JIGSAW PUZZLES User guide JIGSAW PUZZLES. Photoshop Elements actions. For PSE 2019, 2018, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11. User Guide

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1 JIGSAW PUZZLES Photoshop Elements actions For PSE 2019, 2018, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11 User Guide

2 CONTENTS 1. THE BASICS About the actions How the actions are organized The Classic effects (examples) The Special effects (examples) INSTALLATION & TROUBLESHOOTING Installing the actions in Photoshop Removing an older version (or a trial one) Requirements Troubleshooting USING THE CLASSIC PUZZLES ACTIONS Creating the Puzzle The various layers Modifying the style of the pieces Moving individual pieces USING THE SPECIAL PUZZLES ACTIONS Creating the Puzzle The various layers Modifying the style of the pieces... 16

3 1. THE BASICS 1.1. About the actions The Jigsaw Puzzles actions turn your photos into digital jigsaw puzzles. Each piece is an individual layer; this lets you create impressive puzzles in Photoshop Elements, and in other programs that can import PSD files. The actions create a remarkable range of different jigsaw puzzles. This guide describes the way the actions work How the actions are organized The Jigsaw Puzzles include two sets of Photoshop actions: The Classic effects. The Special effects. 1

4 The Classic Puzzle effects, as the name indicates, replicate the look of a classic paperboard jigsaw puzzle. You can turn your photos into digital puzzles with up to 210 pieces. What s exceptionally useful is that each piece is an individual Photoshop layer. This allows you to move & rotate individual pieces or even whole groups of pieces! The Special Puzzle effects include an impressive assortment of creative puzzle effects, such as spiral puzzles (like the example on the right), hearts, or diamonds, to name a few. 2

5 1.3. The Classic effects (examples) The examples below demonstrate the 14 puzzles produced by the Classic actions: 3

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7 1.4. The Special effects (examples) The examples below demonstrate the 23 effects produced by the Special actions: 5

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10 2. INSTALLATION & TROUBLESHOOTING 2.1. Installing the actions in Photoshop If you don t know how to install and use Photoshop actions, please refer to this article on PanosFX.com: Removing an older version (or a trial one) If you have an older product version installed, or if you installed the trial version before purchasing the full one, I recommend you remove it prior to installing the new files. This article shows you how to do it: Requirements The 2D Puzzles actions can be used with Photoshop Elements 11 or newer. Your system should meet the minimum requirements to run Photoshop, as provided by Adobe: Troubleshooting Make sure you read the following pages, in order to understand how the actions work. If you notice that Photoshop behaves abnormally proceed with resetting the preferences the way described in this article: 8

11 3. USING THE CLASSIC PUZZLES ACTIONS 3.1. Creating the Puzzle The actions in the Classic set create 14 different jigsaw puzzles, with up to 210 individual pieces. All actions work in the same way. Load one photo of landscape orientation. If your photo has a portrait shape, rotate it by 90 degrees prior to running the actions using the menu command: Image > Image Rotation > 90 Clockwise. When the action finishes, restore the original orientation using the command: Image > Image Rotation > 90 Counter Clockwise. Select one of the Classic actions and hit the Play button. The action will cut the puzzle pieces and create a different layer for every piece. This may take a while, depending on the number of pieces and your system. To make the pieces look more realistic, the action applies a combination of layer styles on every piece. When all pieces are cut, the action prompts you to modify the default style setting for the top-left piece: Click on Continue. The action applies two layer styles on each piece: the Drop Shadow and Bevel : 9

12 If your photo is very large, you will have to increase the bevel Size. In small photos you need to decrease it. While moving the bevel Size slider, observe the effect on the top left piece. For maximum accuracy, I recommend you zoom to 100%, by pressing Ctrl and the + key (Mac: cmd +). If you can t see the top left piece, hold down the Space key and drag the photo with your mouse. When you finish, press OK to move on. The layer style settings of the top-left piece will be copied to all other pieces. The puzzle will be ready in a few seconds: 10

13 3.2. The various layers When the action finishes, each piece is an individual layer in the Layers panel. In the Classic puzzle actions, all pieces are arranged in rows and columns. The layer name format is: Row X X, indicating the position of the respective piece on the puzzle. Example: The layer Row 1 3 represents the 3 rd piece in the 1 st row. The background is the last layer in the layers panel. You can select it and add a Gradient / Pattern / Solid Color adjustment layer. You may also delete this layer and insert a background image of your preference, using the File > Place command. Finally, you can modify the canvas size using either the Image > Resize > Canvas Size menu command, or the Crop tool. If you increase the canvas size, don t forget to fill the background layer with white color, using the Edit > Fill menu command Modifying the style of the pieces If you find that the pieces edges look very thick or very flat, you can go back and modify their layer style when the action finishes. Make sure you edit the style settings with the zoom set to 100%. Photoshop displays layer styles less accurately in different magnifications. When you zoom out (e.g. by pressing Ctrl/cmd and the - key), the piece bevels will look thicker, which may be misleading. To modify the layer styles of the pieces, follow these steps: Double click the fx button for the first layer. Modify the default settings and observe the change on the upper left piece. Press Ctrl + (Mac: cmd +) to zoom to 100%. If you can t see the top left piece, press Space and drag the photo with your mouse. Press OK to apply your changes. Right click the first layer thumbnail and select Copy Layer Style from the pop-up menu: Scroll down the Layers Panel, press Shift and click the layer of last puzzle piece. Right click on any layer thumbnail and select Paste Layer Style. This will apply the new style settings to all other pieces. 11

14 3.4. Moving individual pieces When the action finishes you can create an image that looks like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, by moving one or more individual pieces, or even groups of pieces. This technique will make your puzzle images look even more interesting. To select one piece, right click on it and select its layer from the popup menu: To select additional pieces, hold down Shift-Alt (Mac: Shift-option) and right click on each piece. Having selected a piece (or multiple pieces), press Ctrl-T (Mac: cmd-t). Use your mouse to move and/or rotate the pieces: You may want to drag the selected layers at the top of the Layers Panel if they overlap with the other pieces. 12

15 4. USING THE SPECIAL PUZZLES ACTIONS 4.1. Creating the Puzzle The actions in the Special puzzles group create 23 different jigsaw puzzles. To begin, load one photo of any ratio in Photoshop. Select one action and hit the Play button. The action begins with laying a vector shape over your photo. It serves two purposes: It lets you define which pixels will be included in the puzzle. It lets you preview the exact edges of each piece. Drag any of the 4 corner handles to resize the shape. Do not drag any of the middle handles! You can also rotate or move the vector overlay using your mouse. When you finish, double click inside the vector shape to move on. The action will crop the photo and cut the individual puzzle pieces. While cutting the puzzle pieces, the action creates a unique layer for every puzzle piece. When it finishes, it will prompt you to modify the layer style of the top-left (or the top) piece: Note: In the Spiral & the 4 Concentric circles actions you will be asked to modify the style of the central piece. 13

16 Click on Continue. The action applies two layer styles on each piece: the Drop Shadow and Bevel : While moving the Bevel Size slider, observe the effect on the top (or the top left) piece. For maximum accuracy, I recommend you zoom to 100%, by pressing Ctrl and the + key (Mac: cmd +). If you can t see the top left piece, hold down the Space key and drag the photo with your mouse. When you finish, press OK to move on. Your settings will then be copied to all pieces. The puzzle will be ready in a few seconds: 14

17 4.2. The various layers When the action finishes, each piece is an individual layer in the Layers Panel. The Shadow layer is located at the bottom of the layers panel, above the background layer. You can change its opacity to preference. You can also press Ctrl-T (Mac: cmd-t) and reposition it, or resize it to your preference. The background is the last layer in the layers panel. You can add a Gradient / Pattern / Solid Color adjustment layer. You may delete this layer and insert a background image of your preference, using the File > Place command. Finally, you can modify the canvas size using either the Image > Resize> Canvas Size menu command, or the Crop tool. If you increase the canvas size, do not forget to fill the background layer with white color using the Edit > Fill Layer command. Unlike the Classic puzzles actions, in the Special puzzles the pieces are not always arranged in rows and columns. This is the case e.g. in the Spiral puzzles or the Hearts. The layers naming approach is therefore different: the layer name indicates the position of the piece in the puzzle (e.g. Top, Left, etc.). In the Spiral puzzles, the numbering of the layers begins from the outer piece. 15

18 4.3. Modifying the style of the pieces The actions apply two layer styles on each piece: Bevel and Drop Shadow. If you find that the pieces edges look very thick or very flat, you can go back and modify their layer style when the action finishes. Make sure you edit the style settings with the zoom set to 100%. Photoshop displays layer styles less accurately in different magnifications. When you zoom out (e.g. by pressing Ctrl/cmd and the Minus key), the piece bevels will look thicker, which may be misleading. To modify the layer style of the pieces, follow these steps. Double click the fx button for the first puzzle piece layer: Modify the default settings and observe the effect on the layer (piece). Press OK to apply your changes. Right-click the first layer thumbnail and select Copy Layer Style from the menu: Scroll down the Layers Panel, press Shift and click the layer of last puzzle piece. Right click on any layer thumbnail and select Paste Layer Style. This will apply the new style settings to all other pieces. If you have any questions, please use the contact form on PanosFX.com, or use the site forum. Panos Efstathiadis 16

19 The photos used in this guide were kindly provided by Shutterstock. The Shutterstock IDs are as follows: jpg jpg 17