This is a tutorial assignment intended to be used by School of Photoshop participants. This guide will test your abilities as a beginner in Photoshop, and show you how to create a simple flyer for an event.
ATTENTION SCHOOL OF PHOTOSHOP VIEWERS: Before viewing this tutorial, you should have completed Pre-School through 8th Grade in our School of Photoshop series, or have a good understanding of the workspace and tools of Photoshop. This lesson will test your abilities, and make sure you are ready for grades 9-12 in the School of Photoshop! We’ll provide links to refresh your memory if you get stuck.
What We’re Making
In this tutorial, we will be creating a simple flyer for a fictitious event. This lesson will review skills covered in grades 1-8 of the School of Photoshop. Here’s a quick look at the final product:
Source Materials
This flyer requires that you have one image (which we’ll provide in a moment). Keep in mind that all source materials provided from Tutorial9 may not be redistributed without proper citation (usually, a link near the image will do just fine for websites) just as any other copyrighted work.
You’ll need to download the following image before starting:
Simple Flyer Source Image (Opens in New Window)
Getting Started
To begin, create a new document with the following specifications:
Width: 8 Inches
Height: 10 Inches
Resolution: 72 pixels/inch
Background: White
These specifications certainly would not meet high quality printing requirements, but for our purposes, this will do just fine.
Open the source image provided earlier in this tutorial. Select the entire image (Select > All or Ctrl + A).
Copy the selected image (Edit > Copy or Ctrl + C), and paste (Edit > Paste or Ctrl + V) the contents into your new document. It should automatically paste onto a new layer.
Scale to Fit
Our source image is a bit larger than the active image area in our new document. We need to scale down the image so that it fits the specifications of our flyer.
Use a Scale Transformation to resize the image to approximately the same size as the active image area. Remember, Hold Shift to constrain proportions while applying a scale transformation!
Getting an Exact Fit
Here’s a handy tip that will give you a precise fit when applying a scale transformation. You can actually set the exact dimensions you’d like to scale your selected object to in the Options Bar once you’ve started the transformation from Edit > Transform > Scale. In our case here, we’d set H to 10in and W to 8in.
Repairing the Image
There are two parts of this image that I find particularly distracting. One is a leaf in the top left of the photo, while another annoyance in the leaf in the bottom left. Here they are highlighted below:
Now, we could go set this shot up again, and take a new picture without the leaves, but that would take up a lot of our time. Instead, we’ll just repair the image using Photoshop.
Using one of the Retouch or Healing Tools get rid of the highlighted imperfections in your image. I used the patch tool to fix these areas myself.
After fixing both imperfections, you ought to have a nice clean photo like the example shown below.
Adding a Vignette Effect
Adding a vignette to a photograph is a really simple way to focus in on something, or just a nice soft way to fade a graphic out. To create our Vignette Effect, we’re going to use the Brush Tool.
Create a New Layer in your flyer document.
Select the Brush Tool from the toolbar, and then pick a large, soft brush tip. Select black as your foreground color.
Using your large, soft, black brush, paint along the edges and corners of your active image area (on your new layer). You may want to zoom out a bit to make this step easier (Ctrl + -). Remember to zoom back in to 100% with Ctrl + “+”.
Adding Type to the Flyer
The next step in our flyer design is adding type to the bottom left corner. We’re going to be working with the type tools to set the text.
This part is pretty straightforward. Create three type layers with some text of your own, or use the example text I’m using. Additionally, adjust your font family, size, and style as you see fit. I’m using the crisp anti-aliasing method, which you might find suitable as well. Be sure to set your text to white.
Creating the Sidebar
Create a New Layer.
Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool, create a selection along the right side of your flyer extending from top to bottom of the active image area. Fill this area with the Paint Bucket Tool (using a black foreground color). Once the selection is filled, Deselect (Select > Deselect or Ctrl + D), and use a large, soft, eraser to fade out the bottom.
Branding the Document
Since this is a fictitious event, sponsored by a fictitious organization, we’re going to use a preset custom shape as our means of branding this flyer.
Use the Custom Shape Tool, and select a preset shape from the options bar. Set your shape somewhere at the top of your sidebar, and make sure that your shapes color is White. You can hold shift to constrain your shapes proportions as your drawing it.
Additionally, let’s add some type going down the right sidebar with the Vertical Type Tool. Choose a new font family, and a size that fits well into the flyer.
Final Brushing
We’re almost done! As a finishing touch to our simple flyer, we’re going to add some nifty leaves in the bottom right corner with the Brush Tool. Photoshop already has a preset that we can use to accomplish this, making it all the easier!
Create a New Layer, and select a Foreground Color of White.
From your Brushes Palette, scroll through your brush presets, and select Scattered Maple Leaves.
In your new layer, create a small splash of leaves in the bottom right corner. It may take you a few tries to create a nice effect (Just use Ctrl + “Z” to undo, or Ctrl + Alt + “Z” to do multiple undo’s). Once you complete this, your flyer is complete!
Congratulations! If you’ve made it this far, that means that you have successfully completed Pre-School through the 8th grade of the School of Photoshop! You’re now ready to begin on grades 9-12!
