Help With Krita For Album Artwork

[YamaYairi]

I have photos for the front and back covers, inside, liner notes and a photo for the CD label. I have downloaded the templates from Atomic Disc.
I have Krita but I've never used it before and I can't figure out:
1. How to import the layouts and photos to their respective layers.
2. How to make the layers temporarily transparent so I can size and position the photos and liner notes on the layout.
3. How to render the artwork into files that Atomic Disc can use (pdf)
I'm a musician, not a graphic artist, and I don't understand how this program works. I have Gimp, but Atomic Disc says not to use it.
I could not find a forum for Atomic Disc users.

[YamaYairi]

Anyone???? Bueller? Bueller?

[slooky]

Not sure what you are trying to do? Are you trying to add a photo on a template?

[YamaYairi]

Originally Posted by slooky

Not sure what you are trying to do? Are you trying to add a photo on a template?

I'm trying to make the artwork for the CD. Atomic Disc provides a template.
1. The front cover will have a photo and text overlay with the album name and my name.
2. The inside will have a photo with liner note text over it.
3. The back cover will have a photo with text overlay of the track listing.
4. The CD will have a photo on it with text overlay with the title and my name.
I have the photos and text. I can open the template in Krita, and see it. I assume I need to create a layer for each photo and text, size and position them on the template.
When I create a layer and add the photo I can't figure out how to make it transparent so I can see the template through it to position and size it. I also can't figure out how to select the layer I am working with.

[keith.rogers]

Sorry, but the short answer is that if you intend to do your own art for submission for your CD, then whether you're a graphic artist or not, you'll probably have to get familiar with image editing and layers on some piece of software. Otherwise, go to somebody that does it, probably paying something. You might look at Task Rabbit or similar.

FWIW, I don't have KRITA but I opened the CD template - Photoshop file (.psd) in an old version of Pixelmator. That template already has the layers, and the top layer has a transparency where the CD image goes. It just already has a blank, white layer behind it, so it looks like a "flat" piece of paper. Maybe if you start with the PDF you don't get the layers? I'd delete the blank layer (labeled "your image" or something like that) and put your artwork behind the supplied top layer.

I assume you can then "save as" a Photoshop project and send that back? If not, you'd have to crop the image down to the circle - seems to be no fault if you go into the "bleed" area as it's labeled. Then hide the layers you don't want and save the image as a PNG (which would preserve the transparancy in/around it).

p.s.(edit) I opened the PDF and it has the transparent "circle" for the CD. You just put your stuff *behind* that layer. (see attached)

[slooky]

Krita is the way to

[YamaYairi]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

Sorry, but the short answer is that if you intend to do your own art for submission for your CD, then whether you're a graphic artist or not, you'll probably have to get familiar with image editing and layers on some piece of software. Otherwise, go to somebody that does it, probably paying something. You might look at Task Rabbit or similar.

FWIW, I don't have KRITA but I opened the CD template - Photoshop file (.psd) in an old version of Pixelmator. That template already has the layers, and the top layer has a transparency where the CD image goes. It just already has a blank, white layer behind it, so it looks like a "flat" piece of paper. Maybe if you start with the PDF you don't get the layers? I'd delete the blank layer (labeled "your image" or something like that) and put your artwork behind the supplied top layer.

I assume you can then "save as" a Photoshop project and send that back? If not, you'd have to crop the image down to the circle - seems to be no fault if you go into the "bleed" area as it's labeled. Then hide the layers you don't want and save the image as a PNG (which would preserve the transparancy in/around it).

p.s.(edit) I opened the PDF and it has the transparent "circle" for the CD. You just put your stuff *behind* that layer. (see attached)

Ah, thanks, that was helpful. I didn't realize the template already has the layers. I have been using Gimp, but Atomic Disc says not to use it, something about poor resolution. They recommend Krita, so now I have to figure out how to use it.

