Post pobrano z: How to Create a Sari-Inspired Text Effect in Adobe Illustrator

In
this tutorial you will learn how to draw a text effect inspired by
the stunning sari/saree clothing. The color theme here is bright pink
and gold. There are plenty of details and plenty of Illustrator
brushes and effects that we’ll use to create the beautiful
decorations and silky texture, so follow along and learn some new techniques.

If
you are hungry for more text effects, make sure to check out
GraphicRiver and you’ll surely find what you are looking for there. 

1. How
to Open a New Document 

Launch
Illustrator
and
go to File
> New to
open a blank document. Type a name for your file, set up the
dimensions, and then select Pixels
as
Units
and
RGB
as
Color
Mode.
Make sure that Align
New Objects to Pixel Grid is
not checked.

Next,
go to Edit
> Preferences > General and
set the Keyboard
Increment to
1
px and
while there, go to Units
to
make sure they are set as in the following image. I usually work with
these settings, and they will help you throughout the drawing process. 

2. How
to Create the Sari Text

Step
1

Copy
the text “साड़ी“, which is the Hindi word for sari, and
Paste it on your artboard using the Type Tool (T). You most likely
will see squares instead of the text, but change the font to “Nirmala
UI”, Bold, size of 220 pt. This is a Microsoft font that comes with the Windows OS, and
this is the only font in my collection that allows me to see the
Hindi characters. You can download it from here or here.

Another option is to simply use the word Sari or Saree.

Use
the Selection Tool (V) to select the text and drag it a little to the
right to make it wider.

Step
2

While
the text is still selected, choose Expand from the Object menu and
then Ungroup (Shift-Control-G). You will get the individual pieces of
text. Throughout this tutorial, I will refer to the pink character as
“piece 1” of text, to the orange character as “piece 2” of
text, and the green, blue and red ones as “piece
3”, “piece 4” and “piece 5” respectively.

As
you can see, the pieces of text are overlapping at the top, especially
the orange and green pieces. You need to fix that. Grab the Direct
Selection Tool (A) and use it to select only the top left anchor
points of the orange piece and move them towards the inside, up to the pink edge. Continue
with the top right points and move them up to the green edge. Repeat
the same thing between the green and blue pieces.

Fill
the newly obtained text with bright pink.

3. How
to Create the Golden Border Around the Sari Text

Step
1

Copy
and Paste in Back (Control-B) all five pieces of text and remove the
fill color. Select a 1.5 pt beige Stroke and press the Align Stroke
to Outside icon in the Stroke panel. While this Stroke attribute
stays selected in the Appearance panel, go to Effect > Path >
Offset Path and apply an Offset of 1 px.

Add
a New Stroke at the bottom of the Appearance panel and select a 1 pt
light brown Outside Stroke. Apply an Offset of 2.5 px this time.

Add
a New Stroke at the top of the Appearance panel and select a 1
pt Outside Stroke.

Step
2

Let’s
create a mask shape now. Copy and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V)
the five pieces of text, remove the fill color, and select a 3.5 pt
Outside Stroke which is the exact thickness of the golden border.
Choose Expand Appearance from the Object menu in order to turn the
strokes into fills. While the resulting blue borders stay selected,
go to Object > Compound Path > Make (Control-8) to merge them
into a single compound shape (1).

Grab
the Rectangle Tool (M) and draw a rectangle between the inside points
of the blue border as shown (2). Now, select the blue compound path
along with this rectangle and press Minus Front in the Pathfinder
panel. As a result, you will get rid of the small segments of blue
border that were on the inside (3).

Step
3

Take
the Pencil Tool (N) and draw a random wavy path following the golden
border of the first piece of text (1). Do the same thing for the
other pieces of text (2).

Stroke
these wavy paths with the Watercolor -Blend Art Brush that you can
find in the Brush Libraries Menu > Artistic >
Artistic_Watercolor. Keep the Stroke Weight at 1 pt and then go to
Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a Radius of 2 px. Set
the Blending Mode to Color Burn (3).

Step
4

Now,
select the mask shape from earlier (which must be in front of
everything and set to stroke-none, fill-none (1)) along with all the
wavy paths, and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).
As a result, the shading details will be visible only on the golden
border (2). You can see a before and after in the close-ups.

4. How
to Create the Golden Decorative Stripe on the Sari Text

Step
1

First,
let’s define where the decorations will go. Use the Rectangle Tool
(M) to draw a rectangle with a size of about 575 x 88 px over the
text (1).

