Photoshop: Collage Wallpaper

Today we are going to begin building a collage that we can use as a computer wallpaper. The collage must have a theme, include several images, have some sort of text (i.e. a title), and fit the dimensions of a typical computer screen.

Before we begin, I will demonstrate some of the cool layer styles and effects that you find useful in your project.  I will also demonstrate the basic collage building process.  You will then have the next two days to build your collage.

1. Create a new Photoshop document using your choice of the following dimensions:
1. 1024x768  (20% of computer screens use this resolution)
2. 1280x1024  (18.2% use this resolution)
3. 1280x800 (17.3%)
4. 1440x900 (10.5%)
5. 1680x1050 (10%)
2. Sometimes it's better to fill your canvas with a certain color (i.e. black, blue, or green) to serve as a base for your pasted images.
3. Begin finding images [within your theme as well as being classroom appropriate] and save them to a folder on your Thawspace or USB drive.  Make sure the images are large enough that you don't have to stretch them on your canvas.
4. Begin "pasting in" images and dragging them to the best fit on your canvas.
5. You may want to use a soft, feathered brush as an eraser and soften the edges of your images.
6. You may also want to try adjusting the opacity on some of your images [layers] to help the layers "melt together" better.
7. You may even try a color gradient overlay with low opacity for some interesting effects.
8. Choose a font that fits your theme, and place a title on your page.
9. Choose a small font and put your name on your new artwork.
10. Try some layer styles (drop shadows, bevel & emboss, stroke, etc.) to improve your text layer.

Finally, make sure you save your file as a PSD (Photoshop Document) as well as a JPEG, then upload the JPEG to your Blogger portfolio.

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Here are some examples of Photoshop collages: