Post pobrano z: How to Make a (Good Looking) Poster

So you’ve decided you’d like to design a poster—but that’s a little easier said than done, isn’t it? Making a poster isn’t terribly difficult, but knowing how to make a poster look good… that’s another story. We ultimately want to create a poster that does its job—communicating a message to the viewer—and does so in a memorable and engaging way.

We’ll take a look at the ins and outs of great poster design: what makes a poster design really strong? We’ll break this down by observing some examples and then discussing some tips and tricks for making your own poster designs look great—and if you’re looking for a user-friendly creation tool, check out Placeit! Not only is it another great source of poster design examples, it’s also a simple, easy-to-use tool for design mockups—for pros and beginners alike.

Now, let’s dig in and take a look at what makes an awesome poster design.

Let’s Look at Examples

Here are some examples of strong poster design (created by, from left to right, Figen Demireva, „Free Falling”, „Good in the End”, Shmuly Gniwisch, and „Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20”, Severino Canepa).

They’re all aesthetically quite different, but they have one major thing in common: they’re all using the principles of design in a strategic and purposeful way. It can be a little hard to recognize, at first, especially if you’re a design newcomer. Don’t worry—we’ll dig into that in just a moment.

A Familiar Example

The same applies to iconic movie posters—you’re probably familiar with this movie, if not also this movie poster. It looks great! One look and we can get the general idea of what the movie’s about: we can expect an otherworldly experience (and that’s even without the iconic „finger touch” visual). There’s a bicycle in the sky! They’re flying! Our eyes go right to the silhouette in the sky.

But how do you design something like this?

Whether you’d like to learn how to make a movie poster, an event poster, or just how to make a good poster in general, there are certain ground rules we can count on for success. We’ll break down these concepts into simple examples and then review them, again, in these working examples of strong poster design.

Let’s start with the basics: a good poster typically has strongly established emphasis and hierarchy.

Emphasis and Hierarchy

The emphasis in our composition commands our attention. It’s often a focal point or a point of interest. Notice, above, that the word „emphasis” really stands out.

Hierarchy is generally used to describe an order of importance in your composition. For example, what’s most important in your poster design? What do you want the audience to see first—and why? This might be the title or perhaps a key image that’ll prove to be engaging and draw your audience in—our emphasis, or focal point.

We can’t stop there, however. Hierarchy is more than just “making things big” or “thinking about what’s most important”. Most compositions have supplemental elements too. We can establish hierarchy in our compositions by using the other principles of design to our advantage. Let’s try this out with a simple example.

A Simple Example

Above is a simplified example of hierarchy. Notice how the movie title is large and dark. This is our focal point. Then, the subtitle is smaller and a lighter shade of gray. Then, even smaller and lighter, we have some credit information. Our eyes start with the largest content and then move downwards until we reach the bottom.

Notice, as well, that the title has higher contrast. Black on white is higher contrast than light gray on white—because of this, the black type commands more attention. Proportion and scale are also at work here. The title is larger and therefore appears more dominant in the composition.

Now, that’s not to say that your title should always have the highest contrast and the largest size in your poster design, no. This is just a simplified example of these design principles in action.

We don’t necessarily have to stack these elements on top of each other, either, to establish a system of hierarchy. Let’s try the same simple design, but with the different parts rearranged.

Let’s Mix It Up

The top of the composition has a lot more negative space now (note, negative space refers to the space not occupied by the design elements—think about it like “breathing room”). I chose to put the subtitle here, with the title at the very bottom. It reads differently, doesn’t it? Our eyes go to the subtitle, in black. The title is large, but has low contrast.

One More Remix

So, again, I’ve repositioned those same three parts of our design. Notice how it affects how the content reads and how our eyes move through the space. We’ve largely been experimenting with proximity—the visual relationship that these elements share.

Above, the credits and subtitle share the same right margin. This makes them look visually related. Notice, as well, that the baseline of the subtitle also aligns with the letter „T” in „Title”. Here are some visual guides to help illustrate this.

Visual Relationships

Notice how the placement of each of these elements is inspired by the others. The power of using proximity to our advantage becomes more obvious when we start to add more content to our composition. Let’s try another simplified example, this time using some imagery. We’ll use a movie poster as our example focus.

An Example With Imagery

If you’d like to follow along, this image is available at Envato Elements. The font used in this example, Lemonade Stand, is available too!

• Young Woman Running (Image)
• Lemonade Stand (Font)

In this example, notice how the type visually associates with the imagery. It’s not haphazardly placed. Instead, it utilizes the imagery as a point of visual reference. Let’s take a second look, with some guidelines.

Deconstructing These Relationships

Note the guidelines placed on top of the same design, above. They were inspired by the shoes and the point where the grass and the ground meet. For the far right guide, I just wanted to stick with one unified margin. Not every guideline has to be directly inspired by your imagery or emphasis to work.

By making these visual associations, we can potentially make our work look more unified. The contents here have been placed purposefully; they’re working together and inspired by each other.

Personally, I like to think of this as my own personal cheat sheet. If I’m not sure where to „put something” in my design, I can create guidelines based on my focal point or another key element in my composition. Using this as a starting point, I can make my own, easy-to-follow map. Now, I might not always stick to it—sometimes, a detour might prove to be a more interesting route—but it can be a handy way to start, especially if you’re not sure where to begin.

Let’s try this a second time.

Build a Design „Cheat Sheet”

Here, I’ve placed our image in the upper part of the composition. I’ve left some space at the bottom, and I’ve drawn on some guidelines. These are key points where I think I’d like to experiment with some visual associations.

This composition generally has asymmetrical balance; notice how most of the weight has been placed on the right side of the composition.

Adding in Content

Here’s our concept with added content. If you’re unable to see this clearly, check out the simplified version on the right. The image has been replaced with a simple shape, but the visual relationships all remain the same.

Let’s Try a Few Other Variants

Notice how cropping and isolation can really change our composition. This time, our balance is more symmetrical—most of the composition is inspired by the centered legs and feet. Check out the simplified version on the right, for suggested guidelines.

Can you spot the emphasis? There’s a lot of attention here drawn to the title. The legs and feet draw our eyes down to that point. It’s got a lot of contrast against the background, too, which really commands our attention.

Let’s take the same concept, change up the aesthetic, and push the movement further.

Pushing the Concept in a Different Direction

This example uses some illustrative elements to add additional movement to the composition. 

I used a number of different visuals to create a flowery, whimsical, flourish-like effect. Notice how these additional elements help further move our eyes towards the base of the shoes and the title. They’re growing outward from this point.

Movement describes how the viewer’s eyes are guided through the composition. All kinds of things can direct our eyes, and movement is often subtle. Remember our hierarchy examples? We started with the title, at the top, and worked our way down to the supplemental elements at the bottom.

If you’d like to check out the assets I used in this example, to experiment on your own, you can check them out here on Envato Elements:

• Fairytales Script Font
• Isolated Blossom of Columbine Flower
• Isolated Purple Crocus Flower Blossom
• Watercolor Leaves Collection

Line and shape can imply movement, help create emphasis, and even change how your work communicates. Let’s take a look at an additional example.

Experimenting With Movement and Orientation

Above, I rotated the content so I’m working with diagonal lines. It changes things up and alters how the image communicates too. Now, the subject’s balance looks off and tilted—is the world feeling off-center to this person? It’s now how we expect to see feet on the ground. This differs a lot from the previous example, where the subject was „flowering”—see what I mean?

These are a lot of different examples to consider. So where do you start, and what happens if you’re feeling lost?

Where Do You Start?

If you’re ever stuck and you’re not quite sure where to begin placing your content, think about those visual relationships. A strong design is unified and works together, so relating different parts of your content to each other is typically a great start.

Try Out Guidelines

You can make yourself a „cheat sheet”—place some guides down! You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a great place to get started.

In addition, keep in mind that a good design doesn’t just look good. A good design works well, too. What do you want to communicate to your audience? Is your movie poster supposed to convey excitement? Is your event poster supposed to get the viewer excited? Think about the mood and the message—what visual associations could you make there?

Let’s take what we’ve looked at and go back to those examples of strong poster design, now that we have some insight into what makes them so strong.

Free Falling

Let’s start with Figen Demireva’s „Free Falling”. Notice the repetition here—we see this falling figure three times, two of which are off the page. It implies movement, which works perfectly with the theme that the artist was trying to convey.

Remember when we talked about visual relationships? Notice how „30 Days of Poster” and „Day 05” share the same top margin. „Day 05”, „Free Falling”, and „30 Days of Poster” also share the same left margin.  Likewise, observe „free and „falling” on the right-hand side. They vary, and this variety gives them added interest. What other visual relationships do you see?

You can check out more of Figen’s lovely design work here!

Good in the End

Next, we have „Good in the End” by Shmuly Gniwisch, featuring beautiful, hand-drawn type.

The color gradually changes here, from the top to the bottom of the piece. It helps create movement, guiding our eyes towards the bottom of both the poster and the phrase. The type itself has a host of beautiful line strokes, flourishes, and embellishments, but notice how they visually relate to one another. There is a very clearly defined left and right margin here. Everything „fits” into this space, which helps establish this as one unified phrase.

More of Shmuly’s work, including process videos, are available here!

Ostracism Apollo

„Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20” is beautifully detailed, varied, and exciting to look at, designed by the talented Severino Canepa.

First, notice some of the supplements here. See the elements around the corners of the design? Note the visual relationships here and how they align with each other.

This premise is expanded upon in an advanced way when we look at the facial features. For example, the large magenta shape on the left-hand side moves and associates with the eye. We see clever cutouts for visual interest associated with the mouth, in blue, and the hair, in magenta.

While there is a lot of variation there, note how the balance is somewhat symmetrically inspired. There’s also generous negative space here, so things don’t get overly chaotic. All of the color and texture here takes something that is „still”—a statue—and gives it a lot of life and excitement.

Check out more of Severino’s work here! He’s got a process video of this poster, as well, if you’d like to watch him at work!

From Pop Culture

Finally, let’s return to our iconic movie poster. Remember, our objective, as designers, isn’t just to make something look good—it should communicate well, too. This poster says a lot with visuals alone.

The silhouette of the bicycle and the two main characters commands our attention, particularly against the darker values in the moon. The imagery has also been cropped in a way that really brings that focus up to the moon in the first place. Without knowing anything about the movie, a flying bicycle is going to be a curious image.

The title is in white—this has a lot of contrast against the dark values of the trees. That makes it stand out. Notice, like our earlier examples, that the title is larger than the supplementary text. It gives it priority and dominance over those other elements. The typography is generally balanced symmetrically—envision a guideline down the center.

Hopefully, this gives you some insights into not only how to make a poster, but how to pick out what makes a poster work well! For added practice, take a look at some of your favorite poster designs and see what design principles you can spot. Remember, if you’re unsure of where to start in your own designs, placing down some guidelines can be a great place to start.

Looking for Extra Help?

Still need some help? If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly tool to help you create poster design mockups, check out Placeit. There are also poster templates you can use to help get you started, if you’d like a little more help getting your poster design off the ground. Need a movie poster template? Placeit has you covered.

And That’s a Wrap!

Thank you for joining me as we explored how to make a good-looking poster! This is hardly the end—there are so many amazing design solutions out there, and the only limit is your imagination! I hope these insights helped spark some ideas. Happy creating, and good luck with your next poster design project!

Want more design tips and insights? Check out these other articles:

• 
  Design Theory
  10 Design Tips for Creating Amazing Wedding Invitations
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Poster Design
  How to Create an Amazing Gig Poster: 5 Awesome Design Tips
  Laura Keung

• 
  Vintage
  A Guide to Vintage Design Styles
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Design Theory
  Decode Graphic Design Jargon: Part 1
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Color Theory
  Advanced Color Theory: What Is Color Management?
  James Thomas

Post pobrano z: How to Make a (Good Looking) Poster

So you’ve decided you’d like to design a poster—but that’s a little easier said than done, isn’t it? Making a poster isn’t terribly difficult, but knowing how to make a poster look good… that’s another story. We ultimately want to create a poster that does its job—communicating a message to the viewer—and does so in a memorable and engaging way.

We’ll take a look at the ins and outs of great poster design: what makes a poster design really strong? We’ll break this down by observing some examples and then discussing some tips and tricks for making your own poster designs look great—and if you’re looking for a user-friendly creation tool, check out Placeit! Not only is it another great source of poster design examples, it’s also a simple, easy-to-use tool for design mockups—for pros and beginners alike.

Now, let’s dig in and take a look at what makes an awesome poster design.

Let’s Look at Examples

Here are some examples of strong poster design (created by, from left to right, Figen Demireva, „Free Falling”, „Good in the End”, Shmuly Gniwisch, and „Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20”, Severino Canepa).

They’re all aesthetically quite different, but they have one major thing in common: they’re all using the principles of design in a strategic and purposeful way. It can be a little hard to recognize, at first, especially if you’re a design newcomer. Don’t worry—we’ll dig into that in just a moment.

A Familiar Example

The same applies to iconic movie posters—you’re probably familiar with this movie, if not also this movie poster. It looks great! One look and we can get the general idea of what the movie’s about: we can expect an otherworldly experience (and that’s even without the iconic „finger touch” visual). There’s a bicycle in the sky! They’re flying! Our eyes go right to the silhouette in the sky.

But how do you design something like this?

Whether you’d like to learn how to make a movie poster, an event poster, or just how to make a good poster in general, there are certain ground rules we can count on for success. We’ll break down these concepts into simple examples and then review them, again, in these working examples of strong poster design.

Let’s start with the basics: a good poster typically has strongly established emphasis and hierarchy.

Emphasis and Hierarchy

The emphasis in our composition commands our attention. It’s often a focal point or a point of interest. Notice, above, that the word „emphasis” really stands out.

Hierarchy is generally used to describe an order of importance in your composition. For example, what’s most important in your poster design? What do you want the audience to see first—and why? This might be the title or perhaps a key image that’ll prove to be engaging and draw your audience in—our emphasis, or focal point.

We can’t stop there, however. Hierarchy is more than just “making things big” or “thinking about what’s most important”. Most compositions have supplemental elements too. We can establish hierarchy in our compositions by using the other principles of design to our advantage. Let’s try this out with a simple example.

A Simple Example

Above is a simplified example of hierarchy. Notice how the movie title is large and dark. This is our focal point. Then, the subtitle is smaller and a lighter shade of gray. Then, even smaller and lighter, we have some credit information. Our eyes start with the largest content and then move downwards until we reach the bottom.

Notice, as well, that the title has higher contrast. Black on white is higher contrast than light gray on white—because of this, the black type commands more attention. Proportion and scale are also at work here. The title is larger and therefore appears more dominant in the composition.

Now, that’s not to say that your title should always have the highest contrast and the largest size in your poster design, no. This is just a simplified example of these design principles in action.

We don’t necessarily have to stack these elements on top of each other, either, to establish a system of hierarchy. Let’s try the same simple design, but with the different parts rearranged.

Let’s Mix It Up

The top of the composition has a lot more negative space now (note, negative space refers to the space not occupied by the design elements—think about it like “breathing room”). I chose to put the subtitle here, with the title at the very bottom. It reads differently, doesn’t it? Our eyes go to the subtitle, in black. The title is large, but has low contrast.

One More Remix

So, again, I’ve repositioned those same three parts of our design. Notice how it affects how the content reads and how our eyes move through the space. We’ve largely been experimenting with proximity—the visual relationship that these elements share.

Above, the credits and subtitle share the same right margin. This makes them look visually related. Notice, as well, that the baseline of the subtitle also aligns with the letter „T” in „Title”. Here are some visual guides to help illustrate this.

Visual Relationships

Notice how the placement of each of these elements is inspired by the others. The power of using proximity to our advantage becomes more obvious when we start to add more content to our composition. Let’s try another simplified example, this time using some imagery. We’ll use a movie poster as our example focus.

An Example With Imagery

If you’d like to follow along, this image is available at Envato Elements. The font used in this example, Lemonade Stand, is available too!

• Young Woman Running (Image)
• Lemonade Stand (Font)

In this example, notice how the type visually associates with the imagery. It’s not haphazardly placed. Instead, it utilizes the imagery as a point of visual reference. Let’s take a second look, with some guidelines.

Deconstructing These Relationships

Note the guidelines placed on top of the same design, above. They were inspired by the shoes and the point where the grass and the ground meet. For the far right guide, I just wanted to stick with one unified margin. Not every guideline has to be directly inspired by your imagery or emphasis to work.

By making these visual associations, we can potentially make our work look more unified. The contents here have been placed purposefully; they’re working together and inspired by each other.

Personally, I like to think of this as my own personal cheat sheet. If I’m not sure where to „put something” in my design, I can create guidelines based on my focal point or another key element in my composition. Using this as a starting point, I can make my own, easy-to-follow map. Now, I might not always stick to it—sometimes, a detour might prove to be a more interesting route—but it can be a handy way to start, especially if you’re not sure where to begin.

Let’s try this a second time.

Build a Design „Cheat Sheet”

Here, I’ve placed our image in the upper part of the composition. I’ve left some space at the bottom, and I’ve drawn on some guidelines. These are key points where I think I’d like to experiment with some visual associations.

This composition generally has asymmetrical balance; notice how most of the weight has been placed on the right side of the composition.

Adding in Content

Here’s our concept with added content. If you’re unable to see this clearly, check out the simplified version on the right. The image has been replaced with a simple shape, but the visual relationships all remain the same.

Let’s Try a Few Other Variants

Notice how cropping and isolation can really change our composition. This time, our balance is more symmetrical—most of the composition is inspired by the centered legs and feet. Check out the simplified version on the right, for suggested guidelines.

Can you spot the emphasis? There’s a lot of attention here drawn to the title. The legs and feet draw our eyes down to that point. It’s got a lot of contrast against the background, too, which really commands our attention.

Let’s take the same concept, change up the aesthetic, and push the movement further.

Pushing the Concept in a Different Direction

This example uses some illustrative elements to add additional movement to the composition. 

I used a number of different visuals to create a flowery, whimsical, flourish-like effect. Notice how these additional elements help further move our eyes towards the base of the shoes and the title. They’re growing outward from this point.

Movement describes how the viewer’s eyes are guided through the composition. All kinds of things can direct our eyes, and movement is often subtle. Remember our hierarchy examples? We started with the title, at the top, and worked our way down to the supplemental elements at the bottom.

If you’d like to check out the assets I used in this example, to experiment on your own, you can check them out here on Envato Elements:

• Fairytales Script Font
• Isolated Blossom of Columbine Flower
• Isolated Purple Crocus Flower Blossom
• Watercolor Leaves Collection

Line and shape can imply movement, help create emphasis, and even change how your work communicates. Let’s take a look at an additional example.

Experimenting With Movement and Orientation

Above, I rotated the content so I’m working with diagonal lines. It changes things up and alters how the image communicates too. Now, the subject’s balance looks off and tilted—is the world feeling off-center to this person? It’s now how we expect to see feet on the ground. This differs a lot from the previous example, where the subject was „flowering”—see what I mean?

These are a lot of different examples to consider. So where do you start, and what happens if you’re feeling lost?

Where Do You Start?

If you’re ever stuck and you’re not quite sure where to begin placing your content, think about those visual relationships. A strong design is unified and works together, so relating different parts of your content to each other is typically a great start.

Try Out Guidelines

You can make yourself a „cheat sheet”—place some guides down! You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a great place to get started.

In addition, keep in mind that a good design doesn’t just look good. A good design works well, too. What do you want to communicate to your audience? Is your movie poster supposed to convey excitement? Is your event poster supposed to get the viewer excited? Think about the mood and the message—what visual associations could you make there?

Let’s take what we’ve looked at and go back to those examples of strong poster design, now that we have some insight into what makes them so strong.

Free Falling

Let’s start with Figen Demireva’s „Free Falling”. Notice the repetition here—we see this falling figure three times, two of which are off the page. It implies movement, which works perfectly with the theme that the artist was trying to convey.

Remember when we talked about visual relationships? Notice how „30 Days of Poster” and „Day 05” share the same top margin. „Day 05”, „Free Falling”, and „30 Days of Poster” also share the same left margin.  Likewise, observe „free and „falling” on the right-hand side. They vary, and this variety gives them added interest. What other visual relationships do you see?

