retrokat
Transparency
Melvis, you're right about transparency - another one of the really fab things about working in layers.
I didn't think I'd use it much on Golden Tarot since I was trying to avoid modern-looking effects. But then, even on that project I found invaluable uses for it - for example, in making the skin on the faces and hands of characters more even.
Since I was working with source material such as frescoes, often sections of the original image were in poor condition - crumbled, cracked. By pasting over a semi-transparent layer copied from a small area that had good skin, I could do a repair but still have the original cracks etc showing subtly. This made it look a lot more genuine than if I'd been stuck with pasting a solid patch.
You can also use a very transparent layer of crackling over a whole finished collage to 'bring the picture together' and make it look like an old fresco/oil painting. Subtly, of course
If it makes you feel any better about starting from scratch - I was very overtired one night while working on GT and managed to overwrite my layered version of http://www.goldentarot.com/malast.htm with a flattened version without realising. When I went to back it up the next day, I realised the file size was way too small. No layers! My stomach sank. After desperately trying to restore it somehow, I realised I HAD to do it again from scratch. At least it was a bit quicker the second time as I knew what I was aiming for. *sigh* Like you, I didn't make that mistake again. I backed up every layered file to CD as I finished, before making a flattened version for print.
Melvis, you're right about transparency - another one of the really fab things about working in layers.
I didn't think I'd use it much on Golden Tarot since I was trying to avoid modern-looking effects. But then, even on that project I found invaluable uses for it - for example, in making the skin on the faces and hands of characters more even.
Since I was working with source material such as frescoes, often sections of the original image were in poor condition - crumbled, cracked. By pasting over a semi-transparent layer copied from a small area that had good skin, I could do a repair but still have the original cracks etc showing subtly. This made it look a lot more genuine than if I'd been stuck with pasting a solid patch.
You can also use a very transparent layer of crackling over a whole finished collage to 'bring the picture together' and make it look like an old fresco/oil painting. Subtly, of course
If it makes you feel any better about starting from scratch - I was very overtired one night while working on GT and managed to overwrite my layered version of http://www.goldentarot.com/malast.htm with a flattened version without realising. When I went to back it up the next day, I realised the file size was way too small. No layers! My stomach sank. After desperately trying to restore it somehow, I realised I HAD to do it again from scratch. At least it was a bit quicker the second time as I knew what I was aiming for. *sigh* Like you, I didn't make that mistake again. I backed up every layered file to CD as I finished, before making a flattened version for print.