Could Use Help with Creating a Digital Collage

[DianeF]

I am trying to create a digital collage using some of my original photographs. I have had some partial success but have gotten stuck, I think because I don't completely understand how to use masks and work with irregular shapes. I've watched some tutorial videos but they don't answer all my questions.

 

I used Designer to create an outline of the shapes I wanted to use in my collage. I then brought that into Photo. Most of the shapes are rectangles but there are some irregular areas which is where I'm having trouble. I brought in various images using the Place command and clipped them to the rectangles. That worked fine. But at the bottom of the collage there is a dark area that extends into the bottom of the piece. I used a mask to paint away the part of the rectangle that was covering up the dark irregular area inside the design lines I'd created with the pen tool in Designer, but I painted out too much. I then tried switching the paint brush color from black to white but I wasn't able to paint back in the rest of the rectangular image where I had painted out too much. I'm not sure I was on the right layer though I tried working on several different layers, including the mask layer, with the same lack of result. I just wasn't clear what I should be doing to paint back in the rest of the rectangle that now shows as white.

 

Also, on the top of the piece, I want to cut out some areas of the rectangles and create some irregular areas similar to the one at the bottom and fill those with a different image from the image that is filling the rectangle. I don't know how to do that either. I don't know if I have to create a selection in the rectangle  and then somehow fill that selection with another image. I don't even know where to start on this part of the collage.

 

I've attached a jpg of my image as well as a Photo file. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate the help.

 

Digital_Collage_Granite_.afphoto

[toltec]

Not sure why you used Designer and Photo, you can do it all in Photo, In fact, you can do it all in Designer.

 

The first issue is masking.

 

I looked at this image

and it is not masked, but erased. So you will never be able to paint it back in. Once it's gone, it's gone.

 

Here I made a mask (representing an oil stain )

 

 

Which makes a mask layer

 

I can paint on the mask layer with black or white paint to erase or un-erase the stone.

 

That is the basis of almost everything to do with masking like this, place an image on top, make a mask and paint out the bit you don't want to let the image below show through.

You might need to nest the mask layer inside the image layer so it only affects that.

 

To show you an example or two, this is just four image rectangles. The top two squares, the dark stone at the very back and the bottom stone on top of the dark stone.

I would simply add a mask layer to the bottom stone layer and paint out the shape.

 

if you convert the bottom stone rectangle to a curve by going Layer > Convert to Curves (it is currently a shape), you could use the node tool to draw your squiggly shape in the rectangle. Below it is all done (very badly, but it demonstrates the technique) with just the one converted rectangle. Do it properly to let the black stone show through. (I hid the black stone layer so you could see the path).

 

You can adjust the nodes at any time to change the shape

 

It all keeps it very simple. There are just four rectangles to do the whole job.

 

You could do something similar with that sort of node shaping with the black stone layer (make something like a belt with a dangling bit) and simply place that on top of the base stone. No need to mask anything.

 

Your choice.

 

 

 

 

 

Another issue is your rectangles. They all have a black outline, which you don't want ? and there are also several spurious lines here and there. Keep it simple !

 

Hope that all helps a bit.

 

 

[DianeF]

Thanks, Toltec. I tried to replicate what you described in your response to me with success in some areas but not in others.

 

I created 4 rectangles just to try to keep things simple. I placed photographs underneath the rectangles and then clipped the photos to the rectangles above them. That allowed me to fill in the rectangles with images. So far, so good.

 

I converted one of the rectangles to curves and used the Node tool to draw shapes into my rectangle as you suggested in your post. I could do that but not the way I wanted to. Part of the problem is that I wanted to fill in part of the cutout area with one photograph and part with a different photograph and couldn't figure out how to do so. I layered the two photographs and wonder if If I need to use a mask to cut out parts of one of them so that the second photograph will show through. But I couldn't figure out how to do that. I am still very confused by masking, despite watching several videos on the subject, and don't really understand whether masks go on top of layers (as you showed) or below layers, as I've seen in some videos.

 

Tomorrow, I will draw a sketch of what I want to do and scan it and post it. Maybe if you had that information and are willing to help further, you might be able to advise me further on the steps I need to take to accomplish what I want.

 

The black outlines around my rectangles were only so that I could see them while I was working. My intention was to remove all those strokes when I was finished with the piece.

[toltec]

Masks  go on top of the layer(s) they are masking.

Like this, they mask every layer below them. If you have twenty layers below this one, if will tunnel all the way through and show the page background. Transparent in this case.

 

When you say "below" you might be thinking of a nested mask? Not "below", but "inside".