You can check out more of Figen’s lovely design work here!

Good in the End

Next, we have „Good in the End” by Shmuly Gniwisch, featuring beautiful, hand-drawn type.

The color gradually changes here, from the top to the bottom of the piece. It helps create movement, guiding our eyes towards the bottom of both the poster and the phrase. The type itself has a host of beautiful line strokes, flourishes, and embellishments, but notice how they visually relate to one another. There is a very clearly defined left and right margin here. Everything „fits” into this space, which helps establish this as one unified phrase.

More of Shmuly’s work, including process videos, are available here!

Ostracism Apollo

„Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20” is beautifully detailed, varied, and exciting to look at, designed by the talented Severino Canepa.

First, notice some of the supplements here. See the elements around the corners of the design? Note the visual relationships here and how they align with each other.

This premise is expanded upon in an advanced way when we look at the facial features. For example, the large magenta shape on the left-hand side moves and associates with the eye. We see clever cutouts for visual interest associated with the mouth, in blue, and the hair, in magenta.

While there is a lot of variation there, note how the balance is somewhat symmetrically inspired. There’s also generous negative space here, so things don’t get overly chaotic. All of the color and texture here takes something that is „still”—a statue—and gives it a lot of life and excitement.

Check out more of Severino’s work here! He’s got a process video of this poster, as well, if you’d like to watch him at work!

From Pop Culture

Finally, let’s return to our iconic movie poster. Remember, our objective, as designers, isn’t just to make something look good—it should communicate well, too. This poster says a lot with visuals alone.

The silhouette of the bicycle and the two main characters commands our attention, particularly against the darker values in the moon. The imagery has also been cropped in a way that really brings that focus up to the moon in the first place. Without knowing anything about the movie, a flying bicycle is going to be a curious image.

The title is in white—this has a lot of contrast against the dark values of the trees. That makes it stand out. Notice, like our earlier examples, that the title is larger than the supplementary text. It gives it priority and dominance over those other elements. The typography is generally balanced symmetrically—envision a guideline down the center.

Hopefully, this gives you some insights into not only how to make a poster, but how to pick out what makes a poster work well! For added practice, take a look at some of your favorite poster designs and see what design principles you can spot. Remember, if you’re unsure of where to start in your own designs, placing down some guidelines can be a great place to start.

Looking for Extra Help?

Still need some help? If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly tool to help you create poster design mockups, check out Placeit. There are also poster templates you can use to help get you started, if you’d like a little more help getting your poster design off the ground. Need a movie poster template? Placeit has you covered.

And That’s a Wrap!

Thank you for joining me as we explored how to make a good-looking poster! This is hardly the end—there are so many amazing design solutions out there, and the only limit is your imagination! I hope these insights helped spark some ideas. Happy creating, and good luck with your next poster design project!

Want more design tips and insights? Check out these other articles:

• 
  Design Theory
  10 Design Tips for Creating Amazing Wedding Invitations
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Poster Design
  How to Create an Amazing Gig Poster: 5 Awesome Design Tips
  Laura Keung

• 
  Vintage
  A Guide to Vintage Design Styles
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Design Theory
  Decode Graphic Design Jargon: Part 1
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Color Theory
  Advanced Color Theory: What Is Color Management?
  James Thomas

Post pobrano z: How to Make a (Good Looking) Poster

So you’ve decided you’d like to design a poster—but that’s a little easier said than done, isn’t it? Making a poster isn’t terribly difficult, but knowing how to make a poster look good… that’s another story. We ultimately want to create a poster that does its job—communicating a message to the viewer—and does so in a memorable and engaging way.

We’ll take a look at the ins and outs of great poster design: what makes a poster design really strong? We’ll break this down by observing some examples and then discussing some tips and tricks for making your own poster designs look great—and if you’re looking for a user-friendly creation tool, check out Placeit! Not only is it another great source of poster design examples, it’s also a simple, easy-to-use tool for design mockups—for pros and beginners alike.

Now, let’s dig in and take a look at what makes an awesome poster design.

Let’s Look at Examples

Here are some examples of strong poster design (created by, from left to right, Figen Demireva, „Free Falling”, „Good in the End”, Shmuly Gniwisch, and „Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20”, Severino Canepa).

They’re all aesthetically quite different, but they have one major thing in common: they’re all using the principles of design in a strategic and purposeful way. It can be a little hard to recognize, at first, especially if you’re a design newcomer. Don’t worry—we’ll dig into that in just a moment.

A Familiar Example

The same applies to iconic movie posters—you’re probably familiar with this movie, if not also this movie poster. It looks great! One look and we can get the general idea of what the movie’s about: we can expect an otherworldly experience (and that’s even without the iconic „finger touch” visual). There’s a bicycle in the sky! They’re flying! Our eyes go right to the silhouette in the sky.

But how do you design something like this?

Whether you’d like to learn how to make a movie poster, an event poster, or just how to make a good poster in general, there are certain ground rules we can count on for success. We’ll break down these concepts into simple examples and then review them, again, in these working examples of strong poster design.

Let’s start with the basics: a good poster typically has strongly established emphasis and hierarchy.

Emphasis and Hierarchy

The emphasis in our composition commands our attention. It’s often a focal point or a point of interest. Notice, above, that the word „emphasis” really stands out.

Hierarchy is generally used to describe an order of importance in your composition. For example, what’s most important in your poster design? What do you want the audience to see first—and why? This might be the title or perhaps a key image that’ll prove to be engaging and draw your audience in—our emphasis, or focal point.

We can’t stop there, however. Hierarchy is more than just “making things big” or “thinking about what’s most important”. Most compositions have supplemental elements too. We can establish hierarchy in our compositions by using the other principles of design to our advantage. Let’s try this out with a simple example.

A Simple Example

Above is a simplified example of hierarchy. Notice how the movie title is large and dark. This is our focal point. Then, the subtitle is smaller and a lighter shade of gray. Then, even smaller and lighter, we have some credit information. Our eyes start with the largest content and then move downwards until we reach the bottom.

Notice, as well, that the title has higher contrast. Black on white is higher contrast than light gray on white—because of this, the black type commands more attention. Proportion and scale are also at work here. The title is larger and therefore appears more dominant in the composition.

Now, that’s not to say that your title should always have the highest contrast and the largest size in your poster design, no. This is just a simplified example of these design principles in action.

We don’t necessarily have to stack these elements on top of each other, either, to establish a system of hierarchy. Let’s try the same simple design, but with the different parts rearranged.

Let’s Mix It Up

The top of the composition has a lot more negative space now (note, negative space refers to the space not occupied by the design elements—think about it like “breathing room”). I chose to put the subtitle here, with the title at the very bottom. It reads differently, doesn’t it? Our eyes go to the subtitle, in black. The title is large, but has low contrast.

