JUNE - ART JOURNAL challenge

omg!! how did you dislocate your jaw? Get well soon ...

 

@NancyP

To load styles (.asl) files: Open PSE 11 and and be sure you are in Expert Mode. Look at the top of the screen to the far right and under Create, you should see Effects, Graphics and Favorites Tabs. Click on the Effects tab and you'll see tabs for Filters, Styles and Effects. Click on the Styles tab. Look just above the Effects tab, to the right of Favorites and you'll see a fly out menu (a tiny down arrow with some lines next to it). Click on the down arrow and it will bring up a menu where you will have the option to Load Styles. Click on that, then navigate to where you have your Styles saved on your computer. Select the asl file of the style you want to load and click the Load button. The style will load into the the program. After that, just click the styles tab and your styles panel will open and you just click the style you want to apply. To apply the style, either double click on it, or right click and select apply to document. Note: You can only load one .asl file at a time.

 

There are 100 ways to make a photo sepia. If you want a sepia photo, then no, you don't really need actions. You could do one of the other 99 ways. But actions can do so much more than that.

Personally, I never use any actions that just change the appearance of a photo. I usually use Lightroom for that, and if I don't, I'm probably using an adjustment layer. But there are other actions I use all the time. Pretty much any command you can do, any button you press, any menu item you select, can be in an action. An action can resize your layout, or resize an element, add a shadow style, or whatever.

I use PS, which lets me create my own actions, and I have created them for all the things I do frequently and involve more than one step. Now it is one click (or one keyboard shortcut) instead. That is what actions are for! It is definitely not just about sepia!

 

I love actions but I have now have pse 14 and cant seem to make them work sadly.

 

Where does one usually save actions and styles. I can never seem to find mine. The one I downloaded yesterday, I put in My Documents so I would be sure to find it. But is that where they should go. Unfortunately I also don't understand files and folders that well either.

 

Oh, Dalis!!! OUCH! I am so sorry! Please don't concern yourself about this right now. Take care of YOU!!! Let us know how you are doing. Giving you a gentle hug!!!!!

 

You didn't exactly state what the problem is, but I will take a stab at helping with what I have discovered with actions and PSE.

For whatever reason not all actions will install in PSE. I have used this in PSE 11 - 14. if you can locate the asl file on your drive you can drag it into PSE and it will usually run. I keep all the ones that won't load in the same file folder and just drag them in as needed.

Adobe also provides a stand alone utility to edit these types of files with which you can "fix" them for PSE. Adobe scripting language is an extension of java script - so you need to know that to use this utility, but drag and drop works about 90% of the time for me.

 

Dalis, I hope you are in less pain. I am curious about what you were doing at the gym that would result in a dislocated jaw. *ouch*

I am an alterer. I don't think I make a layout that doesn't include some blending or using layer masks. My latest action obsession was Mommyish's Paper Tear Actions. I was a paper scrapper before going digital and one of my favorite things was paper tearing. Don't get quite the same relaxation from using an action but I at least get the look.

 

@NancyP Nancy, when you download any style or action, make sure it goes to your DOWNLOAD file first. Then you can always find your downloads. I'm not sure of the Windows setting for that as I'm on a Mac. Same with any digi supplies. As others said, if it goes missing, do a computer search for *.atn <--- that will find you all your action files or *.asl <--- that will find you all your style files. That * for a wildcard search is a Windows feature.

HERE is a link to installing actions for PSE11 and up through 14. Styles are usually the same except you'll want to load then in the EFFECTS panel.

A lesson I learned the hard way was to have a files/folders in my digi stash location called - !!! - Actions and Styles. I have a file on my desktop that is called TO INSTALL. I don't keep all those goodies installed as it will slow PSE down but ones I use a lot stay in. e.g. Supply Tracker, my favorite shadow files, etc. hth!

 

Where things download to is a browser setting, not a Windows or Mac setting. Most browsers, as far as I know, also have some record of downloads that lets you click to wherever it downloaded to, but it's different in every browser.

 

@NancyP I am so sorry, for not realizing that brushes and styles in photoshop and elements different versions don't install the same. I should have done.
If you still find it difficult even after the tutorials ,why not just stick with the pre-set ones. ? You can still have a lot of fun.
Ohh and I hope you had a great weekend , and many happy returns.

 

I now have PSE14 and it just don't seem to make them go. I have trouble installing them at the best of times but now I cant get my favorite one work? I have had nothing but problems with PSE at the moment.

 

I love Mommyish stuff because the work in the dinosaur old PSE6. Here are some old pages of mine that I used her actions in:

Watercolor style. Val's alpha was too dark and bright for this mostly water color elements style page. So I used her Style on the alpha.


Sequin style from Mommyish On this one Gina's heart was just a plain old heart. I used the style to make it sparkly and I love it, lol


Embossed plastic style used on the bullseye looking flower. I actually cut out the flower from one of the background papers and applied the style to it.

 

Double ouch! The hazards of going to a gym.

 

For this, I used layer masks to on two papers to make them "disappear" and then used Just Jaimee's Impasto Brushes to reveal portions of the papers. I clipped one paper to a page overlay from Little Butterfly Wings and a different paper to an element from Lynne-Marie's Sketchbook 10. I also used Mommyish's Paper Tear Actions to create the torn paper for the journaling. (Yep, I like to alter. lol)