Creative Edges

8/6/2019 Creative Edges

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The edges of an image are critical

visual elements that define the

image and ground the

composition. In a p ainting, the edge

of the composition is defined by

the right angles and p arallel lines

of the frame, often a decorative and

sculptural p iece of gold -leafed

craftsman ship. In other painterly

med ia, such as etching and

pr intmaking, the edges are often

defined by the artists han d. Each is

un ique and as preciseor rough

as the ar tist desires. In these

instances, the ed ges are as integral

to the final image as any of the

elements in the composition.

Photograph y is a chemical media

in wh ich the ed ges of the image are

created by th e four blades of the

easel that hold s the pap er in place

for exposu re. In wan ting to show

the entirety of their negatives,

many p hotographers have beenknow n to file out the negative

carriers to be able to print a black

border around the image. Using the

easel, the ph otographers could

create a precise black line around

the image, or by pu lling the easel

blades ou t farther, the sam e black

line could take on a dap pled,

abstract appearance. Still other

photographers who u se hand-

painted emu lsions of platinum and

palladium let the brush strokes

themselves define the image.

Of all the image-making

processes, digital image creation is

the most precise. The computer

gives us the ability to change a

single pixel or to m ake rad ical

global changes to an en tire image.

But tha t pow er and p recision can

give images a m achine-mad e feel.

Simply pu t, the perfection of the

compu ter image-making p rocess

elimina tes a sense of craftsman ship

those interesting imperfections

and un ique qualities that come

with handwork. Using creative

edges can give comp uter-generated

images a handm ade app earance. In

the following p ages, well look at

four techniqu es that will add a

un ique character to any image.

Method 1: Photoshop QuickMask & Built-in FiltersWorking w ith Quick Mask to

break up ed ges is a quick and easy

method of add ing texture to the edge

of any image. Best of all, everything

you n eed is already in Photoshop.Open the image in Adobe Photoshop

and , with the Marquee Tool, select

the inside of the image that you d o

not w ish to be affected.

Click on the letter "Q" on th e key-

board to activate Quick Mask m ode.

x PEI June 1999 PEI June 1999 x

Edges

Several Ways to Add Creative Edges to Your Images

By Katrin Eismann

What You Will Need:Adobe Photoshop 4.0 or greater

Optional:

Images "angel.jpg" and"branches.jpg" from the PEI Web

site (www.peimag.com)

Extensis PhotoEdges (demo

available at www.extensis.com)

AutoF/X Graphic/Edges (demo

available at www.autofx.com)Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3


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Hit cmd/ ctrl-I to invert the

mask, then choose Filter>Blur>

Gaussian Blur, using a rad ius of 6

to soften the ed ge of the mask.

Experiment with the bu ilt-in

filters in Ph otoshop to change the

edges of the softened Qu ick Mask.

Good filters to try out includ e:

Filter>Brush Stokes>Spatter

(see Figures 6 and 7)

Filter>Brush Stokes>Sprayed

Edges

Filter>Distort>Glass Filter>Sketch>Torn Edges

Filter>Texture>Craquelure

Of course, you can run more

than on e filter on the Quick Mask,

if you like. A word of caution,

though: When experimenting w ith

filters, keep an eye on th e center of

the Qu ick Mask. You don t want

the filtering to affect the center

portion, wh ich w ould then be

affected by th e following step,

deleting to the desired fram e color.

When the d esired effect is reached,

tap th e "Q" key again, and the Quick

Mask will become an active selection.

To set the foreground and

background colors to the default

black-and-white, tap the "D" key

and then tap the Delete key to fill

the active area with wh ite, or fill

the active selection with a color of

your choice.

Method 2: Textured Framesfrom Photographs

The textures and tones taken from

a photograph are a great resource

for constructing creative edges. I

carry either a sm all APS point-and-

shoot or a professional "lite" digital

camera at all times. Im always

prepared to capture images with

interesting textures, like tree

trun ks, rough wa lls, stony beaches,

gravel paths, and other abstract

pattern s. In the following examp le,

Ill construct a frame from two

medium-format originalsthe

angel portrait and the branches on

a winter day image, as seen below.

You can down load these images

from the PEI Web site

(ww w.peimag.com), or you can usetwo images of your own.


Figure 4 Figure 7

Figure 10

Final Result

Figure 8

Figure 6

Figure 9

Figure 5


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Open the image that w ill serve

as the texture (branches.jpg on the

Web site). Often, I will use grayscale

images to make textured frames. If

you decide to d o this, increase the

image contrast using either the

Levels (Image>Adjust>Levels) or

the Curves (Image>Adjust>Curves)

interface. For th is examp le, I like

the blue behind the bran ches in the

winter branches image.

To create a n ew layer, select the

area you w ish to become the frame

and d rag-and -drop (or copy and

paste) the selection on top of theimage to be framed . Move the

image to one edge of the layer.

Dup licate the frame layer and

rotate it 90 degrees (Edit>Transform>

Rotate 90 CW) to make the next

side of the frame. Repeat this tw ice

more to create all four sides of the

frame. I prefer to keep the four

edges as separate layers to give me

the flexibility to position the layers

and experiment w ith opacity and

blend m odes.

Once the frame ed ges are in

position, add a layer mask to each

frame part layer and use the Gradient

Tool to fade the ed ges of the frame,from the midd le outward to the

edge of the image.

