My Digital Altered Book Cover

I am almost finished with my digital altered book! I just have one more internal page and the back cover to finish and then I can submit it to Artella for their book conversion software.

OK, here's how it works. The image you see above is what you get to start with. I happened to pick this book because I liked the title. There are about 30 titles to choose from, so you can usually find something you would like to work with.

When you get the digital kit, you get a front cover (like the one shown above), a back cover to match, and eight pages from inside the book. These are all taken from actual books that the copyright has expired on. All of the images are in jpeg format and you can alter them however you want. All you need is an image editing software package like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

You can find tons of digital ephemera kits online at scrapbook sites. They are very cheap (about $2). You can also create your own ephemera by scanning objects like ribbons, frames, whatever you can imagine as a decoration, on your scanner. Then, save the images in a png format to make them transparent so you can place them into your pages. Any ephemera kits that you buy will usually be in png format for this reason. You can change the color of your ephemera using your Hue/Saturation setting in Photoshop. You can also alter the size of any frames, ribbons, etc. so they will fit your images perfectly.

Here is my "altered" front cover:



I liked the title of the book because of the dolls reference. My idea was to translate this into our kids, a.k.a. our "living" dolls. The pages on the inside of the book are all altered with my own digital papers and all of my own family heirloom photos. The ephemera on the cover was all purchased from http://www.cottagearts.net/, except the little heart at the bottom. That came from Artella shops.

The photo above shows my mother's little brother, David, as a baby. He died shortly after this photo was taken, I believe. She named my brother David after him. As for the photo on the right, I'm not sure if that's him. Maybe my sister can comment on this one.

As you can tell, I'm really excited about this little project. When I get the completed book converted into a digital book I will leave the link posted here on my blog so you can "turn the pages" and read my book! Artella has the rights to these creations, but I can post my link here and you can still view it. I'm under the gun to get this finished, though. I am entering the contest on the Artella website. Hopefully there will be alot of entries and books to thumb through when these are finished. The deadline is Sunday at noon.

If you would like more information about this project, just click on the Artella link on my sidebar. It is explained in much more detail there. I just wanted to post my progress on this. I will let you know when it is finished.

Altering Digital Images

This is an altered image of two digital photos that I played with in Photoshop. I am just learning this program and this was my first, rough attempt at using the Layers option.

I took an e-class on the Artella website called Digital Altered Books Revealed. I've always wanted to try the traditional form of altered books, where you work with an actual book, and I even have a few used books set aside for that purpose. But, like a majority of my projects, it is still on the back burner. So when I saw the opportunity to learn about altering a book digitally, I thought I would check it out.

All you needed was an image program like Photoshop (which is what I have) to get started. I was hesitant to sign up, though, because the only features I have ever worked with regularly in Photoshop are the image enhancements and a few attempts with the Layers option. Some of those turned out as disasters that I just deleted. In a way, taking the class was a little bit like learning to type before you learn to read; you work with alot of commands that you really aren't familiar with, but you like the results.

The class was great! The instructor showed how to alter the front cover, 8 internal pages that are chosen for you, and the back cover. She showed how you use digital ephemera packs to alter each page, how to change their size and color, and how to add your own text and images to the book. After the class I really wanted to try it for myself. At the Artella site you can purchase ready-made vintage e-books, from a selection of about 30, that you can then alter yourself. You can also purchase the ephemera packets; all of this at a very low cost. Included in the cost is the actual conversion of your book to a format that lets you physically (with your mouse) turn each page like you would if you were reading an actual book. The pages flip over as you turn them and you even hear the page turning. I've never seen anything like it, and there are great examples of finished products on the website.

Needless to say I am excited about this project and I am going to start on my digital book today. I chose to alter a book about dolls. Those looked like fun images to play with. There is a great mix of doll clothes, faces, and some interesting text in the ten pages you get to alter, so when I finish I'll put the link here for you to check out.

In the meantime I am reading Photoshop For Dummies (that's me) and am learning alot. There is so much that the program can do; I am just concentrating on the basics. My husband and I bought a digital camera this past weekend (finally!) and I really want to be able to incorporate my photos into my art. So I have plenty of work to keep me busy and as I make progress I will post the results here. Wish me luck.