VMESNA STOPNJA · 10 MIN

How to create a poster in Adobe Photoshop

Blending textures, images, and type can make for a composition that is sure to get noticed. See how Tiago Araújo creates an eye-catching poster in Adobe Photoshop.

Tiago Araújo is a designer and art director who lives in Brazil. He blends photography and fine art to create mixed media projects for several Brazilian brands.

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Sample file to practice with (ZIP, 50.1 MB)

This sample file is an Adobe Stock asset you can use to practice what you learn in this tutorial. If you want to use the sample file beyond this tutorial, you can purchase a license on Adobe Stock. Check out the ReadMe file in the folder for the terms that apply to your use of this sample file.

Blend textures

Araújo began by opening a previously saved poster-sized file with a background image that simulates the look of paper grain. He placed a black texture image in the lower-right corner and used the Rectangular Marquee (M) to select part of the new texture. Then, he applied a layer mask and painted with a black textured brush to create a ragged edge for the image.

Two layer images, one light paper texture, one black texture with a Photoshop layer mask applied and a digital brush tool

Mix some media

To combine imagery and texture, Araújo added a blue texture and blended it into the scene with another layer mask. Then, he added an image of a wave into the composition.

Four layer images, an image of a wave and a blue texture have been added to the upper left of the composition

Type it up

For this piece, Araújo synced Henderson Slab from Adobe Fonts, typed the word ÁGUA, and sized and positioned the copy to his liking. Then, in order to customize the letterforms, he had to right-click on the text layer and choose Rasterize Type.

The Adobe Photoshop composition shows the Text tool highlighted, Henderson Slab as the font type, and the word AGUA

Liquify the letters

To liquify the letters, Araújo chose Filter > Liquify. Then, he used a large-radius Forward Warp tool to drag and warp the U in ÁGUA. Next, he used the Freeze Mask tool to brush over the letter U to protect it from any accidental editing. He finished by using the Forward Warp tool to customize the letter G.

Two versions of the word AGUA, the letter U appears liquified in each, a red mask covers part of the U in the second

Let it stand

With the liquified type layer selected, Araújo used the Move (V) tool to rotate and move the ÁQUA layer. Then, he placed the water ripple image on to the canvas, scaled it to cover the letters and pressed Enter (Windows), or Return (macOS), to place it. He right-clicked and chose Create Clipping Mask to clip the texture to the liquified type layer, adding a ripple effect to the word.

AGUA is rotated on its side, two image layers visible, a blue water image is applied to the letters as a clipping mask

Shape your message

Araújo made the event date stand out by typing around an invisible circle. He selected the Ellipse tool and held Shift as he dragged out a circle. He selected the Type tool, hovered over the circle, and clicked where he wanted the text to start. Then, he typed his own message to replace the default text that followed the path. Araújo ultimately added more text and experimented with size and placement. He also customized additional text in Adobe Illustrator and added it as a Smart Object to his Photoshop composition.