Fill
the rectangle with the color indicated and then add a New Fill above.
Use the Leaves Tropical Color Pattern that you can find in the Swatch
Libraries menu > Patterns > Nature > Nature_Foliage. Set the
Blending Mode to Hard Light and reduce the Opacity to 45% (2).

With
the rectangle still selected, go to Object > Transform > Scale,
type 50% in the Scale field, and make sure to check only the Patterns
option. Hit OK and the pattern will be smaller (3).

Step
2

Select
the five pieces of text and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V) to make copies of them in front of everything. Go
to Object > Compound Path > Make (Control-8) to merge them into
a single shape and set it to stroke-none and fill-none (1).

Now,
select the pattern rectangle along with the newly obtained compound
path and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7) (2).

Step
3

Use
the Pen Tool (P) or the Line Segment Tool (\) to draw a straight path
over the text. Give it a 2 pt warm brown Stroke and select the Gold
Leaf Pattern Brush from the Brush Libraries menu > Borders >
Borders_Decorative. Open the Stroke Options window and set the
Colorization Method to Tints and Shades so the brush becomes warm
brown as well. Move this path under the mask that you created in
the previous step (1).

While
this Stroke attribute stays selected in the Appearance panel, go to
Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform and type -45 px in
the Move Vertical field. This will move the brush stroke upwards and
should go exactly up to the edge of the pattern rectangle (2).

Step
4

Add
a New Stroke under the first in the Appearance panel and use the
Floral 1 Pattern Brush from the Brush Libraries menu > Borders >
Borders_Decorative. Set the Stroke Weight to 0.75 pt and then set the
Colorization Method to Tints and Shades in the Stroke Options window
again to change the color of the brush.

While
this Stroke attribute stays selected in the Appearance panel, apply
the Transform effect again, and this time type -15 px in the Move
Vertical field.

Step
5

Add
a New Stroke at the bottom of the Appearance panel and use the Leaf
Pattern Pattern Brush from the Brush Libraries menu > Decorative >
Elegant Curl & Floral Brush Set. Set the Stroke Weight to 0.5 pt.
The Colorization Method is set to Tints by default, so you don’t have
to change it this time.

While
this Stroke attribute stays selected in the Appearance panel, apply
the Transform effect and type -33 px in the Move Vertical field. This
will move the brush right under the long stripe at the top of the text.

Step
6

Add
a New Stroke at the bottom of the Appearance panel and use the Rococo
Pattern Brush from the Brush Libraries menu > Borders >
Borders_Decorative. Keep the Stroke Weight at 1 pt. Open the Stroke
Options window, set the Colorization Method to Tints and Shades, and
use the color indicated. Apply the Transform effect and type 5 px in
the Move Vertical field.

Step
7

Add
a New Stroke and the last one at the bottom of the Appearance panel
and use the Scallopped Pattern Pattern Brush from the Brush
Libraries menu > Decorative > Elegant Curl & Floral Brush
Set. Reduce the Stroke Weight to 0.75 pt. Apply the Transform effect
and type 15 px in the Move Vertical field.

At
this point, the decorative stripe is ready.

5. How
to Create Shading & Highlights on the Sari Text

Step
1

Select
all five pieces of text and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V) to make copies of them in front of everything. Fill
the copies with a linear gradient called Tin from the Swatch
Libraries menu > Gradients > Metals. Next, go to Effect >
Sketch > Chrome and apply the settings shown. Set the Blending
Mode to Overlay and reduce the Opacity to 55%. As a result, you will
get the appearance of shading and highlights on the text.

Step
2

Take
the Pen Tool (P) and draw the four paths on the first piece of text.
Give them a 5 pt black Stroke and use the Tapered Blend Art Brush
that I’ve shown how to create and save in step 10 of the Candy Monster Character
tutorial. 

Next, go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur
and apply a Radius of 3 px. Set the Blending Mode to Multiply and
reduce the Opacity to 75%. The green path is set to 55%.

Step
3

Select
the first piece of text and then Copy and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V)
to make a copy of it in front of everything. Set this copy to
stroke-none and fill-none.

Now,
select this copy along with the piece of text with the Chrome effect
applied to it and the four paths from the previous step and go to
Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).

Step
4

Use
the technique explained in the previous two steps and create some
shading for the other pieces of text.

