masked tape tutorial
description:
this tutorial explains step-by-step how to make those cool pieces of tape you see everywhere. this tutorial is rated as beginner skill level. if you want to see the final image, click here.
ok, enough with the formalities, lets get started on making that tape.
- open up a new document, any size will do but for this example i am using 600 x 400px.
- create a new layer in the layers palette and name this new layer “tape”.
- select the rectangular marquee tool
in your tools palette or by pressing “M” on your keyboard. - now its time to start making your tape - with your rectangular marquee tool, draw a rectangular shape depending on what size of tape you want - for a more realistic effect try making it around 179px x 42px - you can achieve this by watching the info palette, or when you have your marquee tool selected, change the style to “fixed size”, input the numbers and just click once where you want your tape to be and the box will now show up.
- now we want to add color to the tape - so bring up your color picker by double clicking on the foreground color in the tools palette.
- now this tape can be the color of your choice - but for this example i am going to use the color #C0B788. Fill the box by pressing “alt + delete” on your keyboard.
- your image should now look like this:
- now we are going to add some texture to the tape. if you have been following these instructions your tape layer should still be active and selected with the “marching ants” around your box. if it is not selected, hold down the “ctrl” key and click once on the tape layer, this will select the image.
- grab a paint brush by pressing “B” on your keyboard and finding one in your brushes palette by pressing “F5” on your keyboard. I am using a chalk brush size 70 with a 20-30% opacity.
- go ahead and zoom in by pressing the “+” key on your keyboard. (you can decrease the size by pressing the “-” key on your keyboard)
- double click on the foreground color again and try a color close to the shade of your tape, for this example i am using #A69D68. now just dab the tape in different spots
- repeat this step with another size brush and in a different color. you can increase the size of your brush by pressing the “]” key on your keyboard and decrease the brush size by pressing the “[” key on your keyboard.
- your tape should now look similar to this.
- its not time to make that tape look like its been ripped right off the roll. so go ahead and grab your lasso tool
by pressing “L” on your keyboard. make sure your tape isnt selected, so press “ctrl d” on your keyboard. zoom in and now draw jagged edges on to one side of your tape - something similar to this: - once you have the edge you want press “delete” on your keyboard - the edge should be ripped now.
- repeat this step on the other side of the tape. try and not make it look identical to the side you just created. you should now have something like this:
- you are done, congrats. but if you want to add a wee bit more detail to your tape then keep following the next couple steps.
- lets add a bit of transparency to this tape so it will become more realistic and objects placed underneath the tape will show through a bit.
- grab your eraser tool
by pressing the “E” key on your keyboard. set the opacity to something really small such as 20%. now start running the eraser tool on parts of your tape, being careful not to erase huge chunks or your tape will look, well, it will look silly. - do this a few times and your tape should look like this now:
- now you are really done. you can easily duplicate your tape by pressing “ctrl j” on your keyboard, now you have two pieces of tape, imagine the possibilities! :) you can stop here, or you can add something to your tape like a photo.
finished product with photograph:
finished product with polaroid:
questions or comments? please e-mail me.
if you would like to view how to make the polaroid, please go to the polaroid tutorial.