use the various Blendz products, transfers and overlays as element accents. For example, try recoloring a FotoBlendz or mask and use as a mat behind your photos instead of a cropped piece of paper with solid line.

Digital Supplies: Artplay Palette Play Out (bradded flowers) | Artplay Palette Thanksgiving (orange button) | Celebrate , (paper, brushes, Fotomask, anise) | Genuine  (flower & pearls) | Fotographie (circle accent, blue button) | Easter Bunny (bow) |  Scholarly (brushes & stamp) | MonoBlendz Origins No. 02 | MonoBlendz Cayenne | Straightline Stitched: Orange | Stitched by Anna Circles No. 02, | MYO Fotoframes 2

Amber took a traditional layout, clipped papers to shapes and then used a FotoBlendz to create a grounding mat for the focal point photo and cluster, instead of another rectangular matting element. Just as with a regular shape, she clipped her paper to the Fotoblendz, then changed the blending mode.

Digital Supplies: Artplay Autumn Haze | Fall Wordblendz | Stitched by Anna White No 9 | DifferentStrokes No. 2 BrushSet

Fiona has also used a transfer (from Artplay Autumn Haze) to ground her focal point photo on the left page. On the right, setting off the traditional cluster of stitched frames, she uses a Fall Wordblendz to ground the photo cluster. Another idea for using FotoBlendz, is to clip a piece of patterned or solid paper with texture to the FotoBlendz using the clipping mask function in Photoshop, Elements or Paint Shop Pro, to create a custom blended paper piece.

Digital Supplies: Esme Paperie (bg paper and paper clipped to Checkerboard Blendz) | AnnaBlendz Checkerboard No.1 |  ArtPlay Palette Scholarly Solids | ArtPlayPalette Autumn Haze (dotted overlay, frame) | ArtPlay Palette Barren Sunrise (bird art on right page) | LoopDaLoop Melange No.1 | Hipster Plumes No.29 | Stitched by Anna White No.10 | Vintage Pearlized Brass Brads | FotoGlows No.3 | FotoGlows Star No.1 | Sun and Moon No.1  (moon brush on right page)

Chris clipped a patterned paper (from Esme Paperie ) to the Annablendz Checkerboard, creating a beautifully blended custom background while keeping the traditional feel of framed photos stitched down to the page.

3. Frame a FotoBlendz. If you use a FotoBlendz as your main photo and still feel the need for that traditional anchor, try adding a frame on top of the Blendz allowing the blended edges of the mask to bleed out from behind the frame.

Digital Supplies: ArtPlay Palette Scholarly | Scholarly Stamped No. 1 BrushSet

Anna carefully contained the Fotoblendz and photo within her  frame. The picture subtly seeps out from behind the frame, creating a magical effect. 

You can also use a FotoBlendz as your main focal point photo in a MultiFoto layout studded with smaller framed or linear photos.

Digital Supplies: Summer Template Album No. 1  | Stitched by Anna MultiFoto Overlay collection No. 1 | ArtPlay Palette Sweet Christmas | Torn N Tattered 12” Scalloped PaperStrips No. 1 (Top and Bottom) | Magic SnowSpray No. 1 | LoopDaLoop Sketchy No. 1 BrushSet | Holly Pume Fotoblendz | tissue alpha | festive song elements | TNT Korner Templates

Amber deleted the focal point shape from the template and replaced it with a holiday-themed fotoblendz for her main photo. The stitching frames the photo, giving it a more linear appearance with a slight twist. The ArtPlay papers clipped to linear shapes maintains its traditional feel but with a twist.

4.  Be aware of the scale of your page elements.  For example, traditional pages tend to have smaller less graphic-looking  titles.  You can easily shrink down large elements to fit your page more comfortably using the Move tool from the Palette.  Make sure you have the *Constrain Proportions* option checked in the Options bar (Elements) or you hold down the SHIFT button on your keyboard (Photoshop) to make sure you are resizing your elements proportionally. WordTransfers easily become subtle title accents and Wordblendz look great in small format, as shown in the examples below:

Digital Supplies: ArtsyBlendz Origins Paperie (papers) | Sketchy LoopDaLoop ArtStrokes No. 1 | ArtPlay Palette Barren Sunrise (turn + flower recolored) | Family WordTransfers No.1 | Foto WordTRansfers No. 1 | StraightLine Stitched White No. 1

Digital Supplies: Artplay Palettes: PlayOut (kite, tape, paper) | Floralis (BG paper) | Heart (felt heart) | Mist (brush behind kite) | No. 11 (purple buttons |  special one (transfer) | Wordblendz: Winter (play title) | Play word Transfers | Stitched by Anna White. No. 3 & 5 | scuffed frames | Burned Paperie | OMG paper | Club Caribe Scallop |  Emergency Ribbon

In this example, Amber has used both WordTransfers and WordBlendz, decreasing their sizes until they become accents and title pieces. Additional elements have also been shrunk and given realistic drop shadows.

5. Brushes are less complex than you think.  Consider them a digital version of stamps and ink.  Use the .png file by moving it onto a page as you would any other element, or load the .abr file into the Brushes palette and stamp onto your page changing the size, color and orientation as desired.  Always stamp each new brush *Stroke* on a new layer to ensure easy edits at any time.  You can also adjust the blending mode of any brush layer, change the color and or opacity as well as layering them using different blending modes together.

Digital Supplies: 12x12 Textured Overlays 1 | Play Word Transfers No. 1 | Sketchy MultiPhoto Frames 2 | Sun and Moon Brush Set no. 1 | Different Strokes 2 | ArtPlay Palette Weinachtsbaum

Kerry used a tree brush from ArtPlay Palette Weinachtsbaum as a background element, changing the color and layering it beneath a word transfer.

Digital Supplies: Stitched by Anna Frames No. 1 | ArtPlay Palette Seafoam

Anna used the sailboat brush as a stamp behind her photos, she recolored and changed the blending mode so that you can see the texture of the paper beneath. Layering the glass pebble and another brush on top gave her a sweet, traditional element cluster.

There are so many artsy options for traditional scrapbookers, the hardest part of the process is deciding on which one to try out first.

The vast choice in styles and approaches that you have available to you in digital scrapbooking is one of the best parts of this sport.  You can be traditional, artsy, or a mix of both. ArtPlay literally means to play with Art, a practice that enables you to explore new possibilities within your current style and preferences. 

Allow yourself to play once in a while, step out your current comfort zone and reap all the benefits of a little ArtPlay.