6. How
to Create Shading & Highlights on the Golden Decorative Stripe

Step
1

Let’s
create the mask shape first. Select the path with all the decorative
strokes applied to it and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V) to make a copy of it in front of everything. From
the Object menu, choose Expand Appearance and then Compound Path >
Make (Control-8) (1).

Select
the four pieces of text and Copy and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V)
to make copies of them in front. Go to Object > Compound Path >
Make (Control-8) to merge them into a single shape (2).

Now,
select these two new compound paths and press Intersect in the
Pathfinder panel. You can see the resulting shape in the image below
(3).

Step
2

Use
the Pencil Tool (N) to draw a random wavy path over the decorative
stripe. Give it a 1 pt black Stroke and use the Watercolor – Blend
Art Brush from the Brush Libraries menu > Artistic >
Artistic_Watercolor. Apply a 5 px Gaussian Blur; then set the
Blending Mode to Color Burn and the Opacity to 75%.

Step
3

Copy
and Paste
in Front (Control-F)
the wavy path from the previous step and choose Flip Vertical from
the fly-out menu of the Transform panel. Change the stroke color to
white and the Blending Mode to Overlay at 100% Opacity.

Step
4

Now,
select the two wavy paths along with the mask shape made earlier,
which should be in front and set to stroke-none, fill-none and go to
Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7). You will get a
notification saying that the mask shape is very complex, but do it
anyway.

Step
5

Here
is a before and after GIF so you can see the difference better.

7. How
to Create the Inner Shadow on the Sari Text

Select
all five pieces of text and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V) to make copies of them in front of everything.
After that, go to Object > Compound Path > Make (Control-8)
(1).

Fill
the newly obtained shape with white; then go to Effect > Stylize >
Inner Glow and apply the settings shown. Set the Blending Mode to
Multiply but only for the Fill attribute because this way the white
will become transparent but you will still be able to see the inner
shadow (2).

8. How
to Add Shine on the Sari Text

Use
the Pen Tool (P) to draw the following paths on the text.
Give them a 3 pt Stroke and use the Tapered Blend Art Brush again.
Apply a 3 px Gaussian Blur and then set the Blending Mode to Color
Dodge.

9. How
to Create the Fabric Texture on the Sari Text

Copy
and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V) the five pieces of text and
replace the fill color with light gray. Next, go to Effect >
Texture > Texturizer and apply the settings shown. Set the
Blending Mode to Multiply and reduce the Opacity to about 10%. It
should be only slightly visible.

10. How
to Create Extra Decorations on the Sari Text

Step
1

Draw
a straight path with the Pen Tool (P) or the Line Segment Tool (\)
and use the Floral 1 Pattern Brush from the Brush Libraries menu >
Borders > Borders_Decorative. Keep the Stroke Weight at 1 pt (1).

While
the path stays selected, choose Expand Appearance from the Object
menu and then select only the small shape in the center (2).

Make
a copy of this shape, Rotate it -30 degrees, and replace the existing
fill color with the linear gradient shown. Next, go to Effect >
Stylize > Drop Shadow and apply this effect twice using the
settings shown below (3).

Step
2

Multiply
the small golden decoration and align a few of the copies on each piece of
text.

11. How
to Create the Shadow for the Sari Text

Copy
and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V) the five pieces of text to make
copies of them and then go to Object > Compound Path > Make
(Control-8). Move the new compound path to a New Layer behind the
text effect (1).

Remove
the existing fill color and select a 3 pt Outside Stroke. Next, go to
Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and apply this effect four times
to create a shadow under the text (2).

Here
are the settings for the Drop Shadow effects in order.

Congratulations!
You’re Done!

The
sari-inspired text effect is ready now. I hope you learned new
techniques today that you’ll be able to apply to other text effects
and future projects.

If
you decide to recreate this effect, don’t forget to share an image because it will surely make my day.

Post pobrano z: How to Create a Modern Retro Magazine Layout in Adobe InDesign

Our love affair for all things vintage isn’t waning anytime soon, but you can bring your designs bang up-to-date by balancing retro and contemporary elements in your layouts. 

Here, we’ll put together a few spreads for a fashion and lifestyle magazine with a retro flavor. This is a great introduction to creating magazines in Adobe InDesign, as well as picking up tips on how to keep your layouts looking fresh and on-trend. 

If you’re a relative beginner to InDesign, this will introduce you to essential print design techniques, as well as broadening your skillset.  

