Digital Photography 20 Magazine Templates + FREE BONUS! Make Memorable Gifts - Its the thought that counts!!! Start Price USD 20.00 Current Price USD 20.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 20.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, December 01, 2008 End Time Monday, December 08, 2008 Location Fairport, NY See more about 'Digital Photography 20 Magazine Templates + FREE BONUS!' Description Make Extra Money - Start a business customizing templates!Photographers/Photo finishers - Increase Incremental Sales!Scrapbooking - Create Everlasting Keepsakes! Easily create your own personalized magazine covers. Insert your digital photo and custom captions into any of 20 pre-built Photoshop templates. It’s a fun and unique way to make great gifts which commemorate special people/occasions/events. Take digital photos further with easy to customize layered templates. Make fun, easy personalized gifts they won't forget! Templates work with Photoshop or similar software capable of opening layered PSD or Tiff files. Don't have software? No problem. Included on the DVD is The Gimp for Windows. It's a freeware program very similar in capabilities and look to Photoshop. Templates ship with photos intact. Use them as reference or print and use as promotional pieces to market your service for creating custom covers. DVD Contents•    20 magazine cover templates•    PSD & TIFF layered file for each template, 2500 x 2000 pixel resolution•    PNG file of each covers’ title design which is otherwise transparent•    JPEG demo of each template•    Contact Sheet with Demo Images•    The GIMP for Windows version 2.2.13 (Photoshop like image editing Freeware)•    GTK+2 version 2.6.10 Runtime Environment (for running The Gimp on Windows 98, ME or NT4)•    GTK+2 version 2.10.6 Runtime Environment (for running The Gimp on Windows 2000 or newer)•    GIMP Help 2 version 0.11•    GIMP source code (this is provided as required by the GNU General Public License in regards to distribution of the GIMP software. Please, unless you really know what you’re doing don’t mess with this file. It is not needed to install or run The GIMP software).See larger image thumbnails at end of listing or click any image for larger views. A little story (the awesome X-mas gift that cost me next to nothing):I’m a broadcast TV video editor. I specialize in automotive spots. Today, most of the work I do is for General Motors. If you’ve seen a spot for Buick cars with Tiger Woods in it chances are I touched that spot in some fashion. Through my career I’ve also been a Photoshop specialist for broadcast TV graphics, production manager, live sports director and professor of media arts. A few years ago I was between assignments – and between paychecks. I didn’t have a lot of money for Christmas gifts. But, I did have my artistic abilities. My step-father is a well off retired golfing fanatic…former CEO of non-profit organizations. I had this photo of he and my mother standing in front of their palace. They come up north from their home in North Carolina to spend Christmas with my wife and I and our three girls. This guy retired to the million-dollar house on 10th fairway on one of the finest golf courses in Cary, NC. What do I do to impress him with a kicking Christmas gift? Well, I took that photo, set it into the cover of a made up magazine called “EXTREME GOLF” and added some slightly sexually suggestive text. (Retired guys like to have their sexual abilities…how do I say – inflated) Well, he opens this gift Christmas morning and you’d think it was the best gift he’d ever received. He told us all he couldn’t wait to get back home, go to the club and show all his golfing buddies. I mean this guy has anything and everything he wants. But as he told me this was perhaps the best gift he ever got. To make him feel so good all it took was designing that fake magazine cover, a little creativity with the wording, a $4 enlargement at the local Kodak kiosk and a frame. Here's the actual cover:I scored major points with my step-dad that Christmas. For him, it’s something that will last forever…something he can show his buddies and gloat over every-time they walk through his marble floored foyer.TemplatesThe magazine cover templates are each provided in “psd” and “tiff” file format. Templates were created in Photoshop 8.0 utilizing layer effects that shipped standard with the program. No 3rd party plugins were used in template design so files should open as you see them in the jpeg demos. Each file is 2000 x 2500 pixels in size and will produce 8 x10 prints of excellent quality. Each cover element is on its’ own layer within the file. Text layers are non-flattened and fully editable within Photoshop or other programs capable of editing text created in Photoshop. All files have a flattened (rasterized) version of the magazines’ title copy and any title elements. If you are not using Photoshop, or your system does not have the fonts used in the magazines’ title design use this layer to retain the magazines’ title design.PhotoshopAll templates on the DVD were created in Photoshop version 8.0 and saved with maximum compatibility on. If you’re using Photoshop 8.0 or later use the “PSD” templates on the disk.  