One More Remix

So, again, I’ve repositioned those same three parts of our design. Notice how it affects how the content reads and how our eyes move through the space. We’ve largely been experimenting with proximity—the visual relationship that these elements share.

Above, the credits and subtitle share the same right margin. This makes them look visually related. Notice, as well, that the baseline of the subtitle also aligns with the letter „T” in „Title”. Here are some visual guides to help illustrate this.

Visual Relationships

Notice how the placement of each of these elements is inspired by the others. The power of using proximity to our advantage becomes more obvious when we start to add more content to our composition. Let’s try another simplified example, this time using some imagery. We’ll use a movie poster as our example focus.

An Example With Imagery

If you’d like to follow along, this image is available at Envato Elements. The font used in this example, Lemonade Stand, is available too!

• Young Woman Running (Image)
• Lemonade Stand (Font)

In this example, notice how the type visually associates with the imagery. It’s not haphazardly placed. Instead, it utilizes the imagery as a point of visual reference. Let’s take a second look, with some guidelines.

Deconstructing These Relationships

Note the guidelines placed on top of the same design, above. They were inspired by the shoes and the point where the grass and the ground meet. For the far right guide, I just wanted to stick with one unified margin. Not every guideline has to be directly inspired by your imagery or emphasis to work.

By making these visual associations, we can potentially make our work look more unified. The contents here have been placed purposefully; they’re working together and inspired by each other.

Personally, I like to think of this as my own personal cheat sheet. If I’m not sure where to „put something” in my design, I can create guidelines based on my focal point or another key element in my composition. Using this as a starting point, I can make my own, easy-to-follow map. Now, I might not always stick to it—sometimes, a detour might prove to be a more interesting route—but it can be a handy way to start, especially if you’re not sure where to begin.

Let’s try this a second time.

Build a Design „Cheat Sheet”

Here, I’ve placed our image in the upper part of the composition. I’ve left some space at the bottom, and I’ve drawn on some guidelines. These are key points where I think I’d like to experiment with some visual associations.

This composition generally has asymmetrical balance; notice how most of the weight has been placed on the right side of the composition.

Adding in Content

Here’s our concept with added content. If you’re unable to see this clearly, check out the simplified version on the right. The image has been replaced with a simple shape, but the visual relationships all remain the same.

Let’s Try a Few Other Variants

Notice how cropping and isolation can really change our composition. This time, our balance is more symmetrical—most of the composition is inspired by the centered legs and feet. Check out the simplified version on the right, for suggested guidelines.

Can you spot the emphasis? There’s a lot of attention here drawn to the title. The legs and feet draw our eyes down to that point. It’s got a lot of contrast against the background, too, which really commands our attention.

Let’s take the same concept, change up the aesthetic, and push the movement further.

Pushing the Concept in a Different Direction

This example uses some illustrative elements to add additional movement to the composition. 

I used a number of different visuals to create a flowery, whimsical, flourish-like effect. Notice how these additional elements help further move our eyes towards the base of the shoes and the title. They’re growing outward from this point.

Movement describes how the viewer’s eyes are guided through the composition. All kinds of things can direct our eyes, and movement is often subtle. Remember our hierarchy examples? We started with the title, at the top, and worked our way down to the supplemental elements at the bottom.

If you’d like to check out the assets I used in this example, to experiment on your own, you can check them out here on Envato Elements:

• Fairytales Script Font
• Isolated Blossom of Columbine Flower
• Isolated Purple Crocus Flower Blossom
• Watercolor Leaves Collection

Line and shape can imply movement, help create emphasis, and even change how your work communicates. Let’s take a look at an additional example.

Experimenting With Movement and Orientation

Above, I rotated the content so I’m working with diagonal lines. It changes things up and alters how the image communicates too. Now, the subject’s balance looks off and tilted—is the world feeling off-center to this person? It’s now how we expect to see feet on the ground. This differs a lot from the previous example, where the subject was „flowering”—see what I mean?

These are a lot of different examples to consider. So where do you start, and what happens if you’re feeling lost?

Where Do You Start?

If you’re ever stuck and you’re not quite sure where to begin placing your content, think about those visual relationships. A strong design is unified and works together, so relating different parts of your content to each other is typically a great start.

Try Out Guidelines

You can make yourself a „cheat sheet”—place some guides down! You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a great place to get started.

In addition, keep in mind that a good design doesn’t just look good. A good design works well, too. What do you want to communicate to your audience? Is your movie poster supposed to convey excitement? Is your event poster supposed to get the viewer excited? Think about the mood and the message—what visual associations could you make there?

Let’s take what we’ve looked at and go back to those examples of strong poster design, now that we have some insight into what makes them so strong.

Free Falling

Let’s start with Figen Demireva’s „Free Falling”. Notice the repetition here—we see this falling figure three times, two of which are off the page. It implies movement, which works perfectly with the theme that the artist was trying to convey.

Remember when we talked about visual relationships? Notice how „30 Days of Poster” and „Day 05” share the same top margin. „Day 05”, „Free Falling”, and „30 Days of Poster” also share the same left margin.  Likewise, observe „free and „falling” on the right-hand side. They vary, and this variety gives them added interest. What other visual relationships do you see?

You can check out more of Figen’s lovely design work here!

Good in the End

Next, we have „Good in the End” by Shmuly Gniwisch, featuring beautiful, hand-drawn type.

The color gradually changes here, from the top to the bottom of the piece. It helps create movement, guiding our eyes towards the bottom of both the poster and the phrase. The type itself has a host of beautiful line strokes, flourishes, and embellishments, but notice how they visually relate to one another. There is a very clearly defined left and right margin here. Everything „fits” into this space, which helps establish this as one unified phrase.

More of Shmuly’s work, including process videos, are available here!

Ostracism Apollo

„Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20” is beautifully detailed, varied, and exciting to look at, designed by the talented Severino Canepa.

First, notice some of the supplements here. See the elements around the corners of the design? Note the visual relationships here and how they align with each other.

This premise is expanded upon in an advanced way when we look at the facial features. For example, the large magenta shape on the left-hand side moves and associates with the eye. We see clever cutouts for visual interest associated with the mouth, in blue, and the hair, in magenta.

While there is a lot of variation there, note how the balance is somewhat symmetrically inspired. There’s also generous negative space here, so things don’t get overly chaotic. All of the color and texture here takes something that is „still”—a statue—and gives it a lot of life and excitement.

Check out more of Severino’s work here! He’s got a process video of this poster, as well, if you’d like to watch him at work!

From Pop Culture

Finally, let’s return to our iconic movie poster. Remember, our objective, as designers, isn’t just to make something look good—it should communicate well, too. This poster says a lot with visuals alone.

The silhouette of the bicycle and the two main characters commands our attention, particularly against the darker values in the moon. The imagery has also been cropped in a way that really brings that focus up to the moon in the first place. Without knowing anything about the movie, a flying bicycle is going to be a curious image.

