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This tutorial will teach you how to make an organic & fresh poster design in Photoshop. You will learn several useful techniques, such as using stock images in your designs, using brushes, and playing with different blending modes.

This tutorial was kindly written for Circlebox Blog by Riccardo Chapman (he’s not related to me, the surname is just a coincidence!)

Riccardo Chapman is a freelance graphic designer based in Scotland. He is currently working for Glasgow based design agency Creative Oceanic. I have just graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with a BA in Applied Graphics Technology. Design is my hobby as well as my profession. If I’m not working on client projects I am working on my own artwork in my spare time!

If you want to see some of Riccardo’s work, you can check out his portfolio 80 Eight Design

 

Final Outcome of Tutorial:

 

Step 1:

Start off by choosing your document size; in this case you want to set your document size to A4. Go to File > New then name your document ‘Organic’.

 

Step 2:

The next step is to download a watercolour effect Photoshop brush which we can download from DeviantArt (http://jocosity.deviantart.com/art/20-watercolor-Brushes-98604120). It is best to save the brush file on your desktop so it will be easier to locate. Rotate your canvas 90 degrees so it is landscape. Go to Image > Rotate Canvas > 90 Degree.

 

Step 3:

Select your brush tool and load your watercolour Photoshop brush which we downloaded earlier. Once the brush tool has been selected, open the Brush Preset Picker. Click on the small arrow next to the master diameter: a list of options should appear. Select Replace Brushes and select the Photoshop brush which should be saved on your desktop and load.

 

Step 4:

Now to start on our poster design. Select an image of your choice; I have gone with a cheerful teenager on the beach which was taken from Inmagine.com. Drag the image onto your canvas and resize/transform the image to fit centre of the page. Select your rectangular marquee tool and begin to delete the background image. To make sure the background is fully deleted zoom in to the model as much as you can (this will pixelate) and make sure you’ve deleted what you can of the background – hopefully this will look good when you zoom back out!

 

Step 5:

Create a new layer and select your brush tool. Choose some of the watercolour brushes and begin to place the effects around the canvas. Make sure you use two different organic colours.

 

Step 6:

Begin to add circular shapes around your chosen image using your brush tool (you may have to reset your brush presets). Making sure you’re adding different bright colours. Select the brush effect which adds softness around the edges. Name this layer ‘Circles’.

 

Step 7:

We now have to blend the brush effects we have used. Firstly add a light colour to the background canvas. I am using a pale green (#60FF6F). Set the blending mode on your watercolour brush layer to Difference. Select your Circles layer and if need be resize your layer to fit nicely with the image. Set the blending mode to Darken Colour.

 

Step 8:

Select your background layer and go to your blending options: Layer > Layer style > Blending Options. Select Gradient Overlay, setting your gradient to -110.

 

Step 9:

Add a new layer. From DeviantArt download a paper effect brush and follow the same procedure as Step . Once you have used your brush effect on the layer, rename it to ‘Paper’ and set your blending mode to Vivid Light. This adds some texture to your design.

 

Step 10:

We now need to add some organic floral brushes. Same as before, search for some floral Photoshop brushes on DeviantArt. Add a new layer moving it under the image of the model. Select the brush tool and position your floral shapes near the models head. Naming the layer ‘floral’.

 

Step 11:

Select the teenager layer and reduce its saturation to -100. The quickest way to do this is to press Ctrl&U. This blends the model with the background beautifully.

 

Step 12:

Create a new layer which should be placed above the Paper layer and add more floral effects. Once positioned we need to add a sketch styled filter. By going to Filter > Sketch > Stamp we can create a bold hand-drawn styled flower. Make sure your foreground and background colours are set to white and black. Lower the opacity of the Circles layer to 75% and lower the watercolour brush effect layer to 25%.

 

Step 13:

You now want to flatten your design as we want to add this design onto a portrait canvas which will stand out more. Go to File > New and set canvas to A5. To finish the design off we need set its brightness & contrast to get the desired effect. Go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and set your brightness to +35 and contrast to +80.

If you wish to add more floral effects or add more colours just repeat steps 5 to 7. You can also start off with a blank bit of paper and creating your very own watercolour effects and scanning them in with your chosen colours.

 

Final Outcome of Tutorial:

 
Another huge thanks for Riccardo Chapman – you can view his work at 80 Eight Design.

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