{"id":4386,"date":"2023-10-31T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/?p=4386"},"modified":"2025-01-05T10:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T15:56:09","slug":"creating-torn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/creating-torn-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Torn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Double double toil and trouble\u2026after brewing up some solutions, the software team got my site back in tip-top shape over the weekend. So glad to have things back to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since it\u2019s Halloween today I had given thought to doing a themed post for this week. But not everyone celebrates or appreciates Halloween the way I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I thought I\u2019d treat you to a nice little trick that will show you just how scary easy (see how I did that \ud83d\ude09) it is to create paper tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paper tearing is a fantastic scrapbooking technique. Remember how you used to tear up pieces of paper as a kid? Back in the good old days of traditional scrapbooking we could \u201clegally\u201d indulge in tearing paper for our layouts. And I did this a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a very popular technique because no special tool was required (though there were some tearing tools available). Within a few quick minutes, you could add texture, dimension and interest to borders of cardstock, patterned papers, vellum, photos and more! It was also popular because it could be easily applied and was one of the simplest scrapbooking techniques to harness. Well at least for some. It did still have its challenges<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not quite the same with digital scrapbook paper. But we do still love our torn papers. There are tons of paper packs out there with torn edges. But have you ever been working on a layout and wished your kit had some torn edges to match the kit’s papers? Well, guess what, you can make your own. Granted, they may not look the same as some created by professional designers but it can come pretty close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do we create our digital paper tears? That\u2019s what I\u2019m here to talk about today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paper Tears<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, there are lots of templates available to help make that job a little easier. One of my favorites is a set by Elif Sahin \u2013 \u201cTorn Paper Edges<\/a><\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Torn<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

These templates are great. But what if your budget doesn\u2019t support the purchase of more templates? Or perhaps you work with a software package that doesn\u2019t lend itself too well to using templates, they aren\u2019t going to do you a whole lot of good. So today I\u2019m going to give you some steps to create your own tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> Before I get started, please remember that I use Photoshop Elements (PSE) so everything that follows is done using that software. I\u2019m fairly certain you can accomplish all of this in most any graphics editing software. Just look for any tips you might need specific to your chosen software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tearing The Paper<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to be using some papers from \u201cSnowflakes and Evergreens<\/a><\/strong>\u201d by River Rose Designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I start with what might be the background over which the tear will be layered. I\u2019m using this plaid:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Plaid<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Next, I\u2019ll bring in the piece of paper that I\u2019d like to \u201ctear\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Green<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Now, using the lasso tool (Anti-aliasing box checked & Feather set to 0) I \u201cdraw\u201d where I want the jagged edge of the paper to be. But I also have to be sure to close the selection by going all around the other three edges of the paper and go back to where I started before completing the selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some tips on making this selection: Position your cursor at a starting spot that is at the very top edge of your paper as far left of the right edge as you want the \u201ctearing\u201d to occur. Holding the \u201cleft-click\u201d button, drag the cursor in whatever jagged fashion you choose down to the bottom edge of the paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DO NOT<\/strong> let go of the left-click button and now also press & hold the Shift key as you drag your cursor along the bottom edge, left side & top edge until you get back to the starting point. Be sure you keep your cursor on the very edge (or even just outside the edge) of the paper while doing this. When you get back to the very beginning you can release the Shift key & the left-click button. You should see a completed selection that looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I know it\u2019s probably hard to see the marching ants in the image above. The tear is in the area highlighted with the gold oval. And the \u201cants\u201d go all around the outer edges of the paper closing the loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the tear selection made and the \u201ctorn\u201d paper selected in the layers panel, I create a new layer via copy (Ctrl+J), name the new layer Tear and I hide the original paper layer.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Torn<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Next, I duplicate the new \u201cTear\u201d layer and name it Tear Fill. Using the Paint Bucket tool, I fill this layer with white:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"White<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Then I move the Tear Fill layer under the Tear layer. Next, I nudge the fill layer to make it visible along the edge of the torn paper.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Nudged<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s time to use the Transform tool on the Tear Fill layer using the Skew and\/or Distort options to create a more realistic look to the tear. You don\u2019t want the Tear Fill layer to be aligned perfectly with the top layer.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This looks pretty good so far. But flat solid white isn\u2019t quite the right look so I\u2019m going to add some texture. I can do this one of two ways. The easiest option is to just clip a piece of textured white paper to this Tear Fill layer:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I used a piece of textured paper from \u201cPaper Pack #4<\/a><\/strong>\u201d by Paula Kesselring. I zoomed in pretty close on the image above so you could hopefully see the nice texture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you don\u2019t have a nice texture paper (or don\u2019t feel like looking for it) there is another way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to the Tear Fill layer with no other paper clipped to it, I select the Paint Bucket tool making sure that my background & foreground color chips are set to the default. Then I select the Pattern fill option. When I click the down arrow on the Pattern Picker tool, the Patterns dialog box pops up:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Artist<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mine defaulted to the Artist Surfaces pattern option. If yours doesn\u2019t, just click the down arrow on the dialog box & you should see a list of available default patterns from which you can then select Artist Surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With those patterns displayed I select the watercolor pattern (highlighted in aqua on the image above). I just use the default settings for Opacity, Tolerance & Mode. And I ensure that the Anti-aliasing box is checked. Then I position my cursor over the Tear Fill layer and click.