This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. I'm going to show you how to create a portrait poster of
yourself or someone you know in the style of classic, letterpress printing. I provided a
Photoshop document that you can download, so you can follow along. Its link is in the description
below the video. It includes two layers - an image of paper and a texture. I also provided links to
three retro-style fonts that look great on letterpress posters. Before we begin, if you're
not already a subscriber to Blue Lightning TV, hit that "Subscribe" button to let you know as soon I
upload new Photoshop tutorials. Open a photo of someone that you'd like to use for this project.
I downloaded this one from Shutterstock. Make sure your photo s resolution is 150 pixels per inch,
so that your results will look similar to mine. To check its resolution, go to Image and Image Size.
Type in 150 for its resolution. You can make its width and height any size you like, however,
in order to keep its aspect ratio, make sure the chain-link icon is active. The first step is to
make a selection around the subject, so we can isolate it from its background. There are many
ways to do this, however, for this example, I'll use the Quick Selection Tool. If you're using
this tool as well, drag it inside your subject to select it. To remove areas of the selection,
press and hold Alt or Option as you drag over those areas. To refine its edges on versions
CC 2015.5 or later or go to Select and "Select and Mask". On earlier versions, you'll see Refine Edge
instead of Select and Mask. If you prefer to use Refine Edge, Shift-click "Select and Mask". I did
in-depth tutorials on both of these filters, so if you want to watch them, I provided their links, as
well. Check, Smart Radius", which detects smooth and hard edges. To adjust the size of your brush,
make sure your CapsLock key is off and press the left to right bracket key on your keyboard.
Brush over the edges of soft or feathery areas. Output it to a "Layer Mask".
We'll place the subject onto the template I provided. Press "v" to open your Move Tool and
drag it onto the tab of the template. Without releasing your mouse or pen, drag it down
and release. To resize it, open the Transform Tool by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T
and go to a corner. If your using a version earlier than CC 2019, press and hold Alt or
Option + Shift as you drag it in or out. If you're using CC 2019 or later, just press
Alt or Option as you drag it. To reposition it, go inside the bounding box and drag it.
Then, press Enter or Return or click the checkmark at the top. Drag the subject to the bottom
and hide the top two layers. We'll make a new layer below the active layer by Ctrl-clicking
or Cmd-clicking the New Layer icon. We'll fill it with white, but before we do,
check your foreground and background colors. If they're not black and white respectively,
press "D" on your keyboard. Since white is your background color, press Ctrl or Cmd + Delete.
We'll convert our visible image into a Smart Object, so we can modify it non-destructively.
To do this, Shift-click the top layer to make it active as well. Click the icon at the upper,
right and click "Convert to Smart Object. Go to Filter and Filter Gallery.
To see more of your subject in the Preview window, press Ctrl or Cmd and minus ley on your keyboard.
Open the "Sketch" folder and click "Stamp". For its "Light/Dark Balance", I'm using 7
and for its Smoothness, I'm using 1, however, since each photo's contrast is different and
has its own degree of shadows and highlights, feel free to experiment with these amounts.
Double-click an empty area of the subject's layer to open its Layer Style window.
Click "Inner Glow" and the color box. Pick a color for the border. You can always change it later if
you like. Since I already know the color I want, I already typed it into the hexadecimal field:
3F98AB. The Blend Mode is Normal, and the Opacity is 100%. The Source is "Edge", the Choke is 100%
and the Size is 45 pixels. The Contour is "Linear" and the Range is 50%. Click
"Stroke". Click the color box and pick white. The Size is 40 pixels, which is 5 pixels less than we
typed in for Inner Glow. The Position is "Inside", the Blend Mode is Normal and the Opacity is 100%.
Adding this white inside stroke to the Inner Glow border creates the look of a thin, color outline.
Click the Adjustment Layer icon and click "Solid Color".
Pick a color for your subject. I'll type in 0073F5. Then, click OK or press Enter or Return.
Change its Blend Mode to "Screen".
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer. Open your Horizontal Type Tool and Type Picker.
Feel free to pick any font you like. For the top line, I'll use, "CocoGoose Letterpress Regular".
I'll make its size 181 points, however, adjust its size based on the amount of
characters in your text. For its color, you can open the Color Picker by clicking the box
here or the foreground color. I'll pick a bright red color.
Click on your document and type out your text. To reposition it, open your Move Tool
and move it. I'll change its Blend Mode to "Darken", but I encourage you to experiment
with the Blend Modes. We'll add a text layer below it by Ctrl-clicking or Cmd-clicking the
New Layer icon. If your text is large like mine, we'll need to temporarily
hide each text layer before we add another, so we can manipulate its size and position.
Click on your document and for this text, I'll pick, "KG All of Me Regular". Type out your text,
highlight it, click the color box and change its color. To adjust its size,
click and hold your mouse or pen over the large "T" icon as you drag it to the right or left.
To reposition it, open your Move Tool and move it. make your top text layer visible, so we can see
it. Position your middle text under the top text. With your middle text layer still active, change
its Blend Mode temporarily to "Multiply". You can always change it later if you want. Make a new
layer below the active layer to add a third line of text at the bottom of your poster. Hide the
other text layers and click on your document. Pick another font. I provided this one to you, as well.
I'll type in 232 points, but again, feel free to adjust its size. Click the color box
and pick another color. Adjust its size and type out your word. Open your Move Tool to position it.
Change its Blend Mode to "Multiply", which you can change later if you want. Hide the layer.
We'll create another text layer that we'll place under it. Make a new layer below the active layer
and click on your document. Pick another font
and adjust its size. Type in the same word. Open your Move Tool and move it.
Double-click the large "T" of this layer to highlight it
and click the color box. I'll pick a bright red color
and change its Blend Mode to "Hard Light". To save space in the Layers panel, let's group all
the text layers into a folder, but before we do, make all the text layers visible.
Shift-click the top text layer to highlight all the text layers and press Ctrl or Cmd + G.
Let's name it "Text". Next, we'll add a radial graphic shape to the poster. Make a new layer
and open your "Custom Shape Tool". At the top, choose "Shape". Make sure the Stroke is empty.
If it doesn t have this icon next to it, click the box,
find the icon and click it. Click the color box and the Color Picker icon. I'll type in: FCDDDD.
Open your Shape presets and scroll down until you see this icon,
which is called "Registration Target 2". Click the gear icon and tick "Define Proportions"
and check "From Center". We'll zoom out, since we'll need more room around our poster. Press Ctrl
or Cmd and the minus key on your keyboard. Place your cursor over the area from where you'd like
the radial element to be centered and click and hold as you drag out until all of the radial
design is outside the boundaries of your poster. To hide the paths, press Ctrl or Cmd + H. Then,
zoom back in by pressing Ctrl or Cmd and the "plus" key. Change its Blend Mode to "Darken".
Make the Texture layer visible and active. Change its Blend Mode to "Screen". This
adds a grainy texture to our poster that you often see in letterpress printing.
Make the Paper layer visible and active and change its Blend Mode to "Linear Burn". This
adds a warm color cast and rough paper texture that completes our letterpress portrait poster.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching!