How to Make a Realistic Ribbon in Photoshop Elements

Make ribbons in Photoshop Elements to decorate your designs.

Ribbons appear as embellishment for digital scrapbooking, websites and blogs. Creating realistic-looking ribbons in Photoshop Elements is possible using a combination of tools and effects. First, choose whether you want to make smooth, satin ribbons, or apply a texture and create a grosgrain ribbon. The Burn tool will let you control the location of the shadows on your ribbon, and then you can use the Dodge tool to add highlights. Adjusting the Exposure will let you add a realistic level of light to the highlighting effect.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Launch Photoshop Elements and then choose “File,” “New” and “Blank File.” For a straight ribbon, set the width and height to the size of the ribbon you need for your project. Extend the ribbon’s ends a quarter of an inch longer than you need. Enter a name, set the resolution and then click “OK.”
   • 2
     Choose “Layer,” “New” and “Layer.” Name the layer and click “OK.”
     of part of the ribbon by increasing the tools “Exposure” or painting repeatedly on one area.
   • 3
     Click the foreground color swatch, select a color for your ribbon using the color picker and click “OK.”
   • 4
     Go to “Edit” and choose “Fill Layer.” Set the “Contents” to use the foreground color and click “OK.”
   • 5
     Create another new layer, select the Brush tool and then choose a hard round 5-pixel brush from the presets in the Options bar.
   • 6
     Click the arrow next to the swatches to swap the foreground and background colors.
   • 7
     Click the foreground color swatch, choose a color that is slightly darker than your original ribbon color and click “OK.”
   • 8
     Hold down the “Shift” key and click with the brush in the top left corner of the document, and then click again with the brush in the top right corner. The top of your ribbon will now have a straight line of the darker color. Repeat the process on the bottom edge.
   • 9
     Go to the Effects panel and select the “Layer Styles” category.
   • 10
     Choose an inner bevel effect to add dimension to the ribbon’s edges, and click “Apply.”
   • 11
     Click on the layer that contains the flat color for your ribbon, and choose “Layer,” ‘Duplicate Layer.” Click on the layer's copy to select it.
   • 12
     Choose if you want to add texture to your ribbon. If you want to create silk ribbon, continue to the next step. To create grosgrain ribbon, go to “Filter,” “Texture” and select “Texturizer.” Set the “Texture” to “Brick,” the “Scaling” to about 100 percent and the “Relief” to “2.” Click “OK” to apply the filter. Reduce the layer opacity of the texture is too conspicuous.
   • 13
     Select the Burn tool and go to the Options bar. Set the “Exposure” to 25 percent and choose a soft round brush.
   • 14
     Click and drag with the Burn tool to create shadows. When you use the tool on one section several times, that area will get progressively darker.
   • 15
     Choose the Dodge tool, reduce its exposure to around 15 percent and choose another soft round brush.
   • 16
     Click and drag over the areas where you want highlights. Satin ribbon will be shiny, but grosgrain ribbon will have muted highlights. Intensify the highlights of part of the ribbon by increasing the tool's Exposure or painting repeatedly on one area.