Second in my "Basics" Series. When you begin to scrapbook digitally, some of the technical terminology may be familiar if you have paper scrapped, but some may be completely new. This guide will give you an overview of the most common and basic terms you need to know to feel comfortable in the digital community.

LAYOUT
Perhaps the most used term, this describes the arrangement of photos, journaling, and embellishments that make up your completed page.

JOURNALING
This is the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of your photos and, I think, the most important element of your layouts after your photos. I think beautiful layouts with tasteful embellishments are great and artistic, but if the ultimate goal is memory preservation, the details can get lost in over-decoration.

TITLE
As it sounds, this is the bold headline proclaiming what your page is about. I personally find titling a bit overdone in the digital world. Your photo layouts and journaling should give some clues to the subject, I would hope. Many people seem to be creating single pages as striking works of art, which are beautiful in and of themselves, but may not ultimately work together if your goal is a continuous cohesive album.

DESIGNER
Today's digital kits are created by talented designers. They have mastered the art of pushing pixels to create a wondrous variety of Page Kit collections, papers, alphas, embellishments galore, as well as tools like styles, actions, and brushes (all defined below). The cool thing about becoming familiar with the different designers is that you can get a sense for their different styles and which ones complement your own. The great website resource that is ScrapGirls has a daily newsletter which frequently features interviews with their designers, new product releases, tutorials, tips and techniques, as well as freebies! Other websites like Digital Freebies and RetroDiva also have newsletters and freebies to get you started.

FILE TYPES
There are a few important file types to be aware of when scrapping digitally.

• First and foremost is .jpeg or .jpg, pronounced as "jay-peg". This is by far the most common file type that your photos will be in when you open them in your editing program. Any image editing program can open this file type and it is acceptable for posting at online galleries and websites. Almost all of your digital papers and backgrounds will be of this file type, as well. Pixels not present will be rendered in white, there is no transparency.
• Next is .png, pronounced as "ping". This is a special type of file in that if there are no pixels present, that area will remain transparent. This is the format almost all high quality embellishments and alphas will be in, to allow them to be layered within your layouts.

 flower saved as .jpg       flower saved as .png

• A file type specific to the Adobe products is .psd. This file type preserves the layers you've created allowing them to continue to be edited from their saved state. This is not yet a universal file type and some editing programs cannot open it.
  (flower with .jpg and .png)
• Finally, the file type .zip is a very important one to know. When you purchase or download any of these digital products they are typically quite large multiple files (each paper, embellishment, etc. is a separate file.) The .zip format allows you to "package" these multiple little files into one .zip file. It also reduces the size a bit to save space. When you receive the files, however, they need to be "unzipped", so you'll need to have WinZip, Stuffit or a similar program available to unpack the files you receive.

PAGE KITS/EMBELLISHMENTS/ALPHA SETS
The "kits" that are sold by today's digital designers are made up of many elements typically including: 7 or more papers, at least one alpha set, and a plethora of embellishments. Embellishments can range from digital decorative doo-dads like swirls and doodles, to digital staples, stitching, eyelets and brads, and even photo-realistic elements that have been scanned which can include flowers, tags, strings, cords, keys and more. Some are created completely digitally to be semi-realistic while some are created to be more artsy and even cartoonish, depending on the designer's style and the mood of the particular collection. An alpha set is a stylized decorative set of letters, numbers and/or symbols where each letter is its own separate .png file and can be placed into your layouts. These are great for titling, headlines and decorative accents. Embellishments are typically .png with transparent backgrounds suitable for layering, while papers are typically .jpg. Check my store for some cool page kits. Below is a sample of a complete mini page kit with embellishments and an alpha set.

PIXELS/DPI/PPI
These are a measurement of digital increments, usually expressed as a number per inch represented by dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch). Although technically not exactly the same, for the purposes of digital scrapping, they are interchangeable. A high quality kit or element will be created at 300 dpi to allow for flexibility in resizing as well as fantastic printed results. To view a photo or layout on the web only 72 dpi is necessary for a crisp display.

LAYER(S)
When paper scrapping, your pages include many layers: the page itself or background, the decorative papers, the photos, the stickers or other embellishments, and your journaling. Digitally speaking, each layout you create also has independent layers within it, much the same as your paper page. The layer on the "bottom" of the stack is your background, then your papers, photos, embellishments, etc. Like your paper layout, each layer is then independently editable without affecting the other layers. Unlike paper scrapping, switching out a background or lower level layer is much easier to do with a few mouse clicks rather than having to tear apart a complete or nearly complete page.

