My paper girls
My paper girls are my test guinea pigs for refreshing (and mostly learning a new) Photoshop editing skills.
I started this journey by going to Photoshop tutorials (adobe.com) to shop around for tips and tricks to bring my paper girls to digital life! I learnt about layering, adjusting the image quality, cropping, design and tools to sharpen (or blur) the details.
~ screenshot from one of many Photoshop online tutorials ~
“My favourite editing tools are the magic wand, the eraser and the history panel!”
I also like to use noise distortion and a few other tricks to smooth the picture out. I like to make a crisp white background for all my images (with some exceptions should the art warrant it) to make it feel more cohesive and clean. I use layers and editing fill for this.
example screenshot of my editing process
The other things I got to learn about were how to use templates/presets, the work area, the tools panel, zooming and panning, and formatting for the web. Interestingly Photoshop recommend ‘900 pixels’ wide while Squarespace suggests ‘2500 pixels’. I’ve been going in between each for now and still have bit more digging to do on this.
In addition to these quality and formatting issues, I would really like to learn some animation techniques to make the girls move. I think this would add some more interest and I could also use it on my social media platforms. Better image labeling and tagging is also critical for search functionality and making connections.
I could even make some short videos of the process. I know I always enjoy watching how people make their art. It’s a real insight and I’m grateful to find it online. It used to be you could only get this through a studio visit, buying a book (if someone made it) or meeting with the artist.
I think this digital skills development quest has at the very least given me the confidence and starting points to seek this new information out and dream it to be possible.