[Sasquatchian]

Never actually heard of Krita. The standard apps for designing and submitting CD or LP artwork are Photoshop for working on bitmapped images (images made up of pixels), Illustrator for vector images, InDesign for layout, typography and design and Acrobat Professional for pdf/x-1a output, which is actually done through the export module in InDesign. In addition, your files need to be in the correct CMYK color space and your printer should tell you which profile to use and they need to be sized so that they're placed in your layout program at 100 percent with no scaling, output resolution set to approximately double the line screen (350 dpi for a 175 line screen) being printed and sharpened for output.

This is how I've done hundreds of projects over the last twenty-five years. Even taught the old plant manager at DiskMakers how to dial in the color and make custom profiles of his proofing systems.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by Sasquatchian

Never actually heard of Krita. ...

It's freeware for image editing. Looks pretty powerful, but it's another learning curve I don't have time (or need) for.

And, I did notice that while their (Atomic Disc) guide says to submit a PDF after "flattening" layers and disabling/removing the template layers, Krita, itself, does not support PDF export!

[to OP:] This is where you have to decide how much time you have to spend on this part of the project...

[Sasquatchian]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

It's freeware for image editing. Looks pretty powerful, but it's another learning curve I don't have time (or need) for.

And, I did notice that while their (Atomic Disc) guide says to submit a PDF after "flattening" layers and disabling/removing the template layers, Krita, itself, does not support PDF export!

[to OP:] This is where you have to decide how much time you have to spend on this part of the project...

One of the most important aspects of any kind of print production is that you need to combine both photographic or illustrative images with typography of varying sorts. You need to use a program that keeps both of those separate so that when the type is rendered, especially small type, that it's rendered as sharply and crisply as possible.

I don't really want to get into the technical weeds here on that, but the type needs to be rendered by the imagesetter (usually at 2500 dpi or more) and the images are rendered by what are called half tone dots, where the dots themselves are rendered by the imagesetter at the aforementioned resolution and then those dots, whose size is referred to as line-screen are what makes up the rendering of the image. If you use small type in a program like Photoshop, more likely than not, your type will be rendered by the half tone dots and look mushy and soft. You can look at ads in the backs of magazines and see dozens of examples that show this.

This is why you want to use a genuine page layout program that keeps the type and images separate when making the pdf for output, and that pdf has to be generated according to the specs needed for whatever place is doing the printing.

Not trying to sound overly complicated here, but if you're going to the trouble and expense of producing some sort of recording, you probably don't want to drop the ball at the final stages of production.

And then there's that pesky bar code business...

[Sasquatchian]

I had a look at Krita's website nosing through their features and as far as I could glean, this is not the software you would want to design your CD package with. It looks like Krita is basically a pixel based image editor with a less than ideal type tool attached to it.

As I mentioned previously, you really need a program that lets you treat bitmap (pixel based) images and typographic elements separately and keep the type as a separate vector element when you output to pdf for output.

I believe you can get a 30 day trial of InDesign - enough time to learn the basics and prepare your files There's a reason that InDesign in the standard application for page layout and design throughout the industry. My feeling is that even if you are able to output files from Krita, you're going to be disappointed in them in the end. It seems odd that Atomic would recommend this.

[YamaYairi]

Thanks again. This sounds like it is a lot more complex than I imagined. A lot of it sounds to me like adults talking in the old Charlie Brown cartoons: "Wah wah, wah wah, wah wah wah wah wah..."
I suppose if I started talking about mosfets and opamps it would sound the same to you. I think I am going to have to get someone else to do the artwork. This has been going on for like 3 years now. I repaired a piece of gear for a friend who is a graphic designer, and he was supposed to do my layout. Nothing happened. Didn't even offer to pay for said repair.

[rick-slo]

Click'n Design 3D
Corel Paint Shop Pro
CD Stomper Pro Labeling System
Nero (CD burner, etc)

As memory serves I used the above when I was doing do it yourself CDs.
Photo editor is very nice if you want to alter a photo you took (or some other picture).
Would I try to market a new CD today - not likely. Pretty much streaming these days. Even live show or family probably a USB stick.

One example of a photo I took and modified in Paint Shop Pro: