How to Create a Vintage Party Poster in Photoshop

In this tutorial we will create a poster using stock vectors, basic shapes and stock photos. Along with this, you will learn to use basic Blending properties and shading. Every step is well explained and you will learn a lot of things if you follow them accordingly.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Completion time: 1 hour – 1.5 hours
Tools: Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3

Resources:

– Wall texture
– Female stock by Katanaz-stock
– Floral Vector Pack 48 by Designious.com
– Andes font from dafont.com
– Riesling font from dafont.com
– Damask pattern from patternsshop.com

– Floral Vector Pack 53 by Designious.com

So let’s begin.

What you’ll be creating

STEP 1

Go to File > New… to create a new document of 1000 x 1700 px in RGB color mode at 300 dpi.

STEP 2

Open the “Damask pattern” from patternsshop.com. Whether you open it with Photoshop or Illustrator, doesn’t matter, the file is compatible with both. Set it to open for 600 px Width.
In the Layers palette (F7), CTRL+click the layer’s thumbnail to load a selection. Then grab the Brush Tool (B), change foreground color to a light green and paint over the flowers of the pattern.

STEP 3

Go to Select > Deselect (CTRL+D). In the Layers palette ( Window > Layers or F7), double-click the lock on the “background” layer and hit OK. Then create a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT+N) and click-drag this layer below the “background” layer.

STEP 4

Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill this layer with a midtone green.

STEP 5

Go to Layer > Merge Visible (CTRL+SHIFT+E). CTRL+click the layer thumbnail to load a selection. Then go to Edit > Define Pattern (CTRL+F2). Name it “damask green” and hit OK.

STEP 6

Go to Window > Untitled-1 (our document), double-click the “lock” in the Layers Palette (F7). Hit OK. Click the “fx” button and select Blending Options.

STEP 7

Check the Pattern Overlay box and click its tag. Select the pattern we created from the patterns list. Hit OK.

STEP 8

With this layer still selected, hit CTRL+G to place it in a layer group. Double-click the group’s name to edit it. Name it “background”. Click on the small triangle to expand it.

STEP 9

Select the layer inside the group and click the “New Layer” button to create a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT+N). Name it “gradient”. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), click on the gradient on the top left corner of your screen and select the gradient shown below. Drag the purple color out of the gradient bar and hit OK.

STEP 10

Make sure the gradient is set on Linear, then SHIFT+click-drag from top to bottom on the “gradient” layer. Then go to Layers palette (F7) and set Blending mode to Soft Light.

STEP 11

With the “gradient” layer still selected, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves. Click-drag the curve like in the image below and hit OK. Select the “Curve 1” layer mask, grab the Brush Tool (B), hit D, then 6 and paint over the middle of the image. This will create a nice spotlight for the background.

STEP 12

Contract the layer group (click the small gray triangle) and grab the Ellipse Tool (U) and set it on Shapes. Click-drag on the canvas, hold ALT+SHIFT keys and draw a circle.

STEP 13

Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer (CTRL+J), then go to Edit > Free Transform (CTRL+T). Hold ALT+SHIFT keys and click-drag one of the gripping points and make it smaller. Hit Enter.

STEP 14

Grab the Rectangle Tool (U) and draw a rectangle like below.

STEP 15

Draw more rectangles similar to mine.

STEP 16

Select the first rectangle, go to Edit > Free Transform (CTRL+T), hold SHIFT key and rotate them like below. Hit Enter.

STEP 17

Select the Shape layers shown below and go to Layer > Merge Layers (CTRL+E). I’ve changed the colors for you to better see the shapes, you can make them the same colors.

STEP 18

Hit CTRL+G to place this layer in a layer group. Rename the layer group to “Base shapes”. In the Layers palette (F7), click the “fx” button and select “Blending Options”. Use the settings shown below.

STEP 19

Right-click on the “fx” icon near the layer thumbnail and select “Create Layer”. This will create a layer below your current one. That’s the effect applied in STEP 18, but on a different layer.

 

STEP 20

Select the newly created layer, go to Layers palette (F7), click the “fx” button and select “Blending options”. Use the settings below.

 

STEP 21

Repeat STEPS 18-20 for the other shapes.

 

STEP 22

Open the “wall texture”. Hit CTRL+A to load a selection of the entire image, copy it (CTRL+C), go back to our document and paste it (CTRL+V). Make it smaller, hit enter and click-drag it into the “base shapes” layer group.