This is a great post! I just read through it very quickly but it will give users a good idea if of where they need to start in the school of photoshop if they feel they have a basic understanding already.
Well done, David. The site is coming along very nicely!
Thanks Matthew! That’s one of the main purposes of these “Test” tutorials - letting users understand what abilities they still need to develop, and provide real world uses for the different things taught in our other lessons!
Always appreciate your feedback mate!
Great series… i stunbled across it and have been studying photoshop cs3 and illustrator for a few weeks. Curious to see where i was in your schooling. Incredible tuts i must say very well done and like the screen examples!I am past the 8th grade level so i am intrigued and now a fan… patiently waiting for the high school grades to come out. Props to you guys!!!
TerraN
We’ll have the beginning of the High School level tutorials out sometime in the very near future, so be sure to subscribe to our tutorial feed (via your feed reader, or subscribe by email up top)!
Thanks a bunch TerraN!
Just awesome !
I didnt went trough all grades in your PS school…
cos I have basic knowledge of tools, gradients,coloring, healing, stuff like that..
Im far, far from being good @ PS, bbut I have pass your Pre-School-8th grade test..
and it came out exactly how you did it..hehe not really exactly but 98% close..
Ty m8!
Here it is: http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/kaiserrex/Flyer.png
this is awesome!!
i finished this “test” pretty quickly but it was still interesting. These tutorials are some of the highest quality ones i’ve seen out there. Keep up the good work!
awesome work!!
but i have one question, where do ya get the pen shape? it isn’t a standard shape or am i wrong? i can’t find it.
Phew! I did it! Can’t wait for the high school level stuff to come out.
wow great site , you are really inspiring me
Greaaaat stuff!
I used to hate Ps before, but now you made it easy for me to use! [I was going about it all the worng way...]
Fantastic, keep up the good work, awaiting Hi-School!
Excellent Tutorial, covers most of the basics in one tidy book-based package!
A Question though…
The black, faded bar on the right, My initial thought was to use the gradient tool.
What are the reasons that you’d use the soft eraser technique? Like, is it just down to the artist and which way he/she feels comfortable with?
An excellent tutorial, the thing that i always looking to create graphic for my website.
Unfortunately certain part like final brush i can’t complete because the different version of adobe photoshop. currently i use adobe photoshop CS3. i would be greate if you could provide tutorial for CS3 version.
This is a very very excellent tutorial. I am a zero knowledge in CS3 photoshop but now I can create and edit of my own. Thanks for this tutorial I hope that you will release your high school toturial immediately. This is a step by step procedure I like and love this tutorial thanks and may God give u more blessings…
I’ve been working on the first few tutorials for our “High School” levels, and you’ll probably see some of them hitting next week.
@ truzoids - I actually believe CS3 has the same brush which I used here, but I could be mistaken.
Good job David.
What about a School of Illustrator?
@ David - Well, there are a few Illustrator experts who have expressed interest in writing such a series here, but we’re still in the beginnings stages of such a thing.
Hopefully, before long we’ll have “Schools” for Photography, Illustrator, and Photoshop!
er… David, I have copy the source image then try to paste it into the document, but failed. I have tried this several times, and yet, no action was performed. huhu. Any suggestion?
Since I can’t using that method you suggested, I just saved the image source into my desktop first. then open the files into the psd document. ^^
Dear Davis, how can I change the custom shape default colour from black to white? thanks!
@ ladyheart - There is a color thumbnail in the layers palette next to your custom shapes. Double click it to select a new color
oh.. I know why I couldn’t find it before. Because when I click custom shape and click path, there’s no colour thumbnail appeared in the option bar. but when I click at shape layers, there is the colour thumbnail!
Btw, here’s the flyer I created - http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff183/ladyheart23/Flyer.gif
^^ hope I am not disappoint you.
Thanks dear! ^^ U have been really helpful!
Loved this idea of tutorial/ test. Here is what I created http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e116/mackit13/bookflyer.jpg
I just wanna say Thank you very much to guy. I learned i lot. I don’t know anything about photoshop before, now atleast i know the basic. thanks alot
Thank you very much for the basic photoshop tutorials. U’ve really helped me a lot. Reading these kind of tutorials is much better than using adobe photoshop books as it is much more easier to understand and more interactive.. Hope to see more of ur tutorials afterwards..
Got a little confused by the Width: 8, Heigt: 10.
Came out super small, but I realized it was a silly
retarded mistake of mine too.
Anywho, your tutorial was great, & it’s really
late, & i’m half awake. I won’t type up an essay explaining
how well you do, just keep it up!
Result: http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c174/QulkSilver/Photoshop/BookReadingAd.jpg
Hej David,
you don’t realize how much you’re helping me (and probably most of the people here)! I used to working in Illustrator and Indesign the whole time but Photohop is a such different kind of thinking - now thanks to your tutorials I feel confident that I will eventually master Photoshop to a degree where I don’t have to be ashamed of sitting in a architect’s office… Thank you for the work you and your co-editors put in this!
What a great tutorial! I’ve been photoshoping for years and tutorials like this help keep me my skills sharp. Thanks Matthew!!!
Is there any chance of there being a “School of Illustrator” or “School of InDesign”?