| Follow along to create a cover design while taking a simple graphic to the far reaches of the galaxy with the overlooked step-and-repeat keyboard shortcut. Begin by downloading the stepandrepeat.zip 4 MB archive and extracting the globe.tif and earth.tif files.
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Create a new 1800 x 2400, 300-ppi,
RGB document. Press D for the default
Foreground and Background Colors,
and fill the Background layer with black.
Open globe.tif and use the Move
tool (V) to Shift-drag it into the new
file. Name the layer Globe and set the
blending mode to Luminosity at 35%
Opacity to blend it into the background.
Now open earth.tif and select the
Elliptical Marquee tool. (Press Shift-M
until it appears in the toolbox.) Press
Shift-Option/Alt and click-drag in the
center of the image to select the earth.
You may need to press the Spacebar
while dragging to position the selection.
Switch back to the Move tool, click-drag
the selection to the main image to put
it on a layer, set the blending mode to
Luminosity, and name the layer Earth.
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Click the Create a new set icon at
the bottom of the Layers palette, and
place the Earth layer in the set. Select
the Earth layer (not the set layer) and
press Option-Command-T (Alt-Ctrl-T) to
duplicate the selection while activating
Free Transform. Drag the duplicate to the
right and above the original earth. Scale
it down, and rotate it a bit to the left. (If
you want to be precise, you can enter
values in the Options bar.) Press Return/
Enter to accept the transformation. Now
press Shift-Option-Command-T (Shift-
Alt-Ctrl-T) three times.
Whatever steps
you took to transform, this will step and
repeat them proportionally—the earth
scales down and rotates a little more to
the left each time you press the keyboard
shortcut. To fit the element into the design,
click the set layer, and use the move
tool to position the set along an arc on
the background globe. You may need to
scale and rotate the set a bit using a basic Free Transform. To create the illusion of
distance, add a layer mask to the layer
set, select the Gradient tool (G), and apply
a Linear Gradient from top to bottom.
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Continue the concept of repetition
with a textural design element. Click
the Create a new set icon, then create a
new layer. Select the Text tool (T), and
in the Options bar, set the font to Times
New Roman, the font size to 24 points,
and press X to switch the Foreground
Color to white. After clicking in the upper
third of the document, type some text,
press Command-Return (Ctrl-Enter) to
commit the text, and lower the layer
Opacity to 50%. Duplicate the text layer
(Command/Ctrl-J), increase the font
size in the Options bar, set a different
Opacity, and press Command/Ctrl while
click-dragging the text to a different
position.
Repeat the duplication process
for several text layers and scatter the text
in a horizontal band. For variety, double-click
a duplicate text layer and add an
Inner Shadow in the resulting Layer Style
dialog box. When satisfied with the text
band, add a layer mask to the set, and
create a Linear Gradient from the top of
the image to the bottom of the text to
soften it.
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Keeping the graphics and text colorless
creates a nice ethereal feel, so just
add a splash of color to complete the
design. Create a new layer set, and open
a few colorful images to drag into the
set. Crop, arrange, and blend the images
to create a banner. Turn off the visibility
of all the layers but the banner layer set,
click the layer set layer, and press Option-
Command-E (Alt-Ctrl-E) to create
a composite layer above the banner set.
Turn on the visibility of all the layers but
the banner layer set, which has remained
intact for editing if needed. Add a border
to the banner by selecting the composite
banner layer, clicking the Add a layer
style icon at the bottom of the Layers
palette, and choosing Stroke. Set Size to
3 pixels, and select a bright Color.
Tip: Utilize the step-and-repeat
keyboard shortcut to create shapes
that can add interest to backgrounds.
After drawing a shape such as a circle,
press Option-Command-T (Alt-Ctrl-
T) to duplicate the selection while
activating Free Transform, and move
the crosshair to the top of the circle
to set an axis. Rotate the circle off the
original, and press Return/Enter. Now
press the step-and-repeat shortcut
from the second step to rotate the circle into a
new shape.
Tip: If you want to use the text element
you created in another design,
you can quickly change the text
to suit your subject by dragging the
layer set into the new document and
choosing Edit > Find and Replace Text.
Enter the current and new text, and
click Change All.
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Roger Hunsicker is advertising coordinator
for Caterpillar, Inc., in Peoria, Ill., and president of Proof Positive
Design Group, a Web design firm.
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