Lesson A: Placing the Art

As is so often the case in Photoshop, the first 90% of an effect is not too difficult. The last bit, the polish, is often the more difficult and satisfying aspect.

The files we need are all with the downloaded course files in a folder called “Project B- Chalk.” Make that available. You’ll see there’s a finished version to reference if you’d like.

• Open the file “chalkboard BEFORE.psd.” Unsurprisingly, it’s a photo of a standard chalkboard. So, let’s add more stuff!

Place and Finesse the Smart Object

• Choose File > Place Linked…, navigate to the “Project B- Chalk” folder, and open the file called “astro-illustration.ai.” Click OK in the Open As Smart Object dialog box.
• Use the transform box to size and position the illustration on the board. It’s OK to be approximate, as it’s hard to see with so much of the illustration opaque. Commit the transform when you think you like its size and position.

Eventually, we’ll need a duplicate of this Smart Object. To keep things contained nicely, we should try to apply any needed effects as Smart Filters or layer styles.

• Choose Image > Adjustments > Invert. Note that it shows up as a Smart Filter listed under the Smart Object in the Layers panel. Now all that annoying opaque white is an equally annoying opaque black.
• Set the layer’s blend mode to Screen, which makes black vanish. Yeah, this book has a lot to say about blend modes.

We seem to be almost done. Not so fast! Chalk is flaky and wouldn’t be quite so sharp as what we have so far. If you zoom in to 200% or more (View > 200%), you’ll see how it lacks those qualities. For the flaky part, we’ll add a little noise.

• Choose Filter > Noise > Add Noise…. In the Add Noise dialog, check Monochromatic to prevent the noise from being colorful. For a slightly more natural Distribution, choose Gaussian. The amount is hard to decide because more of the image is getting noisy than we’d like. We’ll take care of that soon. For now, set the Amount to about 30%, then click OK.

Notice that we have both white noise on dark, which we don’t want, and black noise on the white “chalk lines,” which we do. Now what made white disappear earlier? A blend mode (Screen). We need that one’s opposite, Multiply, applied to this noise filter. You may recall we applied a blend mode to a Smart Filter in the last chapter too.

• Double-click the filter blending options icon to the right of Add Noise in the Layers panel. Set the Mode to Multiply to leave only the black noise, which is vanished by the layer’s blend mode of Screen! So we end up causing little bits of chalk to flake off the board.
• To soften the edges just a tiny bit, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur… and set it to just about .3 pixel—a subliminal value. No need for a blend mode here.

Now that would be a wonderful and educational project. It started as a question from a former student. I liked the question so much I added it to my classroom curriculum and this book. At this stage, he had a follow-up question. How could he add a bit of partial erasure?

That was both intriguing and a touch difficult to do in a way that would allow us to swap out the artwork at will, as he needed to do. So, I’ve prepared a couple explanatory exercises to get us there.