Questions about sizing and quantity of elements in a kit

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Questions about sizing and quantity of elements in a kit

I want to start making kits on the regular and I have A LOT of trouble with sizing. I have no clue how big elements should be when compared to the papers(I always make mine 12x12). So are there specific sizes that are appropriate? Also, when making kits, do any of you guys go by a general rule of thumb with how many of a specific element you have or even a list you go by and check off?

12x12 papers are the norm, so I think a good way to determine the size of an element is to make a page using your newly created element and see what looks right to you and then size it accordingly, erring on the size of a little too big rather than too small since you can always size it down without pixelating easier than sizing up. The other thing you can do is not recreate the wheel -- look at the kits you already have that you think are good and go with their sizing.

In terms of how much to put in a kit, everyone seems to have a different opinion. I like a little less because I am easily overwhelmed by visual clutter but I've seen others here in the forum who like to see a lot of stuff because they can just delete what they don't like.

Good luck making kits, can't wait to see what you do! smiley

For element sizing I use a couple of methods. I usually find a kit or 2 that I own that a similar element and I look at the sizes and I also check with the chart that was posted by Humbug Graphics Galore (Humbug Graphics Galore: Element Sizes)

As for how many elements, I have been trying to figure that out myself.

Dawn, that chart is perfect! Thanks! Tina, sometimes I want more in another person's kit, and sometimes I want less. Surprisingly I have so many downloaded that I never do anything with because I can't make up my mind.

When I used to be in a store, the paper to element ratio was 10:20 or 10:30. In other words we would try to have twice as many elements as papers (that was the least amount), or 3 times that of the papers. This was just a general guideline we would follow, but sometimes we did more or less elements. It really doesn't matter if your designing for fun though, I think some people prefer fewer elements because of how overwhelming it can look in the preview. Our element sizes were exactly as Tina stated. We had a chart to go by, which is similar to the one posted here at digitalscrapbook.com somewhere, but we just made them the realistic sizes of how we would personally use them in a layout.

After my first blogtrain part I decided to make a quick layout and drag all my elements onto that to see if anything was too big or too small. In the end, most of this 'quick layout' ended up as my kit preview... with the elements at 100%. I make my elements just a tiny bit larger than how I would use them on my layout.

I always make my previews at full size (3600px) so I can check the elements size. Then I resize for saving the JPG.

Ah Marisa, that is the easier way of saying what I was trying to say smiley

smiley smiley