Digi Tip: Dodge and Burn

Sounds like a great subtitle to the already-subtitled movie Talledega Nights, huh? (and is anyone cracking up at the previews as much as I am? So funny!) Anyway, as much as I'd like to just post funny lines from the movie trailer, I figure y'all are here for something a bit more substantial and more Photoshop-related. Okay then...

One of the fantastic things about creating digital pages, in my opinion, is the amount of endless flexibility that just one kit can offer. Papers can be recolored, grunged up, lightened or darkened, with just the standard tools available in PSE or PSCS. Today we're going to talk about the dodge and burn tools, as these are quick and easy ways to customize your patterned paper. And I'm all about quick and easy these days!

The dodge tool is located on the left side of your toolbar, second from the bottom. It looks like a black lollipop leaning to the left (you know, there's probably a more "official" term for what that tool actually is, but I don't know it -- and to be honest, not knowing doesn't keep me from being able to use that tool). The dodge tool lightens the color of your paper or elements. To use it, simply click on the tool, select your brush size from the toolbar at the top, and brush it across your paper. I suggest using a large brush if you are planning on lightening large portions of your paper.

The burn tool is located to the right of the dodge tool and looks like a hand picking something up (what my kids' pediatrician referred to as a pincer grasp when the girls were babies). This tool works in the same manner as the dodge tool but it darkens your paper.

The sheet of paper above shows you what these two tools look like in action. The top half of the paper is the original pattern and color. The lighter portion shows what the paper looks like after the dodge tool has been used. The very bottom portion shows the burn tool effect. (Paper from Jan Crowley's Havana kit, a FREE designer sample at www.thedigichick.com).