How Do You Create a Cut Out Effect in Digital Scrapbooking?
If you’ve ever seen a digital scrapbook layout where a circle seems to “pop” off the page — revealing a different paper underneath, almost like someone punched a hole through the design — that’s the cut out effect. It looks like it took serious design skills, but I promise you, it’s one of the easiest techniques you can learn. All you need are circle shapes, clipping masks, and a small drop shadow to create the illusion of depth. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through every step so you can add this cut out effect to your own digital scrapbooking pages in minutes.
Why This Technique Works So Well
The cut out effect creates dimension on a flat page. Instead of everything sitting on the same level, it looks like layers of paper are stacked on top of each other — with one layer cut away to reveal what’s underneath. It draws the eye immediately and makes even a simple layout feel more sophisticated. It’s also incredibly versatile. You can use it as a subtle accent or make it the main feature of your page, like Evelyn did here using The Garden Within Mega Kit: I walk through this technique in detail in myYouTube tutorial, which I’d love for you to watch — but here’s an overview of the steps so you can follow along.
How to Create the Cut Out Effect Step by Step
- Open a new file or layout in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. If you’re starting from scratch, set your canvas to 12×12 inches at 300 DPI.
- Add a background paper. This is the paper that will show through the “cut out” area, so choose something with texture or pattern that you want to peek through.
- Draw a circle shape. Select the Ellipse Tool (it’s nested under the Custom Shape Tool). Hold the Shift key while you drag to keep it a perfect circle. This shape becomes the window that reveals your background paper.
- Clip a patterned paper to the circle. Drag a different paper onto your layout, position it above the circle layer, and clip it. Now the paper only shows inside the circle shape — that’s your “top layer” with the hole punched through it.
- Add a circle frame. In the Custom Shape Tool, find the circle frame with the thin border. Click and drag it out to match the size of your circle shape. This gives the cut out a clean, finished edge.
- Clip another paper to the frame. Add a new paper above the circle frame layer and clip it. This gives the frame its own color or pattern, separate from the circle fill.
- Add a small drop shadow to the circle frame layer. This is what creates the magic — the shadow makes it look like the top layer is actually lifted off the page with a hole cut through it. Keep the shadow subtle — just enough to create the illusion of depth.
Tips for Getting the Best Results
Choose contrasting papers. The cut out effect works best when the paper inside the circle is noticeably different from the background. If they’re too similar, the dimensional illusion falls flat.
Try different shapes. Circles are the easiest starting point, but you can use this same technique with squares, hearts, stars, or any custom shape. Once you understand the clipping mask logic, the shape is just a variable.
Keep the shadow subtle. A heavy drop shadow will look unrealistic. I usually set mine to about 3–5 pixels distance with low opacity — just enough that your eye registers depth without it screaming “shadow.”
Layer multiple cut outs. Once you’re comfortable with one, try adding two or three on the same page at different sizes. Overlapping them slightly creates an even stronger sense of dimension.
Try Another Dimensional Technique
If you love this kind of layered, dimensional look, you’ll also enjoy the interlocking frames effect — it uses a similar approach but with rectangular frames that overlap each other for a completely different feel. Between these two techniques, you’ve got a lot of creative range.
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I am so glad you chose this layout to demonstrate the techniques Evelyn used. I saw it in the Gallery and it immediately caught my attention. So clever and so deceptively easy to do once you see “behind the curtain”.