Our theme for October: Dots!
Not the candy. Sorry. The ubiquitous design theme. The ever-popular polka dot. The Hyatt place has a logo made up of polka dots. So does the Reelz channel. So does one of the world's top wedding photographers. And so on. If you've been following my blog, it will come as no surprise to you that my original inspiration for this "Monthly Special" came from a Criterion DVD cover.
In this (completely revised) tutorial, you will learn how to make a 5x5 inch polka dot photo card (see below). You can apply the principles you learn to other sizes as well, and best of all, you can use the project as a template to save time on future variations.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09_g9NhOnBACYku67O476ft3jlw3_OxilO0Rmdo18tMRnXIPCt737B4QFd4msx9dUFn7gcnipkiHehHuG38uWsqXHLYKvV9CuCdVnocCPf2iEEHobLFp0yqjX5qGXTNsXAllenSK674Q/s400/newdotgrid.jpg)
I have written this for Photoshop Elements or Photoshop. If a step differs in Photoshop, I will indicate the change in parentheses (screenshots come from a mix of the two due the changes).
1. Create a new document, 5x5 inches at 320 dpi. (I use 320 dpi because it's what big chains like Costco use, and I know that Costco will print on 5x5 paper for you).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXb8XTdNMBzEfI8Id4ctVpqpnH1ZmhOM53YjRW_NkFSBn3TVxUyde6ip66SwUi6Et5e9WwFU9gatpR0y7wAkuETamdmsZhg3RSVOPoBIpuKfMZkP8DaoW_2BQ2kt_snK3za0biJGyQGaw/s400/Picture+30.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXm0OTYmvTnXu8b_69LZo-Ae6KujtQ2IQrjB5MxBFoFW-ZgEMMAzK81cqdlfza-cy4MmIGDOdP-dePprGYbk0pn09Y_Jw4DtkkAt_z7CydGPOu6S6FHozXT_JZCe7gFZBDJ_2CaIo6uo/s400/Picture+31.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWHx1VUfZJRv0H8A1NqsLE7miuzoXTawlmYcGPjHWhW2DqzHrPWga0XCLQnJ_Fmd3J8H4U-gWZGIxkNwOxsVGdAGzmsgkt82G0BJ4OVSW5RgfIp9rxzPgOatlzOsuh7k7bt1st9QYEuc/s400/Picture+36.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1cwnnMWN3cmiRy5kqOO61jpHv45v0CoOce4bCJ2EWF7tgGkNkSsYhuuqoS_r3I61FSZ4lqc_EIiznkdZYVkEz8u9Zj0APLkp_0Ch0eeBxfrDbx2Dgb475mUErQlnjY3xNYk11r_LsHo/s400/Picture+34.png)
5. Time to create your first dot. Select the elliptical marquee tool from the toolbar.
Hold down the shift key (this makes your selection snap to the grid) and place your cursor in the middle sqaure, one small subdivision from the left and top lines. Still holding down the shift key, click and drag to form a circle within the grid lines, leaving only one small subdivision on the right and bottom sides. When you're done it should look like this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBaDG7BMTW8wri0187th0wlWSl_xai7RIHC-6hMWPPNL5ep_payFZfzW7aJ-BVul5rQQzfQrz5BLGJITFPnJfC_Bf5p2VqsSpvioOEPga_WJZZ1BF1P1UcYf31_cU_0rLRgkk-h2uQywM/s400/Picture+16.png)
6. Now you will click on the paintbucket tool (G) and click in the circle to fill it with black (the color doesn't actually matter). It should now look like this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPBRGrH2CTwCT0CJyRZhnD-JgHJT5QdvINcbdCGhD9aIzZiDhcaqQO0wyhPEuAXoNWTrfzHhHz1OfVERxWy73FoIcZf7Ss0M2CdelmtQmg4M-SPYe9wGabxoPAdF-lKxgcDO2yX-swaI/s400/Picture+17.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDlCg5yYj4I8ugyTuaJIK8Gp_fespPT5XY0TT0S-KQmi3OYTAEt2FeJ7AX-ZoVIyiLza_XVL3KLTCgidXQzvO9E-hzT-4o_OgAOH05nzYF_3Adr-xbbWtRQKcoTOrGH4N97zViGVQtXc/s400/Picture+18.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9R0rpJWBZmPLUvZcT3EwswQki_J80bC8BWFnXA529UAMwAa3pWCmnhsuleyH6ICqZh7Y-4QXZM6XKXUEABRIgjUgQp1HGZPesMBRDVhaNloj-WckqqvqtnfFdeT0ZR6uB4iRr7jiy2JA/s400/Picture+15.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcE3e3H2F3DYB3yfapcsAhlT-9LmoEV6ndjNJptNaL4yNGVt5LmS1MaD8b4O2Hdxhw6TPIk2YsJmuB1Rp0sZ3bBjGWTha9SeELYuM96Gq_ZWnQhbqG_yWJSuzTYaQF03kz6PHb-vigvY8/s400/Picture+28.png)
8. Deselect (by unclicking the eye icon in the left of the layers palette) the layer (or layers) below all of your dot layers. In other words, you will still see your grid of dots, but no background. Now you can merge the dots onto one layer by selecting "merge visible" from the layers palette pull-down menu ("merge visible" is four from the bottom on the image at right). All of your dots will now be on the same layer. This is a good time to do a "save as" and call it "5x5 dots template." If you are worried about accidentally saving over your template, create another file with and name it something else by doing a "save as" again.