The title is in white—this has a lot of contrast against the dark values of the trees. That makes it stand out. Notice, like our earlier examples, that the title is larger than the supplementary text. It gives it priority and dominance over those other elements. The typography is generally balanced symmetrically—envision a guideline down the center.

Hopefully, this gives you some insights into not only how to make a poster, but how to pick out what makes a poster work well! For added practice, take a look at some of your favorite poster designs and see what design principles you can spot. Remember, if you’re unsure of where to start in your own designs, placing down some guidelines can be a great place to start.

Looking for Extra Help?

Still need some help? If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly tool to help you create poster design mockups, check out Placeit. There are also poster templates you can use to help get you started, if you’d like a little more help getting your poster design off the ground. Need a movie poster template? Placeit has you covered.

And That’s a Wrap!

Thank you for joining me as we explored how to make a good-looking poster! This is hardly the end—there are so many amazing design solutions out there, and the only limit is your imagination! I hope these insights helped spark some ideas. Happy creating, and good luck with your next poster design project!

Want more design tips and insights? Check out these other articles:

• 
  Design Theory
  10 Design Tips for Creating Amazing Wedding Invitations
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Poster Design
  How to Create an Amazing Gig Poster: 5 Awesome Design Tips
  Laura Keung

• 
  Vintage
  A Guide to Vintage Design Styles
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Design Theory
  Decode Graphic Design Jargon: Part 1
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Color Theory
  Advanced Color Theory: What Is Color Management?
  James Thomas

Post pobrano z: How to Make a (Good Looking) Poster

So you’ve decided you’d like to design a poster—but that’s a little easier said than done, isn’t it? Making a poster isn’t terribly difficult, but knowing how to make a poster look good… that’s another story. We ultimately want to create a poster that does its job—communicating a message to the viewer—and does so in a memorable and engaging way.

We’ll take a look at the ins and outs of great poster design: what makes a poster design really strong? We’ll break this down by observing some examples and then discussing some tips and tricks for making your own poster designs look great—and if you’re looking for a user-friendly creation tool, check out Placeit! Not only is it another great source of poster design examples, it’s also a simple, easy-to-use tool for design mockups—for pros and beginners alike.

Now, let’s dig in and take a look at what makes an awesome poster design.

Let’s Look at Examples

Here are some examples of strong poster design (created by, from left to right, Figen Demireva, „Free Falling”, „Good in the End”, Shmuly Gniwisch, and „Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20”, Severino Canepa).

They’re all aesthetically quite different, but they have one major thing in common: they’re all using the principles of design in a strategic and purposeful way. It can be a little hard to recognize, at first, especially if you’re a design newcomer. Don’t worry—we’ll dig into that in just a moment.

A Familiar Example

The same applies to iconic movie posters—you’re probably familiar with this movie, if not also this movie poster. It looks great! One look and we can get the general idea of what the movie’s about: we can expect an otherworldly experience (and that’s even without the iconic „finger touch” visual). There’s a bicycle in the sky! They’re flying! Our eyes go right to the silhouette in the sky.

But how do you design something like this?

Whether you’d like to learn how to make a movie poster, an event poster, or just how to make a good poster in general, there are certain ground rules we can count on for success. We’ll break down these concepts into simple examples and then review them, again, in these working examples of strong poster design.

Let’s start with the basics: a good poster typically has strongly established emphasis and hierarchy.

Emphasis and Hierarchy

The emphasis in our composition commands our attention. It’s often a focal point or a point of interest. Notice, above, that the word „emphasis” really stands out.

Hierarchy is generally used to describe an order of importance in your composition. For example, what’s most important in your poster design? What do you want the audience to see first—and why? This might be the title or perhaps a key image that’ll prove to be engaging and draw your audience in—our emphasis, or focal point.

We can’t stop there, however. Hierarchy is more than just “making things big” or “thinking about what’s most important”. Most compositions have supplemental elements too. We can establish hierarchy in our compositions by using the other principles of design to our advantage. Let’s try this out with a simple example.

A Simple Example

Above is a simplified example of hierarchy. Notice how the movie title is large and dark. This is our focal point. Then, the subtitle is smaller and a lighter shade of gray. Then, even smaller and lighter, we have some credit information. Our eyes start with the largest content and then move downwards until we reach the bottom.

Notice, as well, that the title has higher contrast. Black on white is higher contrast than light gray on white—because of this, the black type commands more attention. Proportion and scale are also at work here. The title is larger and therefore appears more dominant in the composition.

Now, that’s not to say that your title should always have the highest contrast and the largest size in your poster design, no. This is just a simplified example of these design principles in action.

We don’t necessarily have to stack these elements on top of each other, either, to establish a system of hierarchy. Let’s try the same simple design, but with the different parts rearranged.

Let’s Mix It Up

The top of the composition has a lot more negative space now (note, negative space refers to the space not occupied by the design elements—think about it like “breathing room”). I chose to put the subtitle here, with the title at the very bottom. It reads differently, doesn’t it? Our eyes go to the subtitle, in black. The title is large, but has low contrast.

One More Remix

So, again, I’ve repositioned those same three parts of our design. Notice how it affects how the content reads and how our eyes move through the space. We’ve largely been experimenting with proximity—the visual relationship that these elements share.

Above, the credits and subtitle share the same right margin. This makes them look visually related. Notice, as well, that the baseline of the subtitle also aligns with the letter „T” in „Title”. Here are some visual guides to help illustrate this.

Visual Relationships

Notice how the placement of each of these elements is inspired by the others. The power of using proximity to our advantage becomes more obvious when we start to add more content to our composition. Let’s try another simplified example, this time using some imagery. We’ll use a movie poster as our example focus.

An Example With Imagery

If you’d like to follow along, this image is available at Envato Elements. The font used in this example, Lemonade Stand, is available too!

• Young Woman Running (Image)
• Lemonade Stand (Font)

In this example, notice how the type visually associates with the imagery. It’s not haphazardly placed. Instead, it utilizes the imagery as a point of visual reference. Let’s take a second look, with some guidelines.

Deconstructing These Relationships

Note the guidelines placed on top of the same design, above. They were inspired by the shoes and the point where the grass and the ground meet. For the far right guide, I just wanted to stick with one unified margin. Not every guideline has to be directly inspired by your imagery or emphasis to work.

By making these visual associations, we can potentially make our work look more unified. The contents here have been placed purposefully; they’re working together and inspired by each other.

Personally, I like to think of this as my own personal cheat sheet. If I’m not sure where to „put something” in my design, I can create guidelines based on my focal point or another key element in my composition. Using this as a starting point, I can make my own, easy-to-follow map. Now, I might not always stick to it—sometimes, a detour might prove to be a more interesting route—but it can be a handy way to start, especially if you’re not sure where to begin.

Let’s try this a second time.