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Again, I zoomed in pretty close on the image above so you could hopefully see the \u201cpaint bucket\u201d watercolor pattern texture. The layer now has a very slight texture. I would like it to be a little more pronounced than this. So, I duplicate the layer, change the blend mode to Linear Burn and set the opacity to 50%. At this point I feel like I\u2019ve achieved a little more \u201cdepth\u201d. Then I merge these two layers together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either with the clipped paper or the Paint Bucket texture, everything still looks too flat so I need to add some more depth with drop shadow and\/or bevel styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the \u201ctextured\u201d Tear Fill layer I select Styles in the panels pane. I select Drop shadows > Soft Edge. You may see a dialog box like this:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Canvas<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I\u2019m honestly not 100% certain why this happens but all I have to do is click OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, there\u2019s now a shadow on the Tear Fill layer. But this is just a starting point. Right now it looks too dark and \u201csteep\u201d. So, I\u2019m going to adjust the settings. I go back to the layers panel and double-click on the style icon. This opens the Style Settings Dialog box.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Drop<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If the color chip isn\u2019t set to black, change it to black. Set Lighting Angle to 90 degrees, Size to 10, Distance to 15 and Opacity to 55% click ok. How dark & big you set the shadow will depend on how dark your background paper is. With the plaid that I\u2019m using I went with a \u201cdeeper\u201d shadow than what I may have used on a lighter background.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That looks good but perhaps a bit too subtle. Adding more depth to the tear might help. I now select Styles > Bevels> Simple Emboss.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This definitely added more depth but it looks like way more than what I need. Not to worry, this too is just a starting point so I\u2019m going to adjust the settings. I go back to the layers panel and double-click on the style icon. Be sure the Lighting Angle is still set to 90 degrees. Leave the drop shadow settings as they are (should be: Size to 10, Distance to 15 and Opacity to 55%). Set the bevel settings to 4px & Direction to Down then click ok.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This looks much better (at least to me). You can play around with all of these settings if you want to try different options. A lot will depend on how dark your background paper is. With the one I\u2019m using (the plaid) I went with a \u201csteeper\u201d bevel than what I may have used on a lighter background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to do one more thing to this white layer. I tend not to care much for a stark white tear. That\u2019s just my preference. If you\u2019re okay with white you can skip down to the next step. Otherwise, I\u2019m going to add a Hue\/Saturation Adjustment Layer. First click the Colorize box.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Don\u2019t panic, you can see that the background below the paper tear is also changing. I\u2019ll fix that in a minute. Again, this is just to get me started. I\u2019m going adjust the settings to get a color that seems less glaring to me. I keep the Channel set to Master. Then I just use the sliders to make other adjustments until I\u2019m happy with the result. The settings I ended with are Hue to 42, Saturation to 31 to & Lightness to -7.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Hue<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And yes, that plaid paper has also changed. But all I have to do is clip that adjustment layer to the Tear Fill Layer and everything is fine.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Hue<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So, I feel like there\u2019s more depth to the \u201cnot so white\u201d layer but the top layer could use a boost. I copy the layer style from the Tear Fill layer to the Tear layer. Again, the settings will need some adjusting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Tear layer I double-click the style icon. I could choose to eliminate the drop shadow altogether. A lot of tutorials will tell you not to shadow the \u201coriginal\u201d paper layer. If you want to do that all you have to do is uncheck the drop shadow. Over the years, I\u2019ve found I tend to be happier with the tiniest bit of a shadow on the top paper. For this I set the Drop Shadow settings as follows: Size to 6, Distance to 5 and Opacity to 25%. Next, I change the bevel settings to 4 px & up.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Tear<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Again, you can play around with these settings if you want to experiment with different looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is one last thing that you might want to experiment with. Sometimes I think the \u201ctorn\u201d edges of the top paper & the Tear Fill layer look too sharp. I think it should look more torn rather than cut. The bevel helps some but I still feel like it looks too crisp. So, occasionally I\u2019ll apply a Gaussian Blur filter with a radius of 2 pixels. This is just one more thing you can play with to see what you like the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the three different versions of my paper tear:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Three<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Following the steps above should give you a pretty nice torn paper. And as I always say, the more you play around with making these tears\u2026the better they\u2019re going to be!  Have fun!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Extra Pointers For Paper Tears<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"Torn<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I know it seems like a lot of steps but if you don\u2019t have a paper tear template\u2026it\u2019s so worth the time if you want a torn edge that coordinates with the paper you’re using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key to getting a nice tear is to really fine-tune your \u201classo tool\u201d skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t stop at tearing paper. You can apply this same technique to photos, pocket\/journal cards, paper frames or any other element that you feel like “ripping”. Let your imagination run a bit wild and play to your heart’s content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you\u2019re not as \u201cfussy” as me, please don\u2019t feel obligated to transform, texturize, bevel or colorize your tear. I would still encourage you to at least apply shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some torn paper brushes available that can make creating your torn edge a little easier. I\u2019ll try to do a post about using a brush sometime soon. Until then you can always do a search for tutorials about using torn paper brushes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know I say this all the time but it bears repeating. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. After all, practice is the only way to become proficient in a new skill or behavior. Sometimes we just need to embrace the discomfort of being \u201cbeginners\u201d in order to continue to grow and improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, if you have any questions or need a bit of help, please don\u2019t hesitate to \u201cMessage Me<\/a><\/strong>\u201d for some assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading this week\u2019s Quick Tip. <\/em>If you want to stay informed about next week\u2019s post, just click \u201cFollow Me<\/a><\/strong>\u201d to get an update. I hope you have a wonderful week!<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Stay<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Double double toil and trouble\u2026after brewing up some solutions, the software team got my site back in tip-top shape over the weekend. So glad to have things back to normal. Since it\u2019s Halloween today I had given thought to doing a themed post for this week. But not everyone celebrates or appreciates Halloween the way I do. Instead, I thought I\u2019d treat you to a nice little trick that will show you just how scary easy (see how I did…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"0","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-tip-day"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}