Graphic ideas: crumbled paper effect

Question

I'm thinking about ways to create the effect of crumbled paper for my website. The background color can vary, so the idea I came up with is to super impose the 'crumble' effect onto any colored background. Where can I find such a graphic? Any suggestions on how to make one if none are available?

Thanks.

Answer 1

1. Scan or license a copy of an image of crumpled white paper
2. In your graphics editing software, copy only the shadows of black from the image (in Photoshop I use the Select > Color Range feature with the darkest shade selected and medium fuzziness)
3. Apply a threshold to the selection to ensure that only dark colors will be copied
4. Paste the shades of black onto a transparent canvas and save as PNG-24 with transparency

Examples:

Answer 2

I'm guessing you mean crumpled, rather than crumbled? As in screwed up and unfolded again, with lots of creases?

You will probably want an illustration without a semi-transparent background. The closest I could find was a folded piece of paper: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-5770021-folded-paper-background.php?st=3d670de