Whenever I see a kit with a charm in it, I really want to thread it on something. Maybe a ribbon or string. If I see string I wonder if I can find something to thread or hang off it. Today's MOC challenge (Day 17) is to use string, so I'm going to share a tutorial on how to thread a charm onto a string. For this tutorial I am going to use a charm and string from the Home For Christmas Elements pack Designed by Soco for the December 2023 BYOC. This can't be done in Affinity Publisher, but can be done in both Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo. The steps are different however, so I'll show you Photo first, then Designer. The Tutorial Steps for Affinity Photo 1. place the charm on top of the string 2. with the charm selected click on the Mask Layer icon at the bottom of the layers panel. 3. select the string 4. Goto the Menu and choose Select - Selection from Layer A flashing dotted line will now be visible around the string. 5. Select the mask layer on the charm 6. Click on the brush tool 7. Open the the Brushes tab on the layers panel 8. Choose the Basic Brush set. 7. Pick a small brush. 8. Set the brush colour to black 9. Paint out the part of the charm that will be underneath the string 10. Goto the Menu and Select - Deselect 11. Add shadows 12. Remember to group the string and charm together on the layers panel so they stay together is you move the string later. The Tutorial Steps for Affinity Designer. 1. place the charm on top of the string 2. duplicate the charm (in the layers panel right click - duplicate) 3. Arrange the layers as charm, string, charm 4. Switch into Pixel Mode. 5. Select the top charm and click on the Mask Layer icon at the bottom of the layers panel. 6. Select the mask layer on the charm 7. Click on the brush tool 8. Open the the Brushes tab on the layers panel 9. Choose the Basic Brush set. 10. Pick a small brush. 11. Set the brush colour to black 12. Paint out the part of the charm that will be underneath the string - it doesn't need to be exact - that's why we have another copy of the charm on the layer underneath the string. Remember to group the string and charm together on the layers panel so they stay together is you move the string later. There is another more complex method that can be used in Affinity Designer that gives a more realistic look with advanced shadows. Let me know if you want a video tutorial for the more complex method.