STEP 23

Expand the “Base shapes” layer group and place the layer with the texture above all layers in the group. CTRL+click the layer with the shape to load a selection, go to Select > Inverse. Hit Delete, then go to Select > Deselect (CTRL+D).

STEP 24

In the Layers palette (F7), click the “fx” button and select Blending Options. Use the settings below. Hit CTRL+SHIFT+U to desaturate the image and set Blending mode to Hard Light.

STEP 25

Create a new layer above all layers in the group. Grab the Gradient Tool (G), click on the gradient in the top left corner of your screen to edit it. Use the settings below and hit OK. Then click-drag the gradient as shown below.

 

STEP 26

In the Layers palette, set Blending mode to Overlay.

STEP 27

Repeat STEPS 22-26for the other shapes.

STEP 28

Create a new layer (Layer > New > Layer or CTRL+SHIFT+N), set its Blending mode to Multiply and place it inside the “base shapes” layer group. Now grab the Brush Tool (B), set Hardness to 0%, hit “6” to set its Opacity to 60% and start painting the shadow of the main shape.
Make sure your foreground color is black.

STEP 29

Repeat STEP 28 for the other layer groups.

STEP 30

Open the “girl” picture. Go to the Channels window (Window > Channels) and click-drag the “Red” channel over the “New Channel” button. Why red channel? Because the image contains a red tint.

STEP 31

Go to Image > Adjustments > Curves (CTRL+M) and drag the curve like below. Repeat until it gets darker. Don’t overdo it, else it will have choppy edges.

STEP 32

Grab the Burn Tool (O), set it on Shadows with 70% Exposure and click the areas where there are hair strands. Make them darker, until they have a nice sharp contour.

STEP 33

Grab the Brush Tool (B), hit D to set foreground to default (pure black – #000000) and paint over the rest of the body. This is easier if you have a tablet, but a mouse will do nicely.

STEP 34

When the entire girl is covered with pure black, go to the Channels palette (Window > Channels) and CTRL+click the “Red copy” channel. Then go to Layers palette, click the layer thumb and hit CTRL+C to copy it. Then go back to our document.

STEP 35

Paste it (CTRL+C) and make it smaller. Hold SHIFT key to preserve its proportions. Now go to Image > Adjustments > Curves (CTRL+M) and click-drag the curve like below.

STEP 36

Install the fonts (extract them in C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\), grab the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and type “august 17th”. Adjust the size as you see fit. Hit Enter. In the Layers palette, open the Blending options and use the settings below. Go to Edit > Free Transform to rotate it – hold SHIFT key when you do.

STEP 37

Repeat STEP 36: type “at my place”, but use these settings for Blending properties.

STEP 38

Grab the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) and draw 3 rectangles. Then copy the Blending Options from STEP 37 and paste it to them (right-click on the “fx” tag of the layer). As an extra, check the “Inner glow box in the Blending Options.

STEP 39

Type more text and play around with the fonts. To throw some effects on them, simply copy the previous ones.

STEP 40

Open the “Floral Vector Pack 48” from designious.com, grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), select a flower, copy it, then paste it into our drawing. Go to Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal all.

 

STEP 41

CTRL+click the layer thumbnail, grab the Brush Tool (B) with a green color, press 3 and paint over the flowers. Make sure the thumbnail is selected and not the layer mask. Then select the layer mask, press D, set Hardness to 0% and paint over areas you want hidden. Do this for multiple flowers.

 

STEP 42

Add shadows to them like in STEP 28. Also do this for the rest of the elements, since now it’s starting to shape up.

 

STEP 43

Select the top-most layer group and go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Exposure. Use the settings below.

STEP 44

Grab the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and type “pijama”. Use Arial Black font. Then repeat STEPS 18-26 and apply the same effects. Also add some shadows like in STEP 28.

STEP 45

Expand the “background” layer group. Open the “Floral Vector Pack 53” and place some flowers in the folder. Go to Blending Options and apply a nice gradient – a blue to light blue will do.
Paste more until you are satisfied with the result.

Done!

You can download the source file from the link below.

[download id=”162″]

Looking for some vintage illustration inspiration? Check out 10 Beautiful Vintage Illustrations For Inspiration.