Hi Folks!
Hope you're all ok?
All busy, busy, busy at my end. Heather's such a slave driver! Lol.
Today I want to explain why png files are so fabulous. So many people don't realise how much fun you can have playing around with them. Yes, you can just print them off onto a bit of white card and use them exactly the same as you would with a jpg, BUT why stop there?
Hopefully, this will explain why I suggested to Heather that we provide the Lacy Sunshine digis in sets containing a jpg and a png. In reality, if you have a png you don't need the jpg but so many people are used to using them that they are more comfortable if they have both. Jpgs are great...you can print them out and colour them and make the most beautiful cards with them, but why stop there?
Pngs are exactly the same thing as a jpg but without the white bit around the actual digi...it's removed so that you can layer the png digi over other digis or backgrounds.
For this one I had a little bit of fun creating a
Gnomes of Gnarly Wood scene. I used the My Craft Studio software (lovely and easy to use) to do this and also used one of their background papers from the Bunny Snuffles CD.
How cute is that? Lovely Larry is visiting the lovely Nana Nancy and he's not come empty handed. I'm sure Nana Nancy is pleased by the visit as she's been working hard in her garden!
Using software like Serif or MCS, you can manipulate the digis...change their size, change which way they are facing, put them in front of or behind other digis...basically create your own scenes and have a bit of fun. Just think...you could have a the Gnomes of Gnarly Wood having a huge party or getting up to all sorts of mischief...even make little comic stories for children using the png images. Pngs enable you to bring your imagination and humour into play. They enable you to do things that are not possible using jpgs unless you are really into spending ages fussing cutting and layering up your cards. With postage prices these days, cards like that are becoming very expensive to send. But with pngs you can take some of the cost away by enabling you to just layer up where you want to NOT where you have to.
The design above, is just a quick one, but you could go the whole hog...add hills in the background...flowers to blend the mushroom house in with the ground a little better...add more shadows...the only limit with pngs is your imagination. This is the reason why I asked Heather for Digi Bits. The Digi Bits help to create the scenes...they provide background and other relevant digis to use with your main digis. We'll be adding more to the collections so that your imaginations can soar even higher. Once you've designed your scene you just print it out and colour the digis.
Not only do pngs allow you to create scenes but also they allow you to add a patterned or coloured background to your digi before you colour it.
Just place your digi over a coloured or patterned background in your software, print out and then colour the digi.
Add dimension by adding drop shadows in the software before printing out. Add some text, add a flower digi or anything you like. Just let your imagination run riot and have fun!
Some of the Lacy Sunshine digis are available in pre coloured form (like the lovely
Adelaide - Melancholy Moppet above) so if you are not happy with your own colouring, or are making a last minute card of project, then use one of them in exactly the same way.
AND, as well as the above ideas for your pngs, you can use them in your software programmes to create your own backing papers. Stamp the images all over a page on the screen and print it off and colour it...or ink it or anything else you want to do with it.
With png files your imagination really is the only limit!
I use both Serif Craft Artist 2 and My Craft Studio software. Generally, I'll use the MCS as it does most things I want and quickly. Serif does more things but is more fiddly so I keep that for whenever MCS can't cope, which isn't often! All the above were created using MCS...very quickly and easily.
So take your pngs into your software. The MCS software comes free with all the My Craft Studio CDs apart from the Click, Print and Go ones, and they usually have some at very low prices. So if you don't have any software then that's the way to go as it's so easy to work with once you've learned the basics...and it is basic. MCS have very good tutorials if you get stuck too.
So there you have it...why pngs are so much more fun than boring old jpgs! Give it a go. If you're not already with us in the
Lacy Sunshine Facebook Group, come join us and show us what you can come up with using your Lacy Sunshine pngs.
I hope you liked my png post and that it's been of use to you. I'll be taking the regular Thursday spot on here, so if there is anything you would like me to waffle on about then please leave a comment and I'll see what I can do.
Stay safe everyone and happy crafting!
Lexie
xx
