Peekaboo Paper with Select and Mask
by Jen White

Gain a greater understanding of masking and selecting by creating a peekaboo effect with stacked papers and a drop shadow. It will wow your friends and add a unique quality to your next digital project.

For this tutorial you’ll need:

• A solid background paper
• A coordinating small-patterned background paper
• Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop

If you’d like to follow along exactly, download the papers I’m using here.

Step One: Stack Two Papers

• Open a patterned paper (File > Open).

• Open a plain paper.
• Get the Move tool.
• Holding down the Shift key, click and drag the plain paper onto the patterned paper.

NOTE: Holding down the Shift key while adding something to a document ensures that the item will land in the center of the document.

Step Two: Create an Initial Selection

• Get the Rectangular Marquee tool.
• In the Tool Options, click on the New Selection icon and check Anti-aliasing. Set the Feather to 0 and the Aspect to Normal. (PS: Set the Style to Normal.)
• On the document, click and drag out a rectangle. To create a perfect square, hold down the Shift key while you click and drag.

NOTE: My rectangle is approximately 1/2″ x 2 1/2″.

Step Three: Subtract from the Selection

• Get the Polygonal Lasso tool.
• In the Tool Options, click on the Subtract From Selection icon, set the Feather to 0 px, and check Anti-aliasing.
• On the document, click to place the beginning of the first segment to the left of the existing selection as shown in the image below.
• Place the beginning of the second segment to the right of the existing selection as shown in the image below.
• Place the beginning of the third segment under the last one as shown in the image below.
• Place the beginning of the fourth segment under the first segment as shown in the image below.
• To close the selection, click at the beginning of the first segment.
• Repeat the instructions to subtract more of the selection.

Step Four: Mask the Top Paper

• In the Layers panel, click on the plain paper layer to make it the active layer.
• In the Layers panel, hold down the Alt key (Mac: Opt key) and click on the Add Layer Mask icon.

Step Five: Add a Drop Shadow

• In the Layers panel, click on the top paper layer to make it the active layer.

Photoshop Elements Only:

• In the Menu Bar, choose Layer > Layer Style > Style Settings.
• In the dialog box, set the Lighting Angle to 120˚.
• Click on Drop Shadow to open the settings.
• Set the Size to 5, the Distance to 8, and the Opacity to 50.
• Click OK.

Photoshop Only:

• In the Menu Bar, choose Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow.
• In the dialog box, set the Blend Mode to Multiply, the Opacity to 50%, the Angle to 120˚, the Distance to 8, the Spread to 0, and the Size to 5.
• Click OK.

NOTE: Depending on the size of your masked area, the settings may need to be altered.

Step Six: Save the Document

• Save the document (File > Save As) as a layered PSD file with a unique name.
• Finish the project as desired.

Here is a greeting card I created using this tutorial.

Credits
Card: Hello Beautiful by Jen White
Qwik Tutorial: Peekaboo Paper with Select and Mask by Jen White
Kit: Bloomin Beauty by Anja Schernan
Fonts: Carlotta, Service Station

And here’s a scrapbook page I created using the same technique.

Credits
Page: Adorable Moment by Jen White
Inspired by fanon at TLP
Photo: Jen White
Qwik Tutorial: Peekaboo Paper with Select and Mask by Jen White
Kit: Beloved by Katie Pertiet
Fonts: Shaquilla, Hero Light

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Author: Jen White | Contact Us
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