If you want to create a complete magazine design quickly and easily, a magazine template is always a good option. You can find a large selection of templates for lifestyle, fashion, food and travel titles over on GraphicRiver and Envato Elements. 

What You’ll Need to Create Your Magazine 

We’ll use Adobe InDesign to create the magazine layout. To create the design pictured here, you’ll also need to download the following images and font files:

For both layouts:

• Handmade vintage textures

For the first 1950s-inspired layout:

• These three retro portraits of a model: Photo 1, Photo 2, and Photo 3.
• Moonface Script font 
• Besley font

For the second 1980s-inspired layout:

• Arista Pro font
• Cred font in Regular
• Sporty woman portraits: Photo 1 and Photo 2

Once you’ve saved the images to a safe place and installed the fonts onto your computer, you’re ready to get started.

1. How to Set Up Your Magazine Document in InDesign

Step 1

Open up InDesign and go to File > New > Document.

Keep the Intent set to Print, and set the Number of Pages to 10*. 

Set the Width of the page to 213 mm and Height to 276.5 mm, which is equivalent to a standard US magazine page size. If you want to adapt your layouts to a different page size, go ahead. 

Set the Top and Outside Margins to 13 mm, Inside to 14 mm, and Bottom to 15 mm.

Add a Bleed of 5 mm, before clicking OK. 

*Note: You can easily add more pages to your magazine later by clicking on the New Page button in the Pages panel (Window > Pages).

Step 2

Well-organised layers are key to keeping your sanity intact while you work on complex magazine spreads. 

Expand the Layers panel (Window > Layers) and double-click on the Layer 1 name. Rename the layer Background Color and click OK. 

Choose New Layer from the panel’s drop-down menu (at top-right). Name the layer Photos and click OK.

Create three more layers in this order: Typography, Texture and finally Master Elements. 

Lock all layers except Master Elements, which we’ll work on first. 

Step 3

Expand the Pages panel (Window > Pages) and click onto the A-Master page icons to bring up the master on screen. 

Zoom into the top-right corner of the page and use the Type Tool (T) to create a small text frame against the margin line. Here will be your page number, and you can begin it with a ‘/’ or ‘>>’ as I’ve done here, if you like. 

Use the main Controls panel or Character panel (Window > Type & Tables > Character) to set the frame’s Font to Besley. 

With your type cursor sitting in the text frame, head up to Type > Insert Special Character > Markers > Current Page Number. 

Step 4

Right-Click on the A-Master and click on Master Options.

Add ‘Light Background’ to the name of the master, and click OK. 

Step 5

On the A-Master, Right-Click > Duplicate Master Spread, to create a copy below. 

Rename this B-Master ‘Dark Background’.

From the Swatches panel, switch the Font Color of the page number text to [Paper]. When you set this over a darker colored background, this will ensure the page number will be visible.

2. How to Build Up Color and Photography on Your Magazine Spreads

Step 1

Return to the Layers panel and lock the Master Elements layer. Unlock the bottom layer, Background Color. 

Click on New Color Swatch in the Swatches panel’s menu, and create a new CMYK swatch, C=0 M=27 Y=18 K=0. Click Add and then OK. 

Head down to Page 2 and 3 of your InDesign document.

Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to create a shape across the whole of Page 2, extending it up to the bleed edge. Set the Fill to your new pink swatch. 

Step 2

Lock the Background Color layer and unlock the layer above, Photos. 

Use the Rectangle Frame Tool (F) to create an image frame across Page 3. File > Place, navigate to one of the model portrait images you downloaded earlier (or a photo of your choice) and Open, allowing it to fill the whole frame. 

Because this photo has a dark background, I drag down the B-Master – Dark Background right-page icon onto the Page 3 icon, to apply it to this page. 

3. How to Format Retro Typography for Your Magazine

Step 1

Lock the Photos layer and unlock Typography above it. 

Take the Type Tool (T) and create a large text frame for a title over on Page 2 of your spread. Type in the first part of the article title, and set the Font to Moonface Script, around Size 180 pt. 

Edit > Copy, Edit > Paste the text frame and type up the second part of your title. Move the text frame up to allow the words to join up. 

Step 2

Add body text below your titling set in Bosley, and Uppercase. 

You can stick to this one-font-for-title, another-for-body-text rule as you work on your magazine spreads. 

4. How to Add Texture to Your Designs

Texture is an easy and effective way of injecting vintage style into your magazine designs. 

