You don't need to be creating Art Journaling pages to enjoy adding gesso to your layouts. The gesso smears work as a wonderful layering element to better ground areas of your layout. Gesso smears can be used under journalling written on a busy pattern paper. Gesso smears can be blended with colors or other papers for a completely unique look.

What about shadows with gesso? Sometimes with elements like paint or translucent items drop shadows overly darken the element. Here are some ideas of how to work with your shadows to avoid this:

In Photoshop create a tiny drop shadow and apply it with your effects (fx). Go to the layer in your layers pallet with the gesso. Then right-click on the fx button and a drop down menu will appear. Near the bottom you will see Create Layer. Select that option and then click okay on the warning message. Your layer effect will appear on the layer below the gesso. Now, do a selection on the gesso layer with the magic wand tool around the exterior of the paint and perhaps add a pixel or two to it - then select the inverse. Go down to that shadow effect layer and hit delete. The middle of the shadow will disappear. Now you have great looking gesso with a tiny bit of shadow around it!

Photoshop Elements might trick you up as it doesn't have the ability to fine tune quite as much as it's big sister Photoshop. I'm going to ask around about the best way to accomplish this type of shadow and paste it here. But in the meanwhile a basic easy way would be: Create the marching ants around the gesso. Expand the selection about 10 pixels and then feather in about 5 pixels. On layer below gesso fill that selection with black. Then like in the instructions above for Photoshop, select outside the gesso and then inverse your selection. Come back down to the shadow layer you are creating and hit delete. The middle of that shadow will disappear. Adjust the opacity to your preference. Select your move tool and then using the arrows on your keyboard move the shadow toward the angle you prefer it at.

Hope my explanations help with shadows on paint and see-thru elements!

Includes 7 smears of thick Gesso, some with added textures from various items pressed into the gesso while it was still wet.

All products in this kit are 300 dpi and saved appropriately as png or jpg files. Shown at 70% of actual size in preview. Drop shadows are for display purposes only unless otherwise mentioned in kit description. Kit is S4H/S4O friendly. Please refer to my terms of use on my blog for usage details.

Some CT preview layouts may contain product not found in this kit. If you are unsure if an item is included, you may refer to my list of included items or feel free to email me at clevermonkeygraphics at hotmail dot com.

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