Free Graphics

In Elements 5, there is a new palette, the Artwork and Effects palette. From it, one can apply frames, themes, styles, effects, backgrounds and graphics. You can add your own custom content to the palette. I have made a number of hand shaded greeting headers for you to use on your print creations. These are text surrounded by transparency so can be placed on top of pictures, if you wish. Note that they are graphics, not editable type. To add these graphics to your Artwork and Effects palette, follow the instructions below:

[If (below) you don't see the Application Data folder within the All Users folder, go to the menu at the top of your screen and click on Tools > Folder Options > View (tab) > scroll to find Hidden Files and Folders, and click on the Show Hidden Files and Folders radio button. Click OK.]

Close Elements 5.
Go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0 and delete two files: one called MediaDatabase.db3, and the other called ThumbDatabase.db3.
[Please note: a number of people have emailed me to say that it is not necessary to delete these two files. My instructions are those provided by the Adobe team from beta-testing. Perhaps they changed something...In any event, feel free to try loading my material without deleting the two files listed above. If my stuff does not show up in your Artwork and Effects palette, close Elements, and delete the two files.]
Put my free graphics, the unzipped folder and its contents (not the zipped file) here: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\artwork\graphics. That means, put my Greetings folder into the folder called “graphics” at that location.
Open Editor. It will take a minute or two for the Artwork and Effects palette database to rebuild. That is normal.
In the Artwork and Effects palette, click the Artwork button at the top of the palette. Then, from the menu on the left, find the Graphics section. From the menu on the right, look for the Greetings entry, which is my new content.

Download the zipped file here:
Greetings zipped folder
2.5 MB

When you add my graphics to your documents, they will be very small. Size them up as much as you like; there should be plenty of resolution in the base file (they were made to more than ten inches wide at 220 ppi). They will look absolutely terrible as you are resizing. That's okay. You are seeing the proxy. Once you accept the resizing (check the green checkmark on the transform box), the graphic should look beautiful.

I also have Free Geometric Backgrounds, Free Animal Backgrounds, Free Woodcut Backgrounds, Free Grunge Frames, Free Duotone Frames, Free Classic Frames, Free Matted Frames, Free Whenever Diary Pages, Free Big Squares Calendars, and Free Calendar Pages available for download.

If you are a beginning user of Elements 5, you might like my .pdf book, Elementary School. It contains 112 tutorials for new users of Elements 5.

There are nine Happy Birthday graphics, six Merry Christmas, two Joy, four Seasons Greetings, four Thank You, one Thinking of You, and one With Deepest Sympathy graphics. They are in three different typefaces in either red, blue, or dark gray.

Older Tutorials
Quick Mask
Rubberstamping
More Adjustments
Sharpening
Filters
Color

 You can't see the hand-shading on the tiny previews shown here. Below is a small detail of one of the graphics.

Download the zipped file here:
Greetings zipped folder
2.5 MB

Download the zipped file here:
Greetings zipped folder
2.5 MB

I also have Free Geometric Backgrounds, Free Animal Backgrounds, Free Backgrounds, Free Grunge Frames, Free Duotone Frames, Free Classic Frames, Free Matted Frames, Free Whenever Diary Pages, Free Big Squares Calendars, and Free Calendar Pages available for download.

If you are a beginning user of Elements 5, you might like my .pdf book, Elementary School. It contains 112 tutorials for new users of Elements 5.

Copyright © 2002 by Jay Arraich.
All rights reserved.
All photographs copyright ©2002 by Jay Arraich
jay@arraich.com