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Hello Everyone - Glad to know that you will be able to help me !


Cynthia124

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Hi, to start with but not go on for too long, I have been an artist all my life and have painted mostly with oils but in the last years have also rediscovered watercolors & pastels. However, the real reason I am writing to all you knowledgeable 'gurus' is that I have really simple questions about Photoshop. I subscribe to it - so pay monthly & it's updated - CC14. I first became really addicted
to it some 18 years ago, when I was 'stuck' with painting, I would also just fool around and doodle/greeting cards. Then came the scanner, and Photoshop to improve even more the colors especially and find also great freedom using the 'tools' that I also got, e.g.: Wacom tablet and Intuos pen. I am back to being 'stuck' after health issues, and so after a year not being able more or less to do
my art, got my Photoshop up and running and feel motivated to try again to fix up the designs I've done in the past 15+ years…and send, (again) to Greeting Card companies.
I was published some 19 yrs ago by Marcel Schurman - 5yr contract, 3 designs were printed. But Lyme Disease cut that journey down to the quick as well.

Now I am back and here is what I feel I need to know in order to go on and be productive this time around. The designs are whimsical, might be even thought of as Disney-esque. I usually have many many layers as I go along, fixing and changing whatever it is until the final ….'save' the design is 'ready'……however, when I enlarge the design, say of Bluebirds, one is an artist, so the background
might be fields of flowers, trees, and then the star of the card….the Bluebird. When I ENGLARGE it to perhaps - outline something, or just generally…checking it: the colors are lumpy and often
the black finest line #1, may be 'off' just a teeny bit. I do go over and make those corrections but today working on a Valentine's Day card, with hundreds of hearts that are flying off in the air,
the colors are again, not solid like concrete they are as if they were rained on ? but not splatter. this must not be unusual……? However, what I don't know is: when sending a design to a company
they will send to a prater……..does it spoil the printing if the colors are like this? should I go over each and every little squiggle ? One does NOT see anything wrong with the colors when it is
NOT enlarged - and I mean enlarged till one has a grid. That is the 1st question I'd love to have a reply to ASAP !!!!
Next: the layers……..so I save what I am creating as I go along…..often that can mean up to 20 'layers'…….do I then just delete all the layers up to #19 and then save the final ? and then JPEG it ?
I see options to - flatten the image for example. Why would one do that ? So that's the 2nd big/question !!!

And for right now, that's all. My apology for speaking in very basic terms, since I don't know any 'high tech' way to ask nor will I be able for sure to understand any, 'high tech reply' !!
I am a senior now 70+ yrs young.
I do have an art show coming up in April, of my watercolors and pastels. However, these 'designs' I find really FUN so hope to know what I should have years n'years ago.
NAMASTE - many thanks to whoever it is takes a bite of this one !
:)Cynthia124
 
Hi Cynthia124,

I'll go through this in the order you present it in, that should make it easier to understand. if anything here is confusing don't hesitate to ask....we don't bite. (Well, one does but he's on a lead.)

Enlarging:
I assume from this statement " ...and I mean enlarged till one has a grid... " that by 'enlarging' you actually mean 'zooming'.
Think of it as physically getting nearer the image....like holding a photo closer to your eyes.....the photo doesn't physically get any bigger but it looks bigger because its closer.

Its the same with Photoshop Zoom......the more you 'zoom in' the bigger (larger) the image, the image isn't changed in any way, it just looks bigger.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'lumpy' or 'rained on' but later you say " ...One does NOT see anything wrong with the colors when it is
NOT enlarged
... " this is absolutely fine.

If you view the image at 100% and it looks OK then I wouldn't worry about it.



Saving:
I'm not sure of the reasons for this next bit but I'll assume you mean saving for sending off to a printer. (Of the human type, not plastic.)

If you have your document saved as a PSD file then there is no need to 'flatten' or delete anything from it.....leave it as is....you may need to edit it later.

Use the File Save As... option to then just save it as a jpeg or png or whatever you need for the printer to work with. Your PSD file will not be changed in doing so, allowing you to re-open it as you left it and continue editing.

I hope that's easy enough to understand and answers your questions but if not, just ask.

Regards.
MrTom.
 
Hi Cynthia124
Mr Tom has given you good answers as he always does. I would like to add a bit of information that may be helpful to you. May I suggest that before you ship something off to a commercial print house, please check with them as to their requirements. They may ask for your work be created and sent to them in a specific color model such as CMYK. Your going to need to create your work at 300ppi for that type of printing. They may also want the work sent in a specific file format such as a PDF or Tiff instead of Jpeg. Jpeg is very common today as a format but it actually isn't the best for commercial printing as it is highly compressed and tends to lose data. I only mention that for information as some will want to debate the point.
Good luck with your projects going forward.
Best regards
Larry (another senior :))
 
Hi Cynthia - Your comment about the spatter / rained upon problem has me fascinated. It would help tremendously if you could crop one of your psd files down to a tiny area that exhibits this effect, and then post the cropped file here so that we could look at it and hopefully, offer an explanation / suggestions.

BTW, cropping has two benefits: it ensures that your artwork remains yours (LOL), and it greatly reduces the file size. Just crop it down to an area that is say 500 pixels on a side.

Cheers,

Tom M
 
Hello to you both Larry and Tom, for being so kind to have read through the 'weeds' of my message - I want you to know, that you have helped me 'big time' to understand what I wish I had known, many moons ago !
For you both it's obviously, a 'no brainer'......! Thank you so very much. Today I updated my Mac and then had some problems to tackle with ISP that just now got resolved, so came back to your messageS and
then had to figure out once again, 'a-how-to-' (reply). Another: no brainer ! Interesting that you both are from England. You take time to stop and smell the roses, obviously (!) as the American's do not ! Well, I am
grateful esp this link as I love England and lived 12 years in 5 countries in Europe. I am here but so often wish I was - there ! Except for the weather here in CA....since I am originally from NYC, the East Coast is
really getting hammered. More snow than Russia - I do watch BBC News here and France24. Otherwise it's hardly (real)News of the World, anyway. Plus the God awful ads...can't take it! Also wish to thank you
for your wishes, for my projects. I have run out of hours this afternoon because of the OS X upgrade so won't be getting much in the way of info re: Card Companies till Monday. I think the UK has wonderful
artists/companies...even tho I forget the names. All the best, CHEERS ! Cynthia124
 
Hello to you both Larry and Tom, for being so kind to have read through the 'weeds' of my message - I want you to know, that you have helped me 'big time' to understand what I wish I had known, many moons ago !
For you both it's obviously, a 'no brainer'......! Thank you so very much. Today I updated my Mac and then had some problems to tackle with ISP that just now got resolved, so came back to your messageS and
then had to figure out once again, 'a-how-to-' (reply). Another: no brainer ! Interesting that you both are from England. You take time to stop and smell the roses, obviously (!) as the American's do not ! Well, I am
grateful esp this link as I love England and lived 12 years in 5 countries in Europe. I am here but so often wish I was - there ! Except for the weather here in CA....since I am originally from NYC, the East Coast is
really getting hammered. More snow than Russia - I do watch BBC News here and France24. Otherwise it's hardly (real)News of the World, anyway. Plus the God awful ads...can't take it! Also wish to thank you
for your wishes, for my projects. I have run out of hours this afternoon because of the OS X upgrade so won't be getting much in the way of info re: Card Companies till Monday. I think the UK has wonderful
artists/companies...even tho I forget the names. All the best, CHEERS ! Cynthia124

Thank you for your reply however, I'm am ole southerner from Alabama and the only one of the Tom's is from England (Mr Tom). Anyway, good that we were able to assist. Good luck with your project.
 
Hi Cynthia - Larry is correct, there are two "Toms" in this thread. The *other* Tom ( "MrTom" - with the tall "T" in his avatar ) is from GB, but I'm "Tom Mann", the guy with the flashing strobe light avatar, and most definitely a Yank living in the Washington, DC 'burbs.

As I said in post #4 in this thread, I would really like to get to the bottom of your question about the "spattered" look that you reported, so, if you would, please re-read post #4 and send us a small, tightly cropped PSD file that exhibits the problem that you reported.

Best regards,

Tom M.
 

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