Build a Design „Cheat Sheet”

Here, I’ve placed our image in the upper part of the composition. I’ve left some space at the bottom, and I’ve drawn on some guidelines. These are key points where I think I’d like to experiment with some visual associations.

This composition generally has asymmetrical balance; notice how most of the weight has been placed on the right side of the composition.

Adding in Content

Here’s our concept with added content. If you’re unable to see this clearly, check out the simplified version on the right. The image has been replaced with a simple shape, but the visual relationships all remain the same.

Let’s Try a Few Other Variants

Notice how cropping and isolation can really change our composition. This time, our balance is more symmetrical—most of the composition is inspired by the centered legs and feet. Check out the simplified version on the right, for suggested guidelines.

Can you spot the emphasis? There’s a lot of attention here drawn to the title. The legs and feet draw our eyes down to that point. It’s got a lot of contrast against the background, too, which really commands our attention.

Let’s take the same concept, change up the aesthetic, and push the movement further.

Pushing the Concept in a Different Direction

This example uses some illustrative elements to add additional movement to the composition. 

I used a number of different visuals to create a flowery, whimsical, flourish-like effect. Notice how these additional elements help further move our eyes towards the base of the shoes and the title. They’re growing outward from this point.

Movement describes how the viewer’s eyes are guided through the composition. All kinds of things can direct our eyes, and movement is often subtle. Remember our hierarchy examples? We started with the title, at the top, and worked our way down to the supplemental elements at the bottom.

If you’d like to check out the assets I used in this example, to experiment on your own, you can check them out here on Envato Elements:

• Fairytales Script Font
• Isolated Blossom of Columbine Flower
• Isolated Purple Crocus Flower Blossom
• Watercolor Leaves Collection

Line and shape can imply movement, help create emphasis, and even change how your work communicates. Let’s take a look at an additional example.

Experimenting With Movement and Orientation

Above, I rotated the content so I’m working with diagonal lines. It changes things up and alters how the image communicates too. Now, the subject’s balance looks off and tilted—is the world feeling off-center to this person? It’s now how we expect to see feet on the ground. This differs a lot from the previous example, where the subject was „flowering”—see what I mean?

These are a lot of different examples to consider. So where do you start, and what happens if you’re feeling lost?

Where Do You Start?

If you’re ever stuck and you’re not quite sure where to begin placing your content, think about those visual relationships. A strong design is unified and works together, so relating different parts of your content to each other is typically a great start.

Try Out Guidelines

You can make yourself a „cheat sheet”—place some guides down! You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a great place to get started.

In addition, keep in mind that a good design doesn’t just look good. A good design works well, too. What do you want to communicate to your audience? Is your movie poster supposed to convey excitement? Is your event poster supposed to get the viewer excited? Think about the mood and the message—what visual associations could you make there?

Let’s take what we’ve looked at and go back to those examples of strong poster design, now that we have some insight into what makes them so strong.

Free Falling

Let’s start with Figen Demireva’s „Free Falling”. Notice the repetition here—we see this falling figure three times, two of which are off the page. It implies movement, which works perfectly with the theme that the artist was trying to convey.

Remember when we talked about visual relationships? Notice how „30 Days of Poster” and „Day 05” share the same top margin. „Day 05”, „Free Falling”, and „30 Days of Poster” also share the same left margin.  Likewise, observe „free and „falling” on the right-hand side. They vary, and this variety gives them added interest. What other visual relationships do you see?

You can check out more of Figen’s lovely design work here!

Good in the End

Next, we have „Good in the End” by Shmuly Gniwisch, featuring beautiful, hand-drawn type.

The color gradually changes here, from the top to the bottom of the piece. It helps create movement, guiding our eyes towards the bottom of both the poster and the phrase. The type itself has a host of beautiful line strokes, flourishes, and embellishments, but notice how they visually relate to one another. There is a very clearly defined left and right margin here. Everything „fits” into this space, which helps establish this as one unified phrase.

More of Shmuly’s work, including process videos, are available here!

Ostracism Apollo

„Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20” is beautifully detailed, varied, and exciting to look at, designed by the talented Severino Canepa.

First, notice some of the supplements here. See the elements around the corners of the design? Note the visual relationships here and how they align with each other.

This premise is expanded upon in an advanced way when we look at the facial features. For example, the large magenta shape on the left-hand side moves and associates with the eye. We see clever cutouts for visual interest associated with the mouth, in blue, and the hair, in magenta.

While there is a lot of variation there, note how the balance is somewhat symmetrically inspired. There’s also generous negative space here, so things don’t get overly chaotic. All of the color and texture here takes something that is „still”—a statue—and gives it a lot of life and excitement.

Check out more of Severino’s work here! He’s got a process video of this poster, as well, if you’d like to watch him at work!

From Pop Culture

Finally, let’s return to our iconic movie poster. Remember, our objective, as designers, isn’t just to make something look good—it should communicate well, too. This poster says a lot with visuals alone.

The silhouette of the bicycle and the two main characters commands our attention, particularly against the darker values in the moon. The imagery has also been cropped in a way that really brings that focus up to the moon in the first place. Without knowing anything about the movie, a flying bicycle is going to be a curious image.

The title is in white—this has a lot of contrast against the dark values of the trees. That makes it stand out. Notice, like our earlier examples, that the title is larger than the supplementary text. It gives it priority and dominance over those other elements. The typography is generally balanced symmetrically—envision a guideline down the center.

Hopefully, this gives you some insights into not only how to make a poster, but how to pick out what makes a poster work well! For added practice, take a look at some of your favorite poster designs and see what design principles you can spot. Remember, if you’re unsure of where to start in your own designs, placing down some guidelines can be a great place to start.

Looking for Extra Help?

Still need some help? If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly tool to help you create poster design mockups, check out Placeit. There are also poster templates you can use to help get you started, if you’d like a little more help getting your poster design off the ground. Need a movie poster template? Placeit has you covered.

And That’s a Wrap!

Thank you for joining me as we explored how to make a good-looking poster! This is hardly the end—there are so many amazing design solutions out there, and the only limit is your imagination! I hope these insights helped spark some ideas. Happy creating, and good luck with your next poster design project!

Want more design tips and insights? Check out these other articles:

• 
  Design Theory
  10 Design Tips for Creating Amazing Wedding Invitations
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Poster Design
  How to Create an Amazing Gig Poster: 5 Awesome Design Tips
  Laura Keung

• 
  Vintage
  A Guide to Vintage Design Styles
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Design Theory
  Decode Graphic Design Jargon: Part 1
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Color Theory
  Advanced Color Theory: What Is Color Management?
  James Thomas

Post pobrano z: How to Make a (Good Looking) Poster

So you’ve decided you’d like to design a poster—but that’s a little easier said than done, isn’t it? Making a poster isn’t terribly difficult, but knowing how to make a poster look good… that’s another story. We ultimately want to create a poster that does its job—communicating a message to the viewer—and does so in a memorable and engaging way.