Nesting a mask means that it will only affect the layer in which it is nested. You can see that the mask is now inside the image layer (there is an Expand/Collapse arrow and the mask thumbnail is "indented" to the right.

 

Layers below the "Background" layer are not affected. You would see the layer immediately below in the example above.

 

 

[DianeF]

Thanks, Toltec, for the explanation about masks. It seems simple conceptually, but when I tried to play around with the two kinds of masks you illustrated, all I got were black or white marks depending on the color brush I used. I tried using the brush on both the main layer and the mask layer but couldn't get proper results. I am going to watch some more videos about masking and see if I can eventually grasp this concept.

 

Meanwhile, I tried a different approach with my collage. I went to Designer and created a rectangle. Then I used the Pen tool to create a series of shapes at the top of the rectangle. I filled each of these shapes with a photograph using clipping. Then I filled the rectangle with another photo and made it the bottom layer of the design. I experimented with opacity and blending modes in the bottom layer. I got pretty good results although the shaped parts at the top are not well integrated with each other. I don't know if there's a way to get them to look more blended rather than just stuck next to each other. Also,  I couldn't get the tops completely even with the top of the rectangle. I don't know if I have to adjust the nodes in the Curve layers at the top in order to make them even. I used the Alignment tool to align them at the top but they are still not perfect. I found this approach to be easier than using the Node tool in Photo. When I first created my shapes, I made a small stroke on each so I could see them as I was working, but then I eliminated the strokes at the end. 

 

What do you think about this process? Is there a way to improve it?

 

Concrete_Collage_2.afdesign

[DianeF]

I just played some more with this collage and modified the shapes using the node tool which helped the pieces line up better at the top. I also added some drop shadows which I think allowed the separate pieces of the collage to feel more unified. I'd welcome any other suggestions for improving this.

[toltec]

2 hours ago, DianeF said:

I just played some more with this collage and modified the shapes using the node tool which helped the pieces line up better at the top. I also added some drop shadows which I think allowed the separate pieces of the collage to feel more unified. I'd welcome any other suggestions for improving this.

 

 

For the edges, to save a lot of time and effort, once you have got the individual shapes near enough. put everything inside another rectangle. That way you can get a nice square, even box without the need to try and get each image aligned. That's if you want a nice square box?

 

Here I just made a box, selected all the other layers, and dragged them to the nesting position. Perfect edges!

 

It also gives you other options when it comes to blending.

 

Nest position

 

 

You can still expand the layer and edit the individual images at any time.

 

As for blending, you really need to use a different approach.

 

If you wanted a more "blended" overlay. Draw the shape you want and use that to make a Mask.The shape must have a fill colour, any colour. Over the stone, right click on the shape and choose, Mask to Below.

 

Select the Mask layer. You must click on the Mask layer thumbnail in the Layers panel to select just that! Click on the Layer Effects button fx choose Gaussian blur and give it a few pixels of blur (radius)

 

See the sharp edges before blur

 

6 pixels of Gaussian blur applied. 

That would help the sharp edges of the top stones, which look much too sharp at the moment.

 

You have to Mask the shape to use Gaussian blur. If you try on a Clipped  shape, it blurs the whole image, not the edges. You can use your existing shapes, Unclip the images, put the shapes over them, fill the shapes with a colour, right click and "Mask to Below". It will look exactly the same as it does now but you can now blur the edges.

 

That is where an overall "clipping" rectangle is useful. If you didn't trim the edges all around, the various blurred edges would look a bit untidy.

[DianeF]

Thanks for the additional help. I tried everything you suggested, and here's a screenshot of the result. I found that blurring the images at 6.0 px was too much for me, but I played with the settings for each section to get something I liked. Can you also add a drop shadow in addition to the Gaussian blur, or are these effects at cross purposes?

 

One thing I noticed is that when you mask below instead of clip, you can no longer move the underlying photo. This suggests that you should get your photo placed exactly where you want it in the image before doing the masking. Is this correct?

 

I think this is a good approach for making digital collages, so thanks very much for all the help!

 

 

[toltec]

Sure, add drop shadow too if it gets the result you want.

 

You can move, rotate or resize the photo inside the frame at any time. With the Move tool selected, click on Lock Children on the Context toolbar and move the image at will.

 

Looking good, by the way. You are definitely getting there 

 

 

[DianeF]

Yes, I'm getting there, with your valuable help. I've just created an Affinity Notes sheet where I'm copying these kinds of helpful comments so that I won't forget them in the future.

 

Next on my agenda is understanding masks! Clearly they take many forms and are used in different ways. There's a lot to learn here, but I love these programs. They're much easier to use and less bloated than their Adobe counterparts.