Graphic Design 1‎ > ‎Photoshop‎ > ‎

Stamp Design Tools

Layer Mask, Text Tools, Seeing Imagery Through Text, 
Burning & Dodging

The Layer Mask
This tool allows you to fade images into one another without erasing the 
original so you can always go back and edit as the original will always be intact.

  
 

Steps:
1.)Click on the layer you wish to mask and press the layer mask tool at the
 bottom of the layers menu.
  
            
        
(A new box should come up in that layer, see how there are two boxes in layer
 ten now?)

2.) Make sure you are clicked on this new box. Then click on the gradient tool 
and ensure that your tool is set to black to transparency. Make sure that all of 
the settings are set on the top menu to the settings that show below.


3.) Click and drag the gradient tool towards your image. The image should be 
slowly fading away.



Text
This tool allows you to write on your stamp. It works like the text tool in 
Adobe Illustrator.

You can select the type tool in the main tool bar. Here you can type horizontally 
or vertically. Notice how you can also make masks with type.


The text menu on the top of the page allows you to adjust things like size, 
alignment and font.




When you click on the text tool and begin to type a new layer automatically 
appears on the layers menu with your new text.



Seeing Imagery Through Text
Another thing you can do with text is have images show through it.
 (See example above with the word 'Michael')

Steps:
1.) Find a good bold font, this will show a good amount of your image and 
still allow the text to be readable.

2.) Find an image that you wish to display between the letters.


3.)Move the image layer above the text layer. (You won't be able to see the text 
layer at this point anymore as its hiding under the image.)


4.) Place your mouse over the line in between the two layers on the layers menu 
and hold down the command and option buttons. A lock image will appear. 
Click once with the mouse and the image will appear through the text.



At this point you can move the image by click on that layer or the text to get the 
right part of the image through the text.


Hue & Saturation
This tool allows you to change the colors of an image. You can find this tool in the 
'Image' menu or by keyboard short cut 'Command + U.'


HUE - This changes the color of the image (Blue, Green, Red, etc.)
SATUATION - This is how much color is added (Lots of red, or a little red -
 more black and whiteish)
LIGHTNESS-  This is how much light is in the image (so if there is no lightness 
than the image will be very washed out)

When using this tool it changes all the colors in the image to different colors 
depending on the colors in the image. If you want the whole image red then 
you must click on the COLORIZE box.


You can also select certain areas in the image, using the selection tool or the 
lasso, and then change the color of only that area.

Here are some examples using this tool:

          

  


Burning & Dodging
These tools allow you to add or subtract light and shadow. Burning adds more 
shadow or darkens the image where as,  Dodging lightens the image. (If you've
 taken Photo here at the high school, you would use these same techniques in 
the dark room, as these terms come from photography)

This image is a good example of needing to burn areas. Here the text is white 
over Ted Williams white uniform, making it hard to read. So we need to burn
 the uniform area so we can see the text better.

This is what the burn and dodge tool look like on the tool bar:


When using the burn tool or the dodge tool make sure to look at the top menu 
to see the exposure precentage and the range of tones you'll be burning or 
dodging. Here you can changet the brush size too.


Make sure not to burn too much around the are of the text as it might start to 
look too dark. Here is a burned version of the same image. Remember burn on 
the layer underneath the text so we can see the text better. There is no need to 
darken the text as we want to keep this area white.