Let's Talk: Clustering

[Voodoo_Bryn]

Okay, I'm an uber lazy scrapper, but maybe I'm just doing it wrong.
You girls who put in dozens of adorable buttons and flowers... are you putting each one in one at a time and resizing and adjusting them all one at a time, or is there some scattering and clustering secret I'm just unaware of.

(Fizz... I'm lookin' right at you...)

And good gawd, if you are doing each one at a time, how long do your layouts take??

[kscwgirl]

yes.. oh lovely Fizzster.. teach us. :)

[junebug]

if i'm putting buttons on, say several, i'll put them all on the layout then select them all and resize them all at the same time, then move them to where i want them. i'm a fast scrapper 98% of the time, however.

[amystoffel]

I take everything I want to use, size it and set it off to the side on my workspace. Then i sort of drag them in one by one, or duplicate the layer depending on what the cluster is. It really doesnt take that long. I only spend 1.5 to 2 hours max on a LO.

[ColleenSwerb]

Lately, I like to take everything from a kit that I think I'll use, and open it and dump it on the LO all at once. Then I resize, move, duplicate, delete etc.

The few examples of clustering I have done, took me a while, and I moved and resized each piece individually. And I always shadow everything on it's own.

[Paula]

I take everything I wanna use on my LOs and put it in the corner. Then I cluster away. I LOVE to cluster.

[SeattleSheri]

I know I'm not the Fizz and you're not looking at me, lol, but I group mine and then duplicate the group. I resize the entire group if needed. I then tinker with each layer to get them in the right place.

[ColleenSwerb]

Ooooooh, groups! Good idea Sheri!
I'll h ave to try that. I'm working on a cluster-y LO right now actually, lol.

[amystoffel]

I know I'm not the Fizz and you're not looking at me, lol, but I group mine and then duplicate the group. I resize the entire group if needed. I then tinker with each layer to get them in the right place.
I knew you were my hero for a reason....

[SeattleSheri]

I :wub: groups! I use them on every layout! They can be a big time saver too!

[Mandy]

I'm not nearly as clustery as I used to be but I usually just do one element at a time. Clustering is a work of art people, you must pace yourselves. :p

[Voodoo_Bryn]

Hmm.... **tries to decide if grouping is still too much work** lol
I'm going to try the group thing, for sure.

[lizzyfizzy]

i'm super excited to see you cluster, bryn!! i honestly take the kit i'm using, open everything i like into my program and go to town. if i think i'll use a button or a flower a hundred times i shadow it right away (then i go back and adjust it later, if need be) i honestly just start clustering crap together till it looks good to my eye. move it under and over in my layers depending. then i layer on some more crap. then re-eval, move stuff around and do it one more time for good measure. i do the grouping/duplicating thing too. a lot. it takes me 1-2 hours to do a layout. almost always i just throw stuff on my layout, cut it, shadow it and move it around til i like it. no rhyme or reason here.

[DogwoodMama]

I'm not as good as Lizzy & others here, but that's what I do too, when I cluster!

Sometimes I look at someone's LO and just think, wow, wouldn't have thought to cluster that but it looks awesome! :)

[scarletsierra]

I take what elements I think I want to use and I plop them all on my canvas, move them around, resize them, fiddle and fiddle some more. Then I'll add more, lol.

I love to cluster and because I have such a hap hazard scrapping style my pages take me a long time to do. I agonize of the placement of nearly everything. I have never, ever completed a layout in less than two hours. Ever. My time spent scrapping a single page is more like 3-5. I soo wish i could scrap faster.

[jessica31876]

i size each one individually and on its own layer.

[Laura_A]

If I'm doing lots of buttons or something like that, I'll select them all and resize at once. OR, I'll resize one, add the shadow and then duplicate. I usually go through the kit, open up the stuff I think I want to use and work from there. I scrap 8x8 though, so I do a lot of resizing... and I'm not a fast scrapper. From start to finish (including photo editing) a LO usually takes about 2-3 hours.

[inskidahv]

my computer is old and can't take so many layers... so i usually throw things around til my poor comp can't take it anymore heehee.

[purple_colourz]

Once my photo is in place I cluster around it. With ACDSee I can see all the elements in a kit so I select those I what would work on the page I'm working on. I also put elements (like swirls) underneath my photo.