9. Now the fun begins. Since you know the size of the grid square for each dot, you can begin opening and cropping photos for each dot. Open a photo, and with the crop tool selected, enter 1.67 x 1.67 (inches, not pixels) at 320 dpi resolution and crop your photo as desired.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjR2czJFw84GC-__4ETChJMcEFAYDbAG0JmGhshYfWpUHtPVTYjzhYLZR1LcZSmx1jcbXBNjgP-ZZ75IelE2fzzoGIiGkkK41S4jFYWfIAU0RM6nkRODnurD_TXvHVHEspHUM75aN5gzA/s400/Picture+21.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIvRfbGJ9BxVxEAu0vWSJRoRzTJCLDoKknLJeK_YSlfxRN32rmyX-W9aA7ayEz0-MRmSZBVXuMUWYQJhCM-ZxF_X5KLPD_zxsJAeltH9Jx_d0YViS3pezfooFmmgywaLAZKXu5fPtIgQ/s400/Picture+23.png)
(optional) 10. What about some colors? In my opinion, it looks nice not to have photos in every single dot. You may want to reserve a few dots for colors. It's amazingly easy. Just choose the rectangle shape tool (NOT the dotted line marquee tool):
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5dyBuaoJp-XPd8qXbbp5gMxkHfoXIeEZC52ckCmJVQctsbktyAeYz8QtPSrPL6QXg8707A-WT14ou0IlVgZRRlr5hZJij5hAU-2S8dPOj-dXZEEM69UN82v_-O3ut5Bhr2GCsLHIJFI/s400/Picture+45a.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicisDwxL6NvToDhTtipQP8ELy2LO3bQxTR7VUGdPcIOpnmEzg68BJ7MwjQqiaqIFOoMJh74XkvQ8U6XUKOJmep36turZ-nXc6la9r-OBdbSRiW8Txq5CflC9vMwN4WpzPhypYDZwVd4R8/s400/Picture+50.png)
12. Now you are ready to see it turn back into polka dots by creating a clipping group/mask (If you did last month's photo in text tutorial, you already know how). Make sure all your layers are now visible (eyeball icons on each). Then, make sure your photo layer is above the dot layer as seen below:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GVnQDGHL-AWFTClzafUolZQR10eQSmD_CvzfcM25e8FU3EhO1sUprH_UjU2FWOhht5ftHQ9Uoz7UbuRnOgcJX7KNT30RiiNzJjgInMnD-U8G6IewgNXVa5ECLzM2mtwRSMTrBsqXohE/s400/Picture+1a.png)
IMPORTANT NOTE: If the above step does not work, you may be using an earlier version of Photoshop. In that case, simply place you cursor in between the two layers being used for the clipping mask while holding down the option (or alt) key until you see two intersecting circles. Click when those little circles appear and it should work.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8L0y7qcqcgndCbzzqJ8MFIA1y10SGSSsKU-hZuX51Utumx01BVMqUVPHlLU4ToD83j4UWUhowZyRoh4uzihV9WBpB9S8rfkZm_pQDpE4qr1vdl6GHFlBEy6luxeQc7Iez51hbShoIJs/s400/Picture+2a.png)
13. Finally, you can flatten your image, save it, print it, and bask in the satisfaction. And don't forget to come back to this link (under the "Participate in the Monthly Special" at the right), and share your results for all to see. See the FAQ page for details. If (when?) you do post and link back here, make sure you use the permalink (also discussed on the FAQ page)—the link for that post—and not just your general blog link.
I can't wait to see your results!
2 comments:
oh sad. I went to put this up last minute (night of the 31st) and it doesn't look like I can post it anymore. well, it's on my blog, if you care to take a look.
http://www.akavirginia.blogspot.com
WELL EXPLAINED!
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