Design Challenge #2 - April 2012 - COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CHIT-CHAT

[3LilMonsters]

Are we supposed to post our previews in the Kit thread or just send them to someone, for a final kit reveal like last month? I love seeing what everyone else is making!

Oh and another question... Are these kits forever property of MouseScrappers? I mean, at some point could I expand on the kit I am making and put it in my store, or is that not allowed? Not a problem if not, I just want to know ahead of time, and not make a big uh-oh.

[frogfish]

Originally Posted by Cindyrelly

So much fun to be involved in this challenge again and see how it evolves. I have One quick question about the no pre-shadow rule though... what about if you have a "clustered" element? Sometimes I thought it was necessary to pre-shadow the top layers?

I'm almost positive that preshadowing refers to shadows that are on the transparent background (hang off of the element in question). That being said, if you stack elements and then flatten for the final submission, you would want to shadow where the two layers overlap (but don't include any shadow that doesn't fall on top of another element).

Does that make sense???

Designers out there, please let me know if I'm wrong in this or if there is a better way to explain it.

Thanks!

[frogfish]

Originally Posted by MJAJmom

Quick question about your "Mouseketeer" category.... Will all the participants be rolled up into one giant kit like DC1 was? Or will they be each packaged individually and sold as a mini-kit by itself? Or maybe all the Rapunzel ones grouped together?

We are still trying to iron out some of the details, so I'm not quite sure about how the minis will be packaged...my thought is that they will be sold individually or maybe as a "build your own kit" type thing where you would be able to pick a specific number of minis for a certain price. I'll post when I have a definite answer.

[3LilMonsters]

Originally Posted by frogfish

I'm almost positive that preshadowing refers to shadows that are on the transparent background (hang off of the element in question). That being said, if you stack elements and then flatten for the final submission, you would want to shadow where the two layers overlap (but don't include any shadow that doesn't fall on top of another element).

Does that make sense???

Designers out there, please let me know if I'm wrong in this or if there is a better way to explain it.

Thanks!

Hi, I don't mind trying to explain this.

Note: these tips are for PSE, but it should work in most programs.

The easiest way to get rid of outside shadows is to duplicate all of your layers, and remove styles from all of the duplicated layers, and then merge those layers into one layer. Then press CTRL+Shift+[ to send that layer to the bottom. Merge the other set of layers into one layer, and press CTRL+G to use the unshadowed layer as a clipping mask. this removes all of the drop shadows from the outside of the element, but leaves them on the inside for reality.

hmmm. did that make any sense at all??

I tried to find an online tutorial, or video, and couldn't find anything, but I will keep searching.

You can also buy an action from Wendyzine that does all of that for you here.

[poohaddict]

How do you check Gamut in PSE9???? New to designing

[3LilMonsters]

Originally Posted by poohaddict

How do you check Gamut in PSE9???? New to designing

There is no way to check gamut in PSE. I have searched everywhere for a program to check gamut, and I haven't come across any except PSCS which I can't afford ATM. You might be able to find a friend who has CS and ask them to check it. It only takes a second to check, and most people don't mind helping out. Hope that helps.

[poohaddict]

Originally Posted by 3LilMonsters

Oh and another question... Are these kits forever property of MouseScrappers? I mean, at some point could I expand on the kit I am making and put it in my store, or is that not allowed? Not a problem if not, I just want to know ahead of time, and not make a big uh-oh.

I am wondering the same thing??? Are all the kits in the Mouseketter group going to the store or select ones?

[frogfish]

Originally Posted by poohaddict

How do you check Gamut in PSE9???? New to designing

Originally Posted by 3LilMonsters

There is no way to check gamut in PSE. I have searched everywhere for a program to check gamut, and I haven't come across any except PSCS which I can't afford ATM. You might be able to find a friend who has CS and ask them to check it. It only takes a second to check, and most people don't mind helping out. Hope that helps.

The whole gamut issue refers to the difference between monitor output (what you see on your computer screen) and what a printer can reproduce using the cartridges that are put into it. When you create an image in PhotoShop or other program, you are likely using RGB color which is like coloring with a box of 256 different crayons. When you send your image to the printer, the printer must recreate it using a much smaller box of crayons (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black---CMYK color). Obviously with so few colors to work with, some of the colors in the original image will be impossible to match.

I've done some research into a solution to this since everyone obviously doesn't have the full version of PhotoShop at their disposal. I found a website that doesn't check your images to see if they are in gamut, but simply puts them in gamut if necessary. Referencing the above explanation, it converts them from RGB to CMYK. I only tried the online tool once as I was looking for the best one available, but I didn't have any problems with it. After converting your image to CMYK using the tool, it is up to you to look at it compared to the original and make sure it looks right to you before proceeding. I like the results that PhotoShop gives better than those from the free online conversion tool, but for those who don't have access to PhotoShop, it is a free alternative that still gets the job done.

http://www.rgb2cmyk.org/

If you use this online tool, please let me know how it works for you so I can decide whether to post it in the tutorials/tips thread. Thanks!

[poohaddict]

Originally Posted by frogfish

The whole gamut issue refers to the difference between monitor output (what you see on your computer screen) and what a printer can reproduce using the cartridges that are put into it. When you create an image in PhotoShop or other program, you are likely using RGB color which is like coloring with a box of 256 different crayons. When you send your image to the printer, the printer must recreate it using a much smaller box of crayons (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black---CMYK color). Obviously with so few colors to work with, some of the colors in the original image will be impossible to match.

I've done some research into a solution to this since everyone obviously doesn't have the full version of PhotoShop at their disposal. I found a website that doesn't check your images to see if they are in gamut, but simply puts them in gamut if necessary. Referencing the above explanation, it converts them from RGB to CMYK. I only tried the online tool once as I was looking for the best one available, but I didn't have any problems with it. After converting your image to CMYK using the tool, it is up to you to look at it compared to the original and make sure it looks right to you before proceeding. I like the results that PhotoShop gives better than those from the free online conversion tool, but for those who don't have access to PhotoShop, it is a free alternative that still gets the job done.

http://www.rgb2cmyk.org/

If you use this online tool, please let me know how it works for you so I can decide whether to post it in the tutorials/tips thread. Thanks!

So i tried the tool link u sent and a few of my elements colors were changed. Is the element the online tool gave me the one that is gamut??? I am still a tad confused...lol

[frogfish]

Originally Posted by 3LilMonsters

Are these kits forever property of MouseScrappers? I mean, at some point could I expand on the kit I am making and put it in my store, or is that not allowed? Not a problem if not, I just want to know ahead of time, and not make a big uh-oh.

The kits that you create remain your property, MouseScrappers does not own them. By submitting them for this challenge, you are allowing MouseScrappers to sell them and keep the profits from such sales. If you want to sell it elsewhere you are free to do so at any time. If you do choose to offer your kit for sale on another site, you may want to put a disclaimer in place stating that the kits (in whole or in part) are part of the design challenge here on MS so customers don't buy both thinking they are different kits.