Photoshop Phun

Kayla poses with the DIY card for Inspirational Quote Art, on which she has become an expert.

Working with Photoshop, a photo editing software, can be pretty intimidating, with all of its different tools and terms and buttons and layers.

For instance, what the heck are clipping masks? I had no idea.

A video tutorial on how to create clipping masks in Photoshop.

Thankfully, I had Kayla, a very creative Maker, right by my side to explain them to me and show me how to use them to create cool “Inspirational Quote Art,” such as the ones pictured above on Kayla’s DIY card. These clip quotes are basically text overlaid on an image that you can make in Photoshop, and a clipping mask allows the photo layer to show through in the shape of the words.

Kayla works on creating some Inspirational Quote Art.

Kayla, who had already created several examples to show other interested Makers and was imagining a wall full of quote art in MetaMedia, helped me pick out a quotation and an image, then walked me through the process of making a clipping mask step by step.

By teaching me a new skill and working so hard on the project herself, the middle-schooler reminded me of the power and value of MetaMedia. Talk about inspirational!