Old Crate

This tutorial shows how to blend images for an old orange crate effect. Just to be different, I decided to make mine a lemon crate!

Step 1. Open the bitmap you wish to use as your background in RealDRAW. I decided to used this wood weather with a gray patina. If you prefer a wood that has a beige or tan color, go ahead and use it.

Step 2. Insert the image you want to use as the label.  For this one, I did the text and dragged out the circle, but the lemons are stock photo clip are and the plam tree is clip art as well. If you want to make your own lable, get an idea of the style that was used by the manufacturers by going to Google.com and search for 'orange crate label'. You will really get appreciation for these labels as an art form.

Step 3. Select the label and then click on the Paint on Object tool.  Select the eraser for your tool and a big soft brush.

Step 4. Erase the outside border of the label, but not completely. You are after a faded effect here, so don't try to erase all traces of the border.  The technique I used help to achieve the desired effect. Rather than keep the left mouse click down while dragging the brush across the lable, I clicked and released the brush as I moved it along.  Against this white background, you can easily see that in some places the erasing is more complete (for example, the orange border at the top left corner of the label is completely gone) and in other places the label is faded or less opaque.

Step 5.  This is how the label looks on top of the background image.   The eraser technique we used helped to give it a worn look, but it still looks too new. Here come the magic...select the label and on the layers window pick "Screen" for the Blending Mode.

Step 6.  The Screen mode gives me what I want, a worn look.  That is it!! Your are done! Try it and you will have a great crate! Click here to see a larger version of my old lemon crate image for a better view of the richness of the textured and faded look of the label.

A Planet RealDRAW Tutorial

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