To merge the ind ividual frame

layers while keeping the actual

image as a separate layer, turn off

the bottom angel layer and select

Merge Visible from th e Layers

palette pull-dow n menu .

If you w ould rather hav e a crisp

edge, select the center p ortion of

the image w ith the Marquee Tool

and delete the soft edges.


Angel Portrait Figure 2

Figure 5

Blue Branches

Figure 1

Figure 3

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 4


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Using the Bevel and Emboss

effects (Layer>Effects>Bevel and

Emboss) is a great way to add a

perfect, polished ed ge to the frame,

giving it a subtle 3-D look withou t

overwhelming the image.

Method 3: Using Third-PartyPlug-insUsing third-party plug-ins

such as Photo/ Graphic Edges from

Auto F/ X or PhotoFrame from

Extensisallows you to easily add

ph otographic, painterly, or abstract

edges to an y image. Both p lug-ins

are a combination of a Photoshop

filter and numerous edge files that are

supplied on the included CD-ROMs.

Photo/ Graphic Edges lists for

$139.95 and comes w ith "traditional"

edges, while PhotoFrame lists for

$194.95 and includes both "tradi-

tional" and "digital" edge files. Auto

F/ X has additional CDs available

for both Windows and Macintosh

systems that create geometric, artistic,

or darkroom edge effects, at $99 each.

The primary d ifference between

the tw o produ cts is functionality.

PhotoFrame has a mu ch simp ler

interface that is easier to master.

But it doesnt offer as many choices

as Photo/ Graphic Edges, or as

many options to apply lighting

effects and tone ad justm ents.

PhotoFrame has a straight-

forward interface w ith excellent

previews and zooms, allowing me to

do the job quickly and easily. The files

that come w ith Extensis PhotoFrame

total approximately 100MB, which I

have copied onto my h ard d rive so I

can work efficiently while keeping my

CD d rive clear to access a PhotoCD

or other image files. Ive also made

an Extensis Portfolio catalogue,

wh ich lets me scroll through all the

frames and simp ly drag the one I

choose to the PhotoFrame interface.

In contrast, the Photo/ Graphic

Edges interface presents an almost

overwhelming selection of options

and variables. It requires much

more time to grasp the options that

lurk und er every button. Auto F/ X

has included m ore than 600MB of

files on the accompanying CD. While

that gives the user an incredible

num ber of options, it would be

un wise to copy the files onto your

hard dr ive. Ive also mad e an

Extensis Portfolio catalogue out of

the Auto F/ X edge CD, because the

nomenclature that Auto F/ X uses is

based on nu mbers, not visual

descriptions (see Figure XX).

If you d ont want to make a

visual database of your Auto F/ X

edges, you m ust page through the

printed catalogue that comes with

the CD to view the ed ge options.

Neither can you d rag-and -drop an

Auto F/ X edge onto the plug-in

interface. So, for the a ll richness the

product offers, the overwhelming

interface doesnt allow me to access

the features easilywhen Im in a

produ ction mode, I need to get the

job d one quickly and effectively.

In the following examp le, I

wan ted to add a creative edge to

the sunflower image with both

Auto F/ X Photo/ Graphic Edges

and Extensis PhotoFrame. Ill start

with Photo/ Graphic Edges.

By browsing the printed catalogue,

I was able to choose the desired

edge effect and , with a simp le click,bring it into the Photo/ Graphic

Edges interface. From here on , the


Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 2

Final Result Figure 1


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possibilities are endless, and I like

to experiment with outset and inset

effects by loading d ifferent edges.

The effects that change inset,

outset, blur, and opacity can be seen

in the image preview to the right of

the control sliders in th e interface.

Notice the control bar u nderneath the

image, which gives the user addi-

tional control over lighting, shadow,

distortion, glow, burn, and m ore.

Thankfully, you can save an effect

you like and access it again later.

The Extensis interface is sober in

comp arison. I started by ad ding a

frame with the click bu tton in the

up per left, or by dragging a frame

from an Extensis Portfolio catalogue

to the interface. The primary controls

that I have in this interface are scale,

color, blend modes, and most impor-

tant, how the background and

border of the ed ge interact with each

other. I can ad d u p to th ree frames

in one session, and best of all, the

pans and zooms in this produ ct are

very accurate and almost instant.

No m atter how closely you

watch th e preview, certain ed ge

artifacts may creep into th e frame

that you just don t wan t. Use the

History Brush to bru sh away any

bothersome details.

Method 4: One-Click FauxWood FramesIf any of these techn iques seems

like too much work and youd rather

sit back and let Photoshop d o the

dr iving for you, check-out th e

Actions that came with Photoshop

5.0. Click on the p ull-down menu

from the Actions Palette and

choose Load

Actions. Look

inside the

Goodies folder,

then go into

the Actions

folder an d load

the Frames

actions. Hey,

theyre free

and w aiting tocrunch those

edges for you!


Figure 3

Figure 7 Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 8

Figure 9Figures 4,5, and 6 Figure 1


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Each of these techniques allows

you to effectively frame and finish

images. Remem ber, the ed ges of

the image can capture the v iewers

interest, so dont overlook this

opportu nity to experiment and

expand your creative palette.

Edges, simple or complex, can

reveal the creative "hand " of the

image makerhave fun with

your edges!


Figure 2

Figure 3

Documents

Creative Edges