[junebug]

i forgot to add that i start with the photo, pick the background paper and go from there. once my photo(s) is in place, then i start placing the elements etc. around it. title and journaling is last.

[BrattyMeg]

I think I'm the oddball..I don't open anything except papers..then I just pick elements one at a time as I need them lol...It also takes me days to do 1 LO lmbo

Maybe I should open everything...I'm beginning to get a little venturous and work outside of 1 kit but I definitely have my "staple" of faves that I use over and over.

I think I"m going to reorganize my fave elements so they are all in one spot by element...then I may open it all at once and be a rebel lol

anyways i'm blabbing...have fun clustering! Hope you find a way that works for you

[ZaCola3]

I usually place one at a time too.

[Aggie Aviso]

That's one of my weakness - clustering. When I try to cluster, I get irritated because they dont look nice to me but on other people's layouts, they looks so perfectly done! LOL

[Nettio]

I think I'm the oddball..I don't open anything except papers..then I just pick elements one at a time as I need them lol...It also takes me days to do 1 LO lmbo

I do this too. I open ALL the papers at once and then I pick and choose elements as I go. I don't do a ton of clustering but when I need to duplicate elements quickly I use the Alt+Drag method. It's easier I think than going to the layers palette.

[Lyd]

I do this too. I open ALL the papers at once and then I pick and choose elements as I go. I don't do a ton of clustering but when I need to duplicate elements quickly I use the Alt+Drag method. It's easier I think than going to the layers palette.

I didn't know about this method!!!! Whoo Hoo!! Sooo much faster and easier! Thanks for the tip!

[Tracie Stroud]

I also do everything one at a time. I probably spend 2 - 3 hours on a lo.

[tuneskids]

I am cluster challenged ...

[*Kelly*]

I don't think I cluster very well, but I also do one piece at a time.. duplicate when needed, add, delete constantly. I'm in the group of slow scrappers too. I need lessons from those of you who can complete a page within an hour.

[schock77]

I don't cluster well at all- or shadow for that matter (I still use the same couple shadow styles for everything) so this is an interesting thread.

One of my fav layouts- Cindy S. it was one of yours with Melon Blossoms I think- anyway I look at it and think there is NO WAY I would have thought to do that! Guess that's why y'all are babes and I'm just here drooling over your stuff!

[Voodoo_Bryn]

I do this too. I open ALL the papers at once and then I pick and choose elements as I go. I don't do a ton of clustering but when I need to duplicate elements quickly I use the Alt+Drag method. It's easier I think than going to the layers palette.

What's the Alt+Drag method? I usually just Ctrl J what I need duplicated. I think what I was hoping for was someone to go, OH YEAH... you can just sprinkle all your buttons like PSP tubes right *here* in Photoshop! Easy Peasy!

Lol.
It takes me all day to do one layout and right now my RAM got damaged, so a lot of the time my PS freezes in the middle of a layout.

Guess what I'm getting for Xmas?

sigh.

[Nettio]

What's the Alt+Drag method? I usually just Ctrl J what I need duplicated. I think what I was hoping for was someone to go, OH YEAH... you can just sprinkle all your buttons like PSP tubes right *here* in Photoshop! Easy Peasy!

When you have the move tool selected, if you hold down the Alt/Option key, your cursor will change to look like two little arrows. If you then move your cursor while holding the Alt/Opt key down, it'll duplicate the layer for you. It's technically the same as Ctrl+J but it basically combines duplicating the layer and then moving the layer where you want it into one step.

Also, if you also hold down the Shift key at the same time, your duplicate layer will only move horizontally or vertically inline with the original layer which makes it really easy if you're looking to make, say, a row of buttons that are perfectly in line with one another, or something.

[Tracie Stroud]

When you have the move tool selected, if you hold down the Alt/Option key, your cursor will change to look like two little arrows. If you then move your cursor while holding the Alt/Opt key down, it'll duplicate the layer for you. It's technically the same as Ctrl+J but it basically combines duplicating the layer and then moving the layer where you want it into one step.

Also, if you also hold down the Shift key at the same time, your duplicate layer will only move horizontally or vertically inline with the original layer which makes it really easy if you're looking to make, say, a row of buttons that are perfectly in line with one another, or something.

Lynette, you are the freakin' bomb!