TEMPLATES
Typically a layered .psd file or .png file set that defines a layout of shapes and forms for the page. Layers can then be linked to your photos and elements for a myriad of design options with a polished outcome. I sell custom design templates in my store.

template       completed page

OPACITY
This setting makes a layer more or less transparent on a scale of 0-100%, with 100 being solid. Each layer can have its own opacity setting.

BLENDING MODE
This is another layer setting that dictates how a layer behaves in reaction to the layers below it. Each layer can be set at its own mode. PhotoShop Elements has 22 different blend modes, plus the normal setting.

LAYER STYLE (or just STYLES)
These are visual effects that can be applied to your layers. In PhotoShop Elements, standard styles include things like chrome and glass, drop shadows and bevels. In version 5.0, you can adjust these styles even more for very realistic treatments. Additional styles can be purchased from many outlets, including those named above and can be things like: Grunged Metals, Brushed Metals, and Glitter.

FILTERS
These are another sort of action available to give more artistic effects to your photos and other layers. These can include blurring, painterly brushstrokes or even rendering photos as charcoal sketches.

ACTIONS/EFFECTS
Creating complex styles and effects for your layers can be daunting as so many things can be applied to each layer. Actions or effects are simply a "recorded" series of steps that when applied to your layer(s) creates a complex result quickly. Many are included in your editing programs, others can be purchased as add-ons from places like those above or Atomic Cupcake. Some cool actions include: crumpling, frayed fabric, and foam stamping.

OVERLAY
This is a patterned layer that is simply a pattern or textural black/white and transparent .png design that can be "laid over" another layer to make it appear patterned or textured. A "tangible" example is that of a transparency laid over a piece of paper, whatever is on the transparency becomes part of the paper underneath. Digitally, the overlay can get the opacity, blend mode, or style treatments explained above, or multiple overlays can be layered together for an infinite variety of effects. Below is the overlay, the paper, then the combined effect.

TEXTURES
Usually appear as a grayscale image with some contrast that when "laid over" another layer creates the illusion of the specific texture. Your own photos saved as .psd files can also be loaded into the PhotoShop Elements texturizer filter to produce custom textures. Below see the texture, the paper, then the final effect.

CROP
As in paper scrapping, this simply means trimming away unnecessary or excess from your photos or papers, to focus on the subject. The key difference with digital is that the cropped image can then be resized and you can undo what you have trimmed, which is definitely not so with a misplaced paper trimmer!

PHOTO COLOR EDITING (hue and saturation)
Hue refers to the color tone in your photo. Adjusting this slider can give a new color cast to your image. The saturation is the amount or intensity of the color in your photo, by adjusting this slider more or less of the colors will be present. By desaturating a photo, you are effectively removing the color and turning the photo to black and white. In some programs this is a one-click button (change to black and white) or in some it may be called "remove color" or even "desaturate image". All will have the same effect.

EDITING TOOLS/TOOLBOX (most common and useful tools)
The tools included in various editing programs are as different as each program, but some basic ones are similar or common to each.

Some version of an eyedropper or color picking tool will allow you to choose colors with which to fill or paint. A paint bucket or fill tool will fill large spaces quickly with your desired color. The brush tool will allow you to paint or draw your specific color to your project with a variety of shaped tips. The brush tool may also allow more customization with opacity, scatter, and directional controls. The eraser tool will wipe away any unwanted or stray pixels. Some erasers are able to work with the same tips available for the brushes. Opacity is also often adjustable, for subtle changes.

Selection tools are also important and come in many forms: there is usually a pointer tool to select and move objects easily, a lasso tool is for more free form selection, a magic wand tool allows for selection by color, and selection marquees or boxes usually come in round and square versions.

Tools also exist for adding text to your creations. Text can also be customized by color and other treatments. Shapes and lines are also found in the drawing tools and can be as simple as circles and squares or complex trees and symbols. Whatever program you choose, becoming familiar with these basic tools will help you master your creations. 

ONLINE GALLERIES/FORUMS/CHAT ROOMS
Online communities abound with relation to digital scrapbooking. Websites let their visitors or members post in the galleries and often run contests or challenges to sharpen your skills. Online forums allow users to post questions or dilemmas to the larger community for input or advice, and Chat Rooms allow the sites to host online classes in "real" time via chat.

Keep on Scrappin'!
Christy from KayCee Studios

P.S. Stay tuned for my future issues which will go into more depth on how to use specific tools and how to perform simple actions to create dazzling photos and layouts!

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