Step 1

Lock the Typography layer and unlock the Texture layer above. 

Use the Rectangle Frame Tool (F) to create an image frame across Page 2 of the spread, and File > Place. 

Choose one of the texture PNG images inside the handmade vintage textures folder. Here, I’ve gone for Texture 14. 

Copy and Paste the texture image frame, moving the copy over on top of Page 3.

Step 2

Select both texture image frames and go to Object > Effects > Transparency. Set the Mode to Color Dodge and bring the Opacity down to around 35%. 

Want a moodier look? Set the Mode to Multiply.

5. And Repeat…

By layering background color, photo, type and texture, you can create a beautiful retro style for your magazine layouts. It’s easy to follow this same process with other layouts, like here, for the next spread of the magazine. 

Here, I’ve set two different model portraits on Pages 4 and 5 of the document. 

I Copy and Paste the texture image frames I used on the previous spread and increase the Opacity of the Color Dodge transparency, to bring through a little more texture onto this spread.

I’m also going to create another couple of spreads in the magazine, using the same layering process. Read on to see how I use the same technique to create a 1980s-inspired design.

Step 1

Move down to Pages 6 and 7 of your document, and set a large image, such as this one, on the Photos layer, spanning the whole spread. 

Step 2

Use the Type Tool (T) to create a very large text frame across the left-hand page, and type in the article title. Set the Font to Cred Regular.

Step 3

Gradient swatches are great for adding a retro feel to typography on your magazine designs. First, it’s a good idea to create a range of swatches to use in your gradient.

Choose New Color Swatch from the Swatches panel’s main menu. Set the Type to Process and Mode to CMYK. Then adjust the CMYK values below. To create a sunset-style range of swatches, as used here, add the following swatches to the panel:

• C=0 M=30 Y=93 K=0
• C=0 M=84 Y=91 K=0
• C=0 M=95 Y=18 K=0
• C=65 M=85 Y=0 K=0

Step 4

Choose New Gradient Swatch from the panel’s main menu. 

Name the swatch Sunset, set the Type to Linear and choose Swatches from the Stop Color menu. 

Click on the left-hand stop on the Gradient Ramp at the bottom and set this to the yellow swatch.

Click on the right-hand stop and set this to the dark purple swatch. 

Click onto the ramp twice to add two more stops, and set these to the orange and pink swatch, to create a gradual sunset effect. Then click OK. 

Step 5

Select the title text frame and apply the Sunset gradient swatch to the text using the Swatches panel.

You can also create a subtitle set in Arista Pro Fat, and apply the Sunset swatch to this as well. 

Step 6

Unlock the Texture layer, Copy and Edit > Paste in Place texture image frames down from the previous spread. 

Go to Object > Effects > Transparency to play around with the transparency settings a little.

Step 7

For the final spread of this article, I’m going to add a color gradient across the whole image, to give it a retro look. 

Place a photo on the Photos layer. If you want to introduce a larger section of body text to this spread, only allow the photo to cover some of the spread. 

Use the Rectangle Frame Tool (F) to create a shape over the top of the image frame, and set the Fill of the shape to Sunset.

With the shape selected go to Object > Effects > Transparency and set the Mode to Multiply. Bring the Opacity down to around 80% and click OK. 

Step 8

Scatter text frames set in Cred Regular across the layout, using some of the swatches you created earlier to add a contrasting pop of color. 

You can set a text frame on the emptier section of your spread, setting body text in Acre.

You can increase the Drop Cap Number of Lines in the Paragraph panel to pull out the first letter of your article in a drop cap. Try setting it in a contrasting font, like Cred, and in the Sunset gradient swatch. 

And this layout’s finished—awesome!

Once you’ve finished each spread of your magazine, make sure to head up to File > Save to keep an intact copy of all your hard work.

You can keep adding pages to your magazine using the Pages panel. Follow the sequence of layering—background color, photos, typography, and texture—to build up a consistent vintage-inspired look for your magazine. 

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ve looked at how you can add vintage touches to your magazine layouts with color, typography, and texture. This modern-retro mix is a hot trend in print design for 2018, so start experimenting with vintage touches in your projects to keep your designs looking fresh and on-trend. 

If you want to create complete magazine designs quickly and easily, a magazine template is a great place to start. You can find a huge range of templates for lifestyle, fashion, food and travel titles over on GraphicRiver and Envato Elements.