Welcome back to our quest this week to get more uses out of your sketches and digital layered templates! Today, I'm going to share some ideas for creating different layouts by rotating or flipping the sketch/template.
Many sketches/templates have a design structure that lends itself well to rotating, including those with the photos and elements aligned along the middle or one side, as well as those with the photos and elements clustered in a corner. By changing the orientation while staying true to the original design elements, you can achieve unique results while using a sketch/template multiple times.
Today I'm using a sketch from August to show some of the options for rotating. Download the layered digital template here.
Rotating or Flipping the Design
From the original sketch, you can make the following changes simply by rotating or flipping the design.
- Rotate the template 90° to the left. If you're using the layered digital template in Photoshop Elements, select from the Main Menu Image>Rotate>90° Left. This will rotate all of the layers in the template. Most of the time, layers will translate well. However, a few layers, such as those with text or anything that might be hanging such as a tag, may need to be adjusted individually. In the example template, the tag with journaling and the die cut elements could be rotated, if desired. However, the title works well as-is. Individual layers can be rotated by first selecting the layer in the Layers Palette, then selecting Image>Rotate>Layer 90° Right (or Left).
- Rotate the template 90° to the right. Follow the same steps as above, but choose right instead of left.
- Rotate the template 180°. Select from the Main Menu Image>Rotate>180° to rotate all of the layers in the template. Again, some layers may need to be rotated independently so they are right-side-up. Select the layer (such as the title), the select Image>Rotate>Layer 180°. You could also freeform rotate the layer. Click on the corner handles with the Move tool selected, place the pointer just outside of the box until the curved arrows appear and finally click and drag as the layer rotates to your desired orientation.
- Flip the entire template horizontal instead of rotating. To do this, select from the Main Menu Image>Rotate>Flip Horizontal. To flip individual layers, such as the title, select Image>Rotate>Flip Layer Horizontal (or Vertical).
- Flip the entire template vertical by selecting Image>Rotate>Flip Vertical.
- Combine rotating or flipping the template with the ideas from yesterday, such as using paper in one or more photo spots or removing or adding photos. See yesterday's post for more ideas.
Here are a few examples using the above sketch/template.
This layout by Stephanie Bryan rotates the design 90° right and shifts some of the embellishments (camera, tag) to balance the page.
LisaO combined ideas by also rotating the design 90° right and removing some of the photos spots and using that space for her journaling.
I rotated the design 180° to move the title and main embellishments above the photos. I moved the journaling to below the photos to provide a little more space for my story.
By rotating or flipping the entire sketch/template, you can preserve the basic design structure while achieving several different looks. Pairing this with a variety of colors schemes, patterned papers vs. solids, layout themes and photos from different time periods will also keep your layouts from looking too similar. Look back through your stash of sketches or templates with new eyes for ones you can use again (and again). Your old favorite may just become your new favorite!
Join me tomorrow as we continue to explore additional ways to get more out of your sketches and digital layered template stash by changing the weight or balance of the design.
Happy Scrapping!
