Creative Effects Challenge No. 170 - Three Photo Triptych
Mar 5, 2022 18:06:55 GMT
hmca, tonyw, and 2 more like this
Post by Tpgettys on Mar 5, 2022 18:06:55 GMT
The tutorials I have seen for making triptychs use a single image and divide into three panels in one way or another. A question about making a triptych with 3 different images came up few months ago. This video tutorial shows one way to do that using Photoshop, but I wanted to try a different approach and one that is Elements-specific, so here goes!
Part I: Create a template triptych file
I first made a sketch of my layout.
It has 3 panels that are 4x6 inches each, with a 1 inch border all around and between each panel, so the canvas will be 16x8 inches.
- Create a New File (Ctrl+N), name it Triptych Template, set the Width to 16 inches, the Height to 8 inches, the Resolution to 300 ppi and the Background Contents to Transparent.
- Create a new layer (Shift+Ctrl+N) and name it Panel 1.
- Since the resolution is 300 ppi, a 4x6 inch panel will be 1200x1800 pixels. Select the Rectangular Marquee tool, set the Aspect to Fixed Size and set the width and height to 1200x1800 pixels.
- Create the first panel by clicking in the new layer.
- Select the Paint Bucket tool and click inside the rectangular panel to fill it with black.
- Duplicate this layer twice (Ctrl+J), then use the Move tool to slide each panel into place.
- Rename the new layers Panel 2 and Panel 3.
- Save this PSD file (Ctrl+S) so you can reuse it to easily make other triptychs.
Here is what my screen looks like at this point (click for full-size view):
Tip: You can use Align and Distribute in the Move tool to help position the panels, but I found it easiest to use Guides (see the screen shot above).
Part II: Add your images
I now incorporate my three images, clipping each to one of the panels.
- Now is the best time to Save As... using a different name so you don't overwrite your template!
- Open one of your images (Ctrl+O).
- Click the Photo Bin button (screen bottom left), select your template file, then drag your image up into the template.
- Position the image layer above the panel layer it is to appear in and clip it to the panel layer (Layer | Create Clipping Mask)
- Select the Move tool and drag the image into position. Resize the image as needed so the subject appears in the panel correctly.
- Repeat steps 2-5 for the other two images.
This is what my screen now looks like (click for full-size view):
Part III: Finishing touches
The unused layer at the bottom is intended for a background image.
I added a drop shadow and bevel to each panel (NOTE: these styles are added to the panel layers, not to the image layers!)
Here is my finished triptych (click for full-size view):
If you have any questions (and I do expect that there will be some!) do not hesitate to ask.
I look forward to seeing your results!
