Working with Overlays in PSCS3

by Christine Gundersen

We have so many fabulous overlays here at DSP! Click here to see all of the wonderful choices that are available.

So now that you have found lots of new favorites, you might be wondering what you are supposed to do with them. The obvious answer is to plunk them on top of a paper or a LO, but did you know that there are more options?

For this tutorial, we will be using an overlay from my Laugh Out Loud Overlay Stack

and a paper from On Safari.

The first version is the overlay on top of the paper, nothing fancy.

Next there are many different blending modes, you can apply to the overlay. You can also adjust the opacity, giving you an unlimited number of combinations. In this version, I used the overlay blending mode with a 50% opacity.

You can also put the paper above the overlay and use a clipping mask to clip the paper in the shape of the overlay.

Masks can also be used on an overlay to either cut part off or change the opacity on just select areas. In the following version, I totally masked off the right side of the overlay by using black on the mask, while using gray in the top right corner to change the opacity of just that area.

There is an easy way to recolor overlays, as well. At the top of your layers palette is the word, “Lock.” Click on the gray and white checked small box, next to Lock, to lock the transparency. Now you are able to paint over the overlay with a brush and the color of your choice.

As you can see, overlays are very versatile and will add so much to your pages.