Templates should open and look exactly as they do in the JPEG demos included on the DVD. The one exception is fonts. If I used a font in creating a template that is not on your system Photoshop will suggest a replacement with something close on your system. So there is never a problem with the font used in the title of each magazine cover I have provided an additional layer with the title rasterized/flattened. So, you may see the magazines’ title design on 2 layers - the original editable text layer(s) and a rasterized copy.    The Gimp for WindowsA Funny name for a free Photoshop like application. The GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. For more info see www.gimp.org. It is similar to Photoshop in look and capabilities. If you are at all familiar with Photoshop, you will be comfortable using the GIMP application. In fact, anything done on the templates could have been done in the GIMP application. To install The GIMP:All files needed for installation are in the folder “GIMP Stuff” on the DVD.First install the GTK+2 Runtime Environment Application. There are 2 versions of this in the “GIMP Stuff” folder see below for the proper version for your operating system:•    GTK+2 version 2.6.10 for Windows 98, ME or NT4•    GTK+2 version 2.10.6 for Windows 2000 or newerThen install The GIMP application:•    Gimp-2.2.13I have installed and used the GIMP on a number of PCs. It was a straightforward install and each time the application worked without incident. A Mac OSX version is available online for free as well. Please be aware that I do not offer user support for The GIMP. It is provided on the DVD as a courtesy for those users who want Photoshop like functionality without the Photoshop cost. GIMP Help files are on the DVD. An FAQ and more information are available at:gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.htmlWhen opening the template files in The GIMP all text layers will be rasterized/flattened and become un-editable. Create new text layers and approximate the style of the un-editable text layers. Most layer effects created in Photoshop do not transfer into The Gimp. You will need to recreate these as well. Other programsMany other programs can open the Photoshop (psd) and TIFF files. PNG files of each covers’ title design are provided as well. PNG files are hi-resolution image files with transparency.  PNG files can be opened by most Microsoft image editing applications as well as many others. PNG files can even be opened by MSWord and retain their transparency. So in theory, you could use MSWord to customize your magazine cover.Tips/TechniquesPhoto resolution: Use a 3.2 megapixel camera or higher for source images.Layering: Give your cover a more professional look by partially covering title text with images. Most common example of the technique is a subjects’ head covering title text. Do this by duplicating your background photo and placing the duplicate above the layer with the magazine’s title text. On the duplicate layer use Photoshop’s “Extract” filter to isolate the subject’s head and clear everything but your subject’s head from the layer. Alternately, you could use Photoshop’s selection tools delete everything but your subject’s head from the layer. Subjects against simple solid colored backgrounds are easier to separate. When layering images better selections = better results. Creating good selections in Photoshop is an art unto itself. There are plenty of free online tutorials to help perfect your technique. Font Style: Try to use a similar font or font family throughout your design for a cohesive look. To add emphasis, vary the size or aspect ratio of a font. Be careful when using ornate and/or serify fonts. Make sure ornate fonts make sense with your subject matter and design. Font Color: As with font style be consistent with color. White and yellow are most commonly used but other bold colors can work too. Just be sure that your colors match. If you have red type in different areas of your cover make sure it’s the same red in both areas. To separate your type from background images of similar color or intensity use drop shadows or contrasting strokes.Saving: Always save your design 2 ways. First, save it with layers intact and editable. This will allow you to come back and make changes or use it as a starting point for another similar cover. For printing/output, save the image as a jpeg file at highest quality.PrintingYou can print your design on your home printer. Treat it like you would any other photograph. For best results I usually burn my designs to a CD or other removable media and take them to a Kodak kiosk at my local supermarket. For $4 at the Kodak kiosk I get an 8x10 instantly. They are protected with the Kodak Xtralife coating making them waterproof and wipeable! The 2000 x 2500 pixel files make incredibly sharp and vibrant prints.  Usage of templates:You are free to use the templates for personal purposes and as a starting point for creation of prints for sale. Resale of Templates in digital form is prohibited without prior consent. Place a Bid!