We’ll take a look at the ins and outs of great poster design: what makes a poster design really strong? We’ll break this down by observing some examples and then discussing some tips and tricks for making your own poster designs look great—and if you’re looking for a user-friendly creation tool, check out Placeit! Not only is it another great source of poster design examples, it’s also a simple, easy-to-use tool for design mockups—for pros and beginners alike.

Now, let’s dig in and take a look at what makes an awesome poster design.

Let’s Look at Examples

Here are some examples of strong poster design (created by, from left to right, Figen Demireva, „Free Falling”, „Good in the End”, Shmuly Gniwisch, and „Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20”, Severino Canepa).

They’re all aesthetically quite different, but they have one major thing in common: they’re all using the principles of design in a strategic and purposeful way. It can be a little hard to recognize, at first, especially if you’re a design newcomer. Don’t worry—we’ll dig into that in just a moment.

A Familiar Example

The same applies to iconic movie posters—you’re probably familiar with this movie, if not also this movie poster. It looks great! One look and we can get the general idea of what the movie’s about: we can expect an otherworldly experience (and that’s even without the iconic „finger touch” visual). There’s a bicycle in the sky! They’re flying! Our eyes go right to the silhouette in the sky.

But how do you design something like this?

Whether you’d like to learn how to make a movie poster, an event poster, or just how to make a good poster in general, there are certain ground rules we can count on for success. We’ll break down these concepts into simple examples and then review them, again, in these working examples of strong poster design.

Let’s start with the basics: a good poster typically has strongly established emphasis and hierarchy.

Emphasis and Hierarchy

The emphasis in our composition commands our attention. It’s often a focal point or a point of interest. Notice, above, that the word „emphasis” really stands out.

Hierarchy is generally used to describe an order of importance in your composition. For example, what’s most important in your poster design? What do you want the audience to see first—and why? This might be the title or perhaps a key image that’ll prove to be engaging and draw your audience in—our emphasis, or focal point.

We can’t stop there, however. Hierarchy is more than just “making things big” or “thinking about what’s most important”. Most compositions have supplemental elements too. We can establish hierarchy in our compositions by using the other principles of design to our advantage. Let’s try this out with a simple example.

A Simple Example

Above is a simplified example of hierarchy. Notice how the movie title is large and dark. This is our focal point. Then, the subtitle is smaller and a lighter shade of gray. Then, even smaller and lighter, we have some credit information. Our eyes start with the largest content and then move downwards until we reach the bottom.

Notice, as well, that the title has higher contrast. Black on white is higher contrast than light gray on white—because of this, the black type commands more attention. Proportion and scale are also at work here. The title is larger and therefore appears more dominant in the composition.

Now, that’s not to say that your title should always have the highest contrast and the largest size in your poster design, no. This is just a simplified example of these design principles in action.

We don’t necessarily have to stack these elements on top of each other, either, to establish a system of hierarchy. Let’s try the same simple design, but with the different parts rearranged.

Let’s Mix It Up

The top of the composition has a lot more negative space now (note, negative space refers to the space not occupied by the design elements—think about it like “breathing room”). I chose to put the subtitle here, with the title at the very bottom. It reads differently, doesn’t it? Our eyes go to the subtitle, in black. The title is large, but has low contrast.

One More Remix

So, again, I’ve repositioned those same three parts of our design. Notice how it affects how the content reads and how our eyes move through the space. We’ve largely been experimenting with proximity—the visual relationship that these elements share.

Above, the credits and subtitle share the same right margin. This makes them look visually related. Notice, as well, that the baseline of the subtitle also aligns with the letter „T” in „Title”. Here are some visual guides to help illustrate this.

Visual Relationships

Notice how the placement of each of these elements is inspired by the others. The power of using proximity to our advantage becomes more obvious when we start to add more content to our composition. Let’s try another simplified example, this time using some imagery. We’ll use a movie poster as our example focus.

An Example With Imagery

If you’d like to follow along, this image is available at Envato Elements. The font used in this example, Lemonade Stand, is available too!

• Young Woman Running (Image)
• Lemonade Stand (Font)

In this example, notice how the type visually associates with the imagery. It’s not haphazardly placed. Instead, it utilizes the imagery as a point of visual reference. Let’s take a second look, with some guidelines.

Deconstructing These Relationships

Note the guidelines placed on top of the same design, above. They were inspired by the shoes and the point where the grass and the ground meet. For the far right guide, I just wanted to stick with one unified margin. Not every guideline has to be directly inspired by your imagery or emphasis to work.

By making these visual associations, we can potentially make our work look more unified. The contents here have been placed purposefully; they’re working together and inspired by each other.

Personally, I like to think of this as my own personal cheat sheet. If I’m not sure where to „put something” in my design, I can create guidelines based on my focal point or another key element in my composition. Using this as a starting point, I can make my own, easy-to-follow map. Now, I might not always stick to it—sometimes, a detour might prove to be a more interesting route—but it can be a handy way to start, especially if you’re not sure where to begin.

Let’s try this a second time.

Build a Design „Cheat Sheet”

Here, I’ve placed our image in the upper part of the composition. I’ve left some space at the bottom, and I’ve drawn on some guidelines. These are key points where I think I’d like to experiment with some visual associations.

This composition generally has asymmetrical balance; notice how most of the weight has been placed on the right side of the composition.

Adding in Content

Here’s our concept with added content. If you’re unable to see this clearly, check out the simplified version on the right. The image has been replaced with a simple shape, but the visual relationships all remain the same.

Let’s Try a Few Other Variants

Notice how cropping and isolation can really change our composition. This time, our balance is more symmetrical—most of the composition is inspired by the centered legs and feet. Check out the simplified version on the right, for suggested guidelines.

Can you spot the emphasis? There’s a lot of attention here drawn to the title. The legs and feet draw our eyes down to that point. It’s got a lot of contrast against the background, too, which really commands our attention.

Let’s take the same concept, change up the aesthetic, and push the movement further.

Pushing the Concept in a Different Direction

This example uses some illustrative elements to add additional movement to the composition. 

I used a number of different visuals to create a flowery, whimsical, flourish-like effect. Notice how these additional elements help further move our eyes towards the base of the shoes and the title. They’re growing outward from this point.

Movement describes how the viewer’s eyes are guided through the composition. All kinds of things can direct our eyes, and movement is often subtle. Remember our hierarchy examples? We started with the title, at the top, and worked our way down to the supplemental elements at the bottom.

If you’d like to check out the assets I used in this example, to experiment on your own, you can check them out here on Envato Elements:

• Fairytales Script Font
• Isolated Blossom of Columbine Flower
• Isolated Purple Crocus Flower Blossom
• Watercolor Leaves Collection

Line and shape can imply movement, help create emphasis, and even change how your work communicates. Let’s take a look at an additional example.

Experimenting With Movement and Orientation

Above, I rotated the content so I’m working with diagonal lines. It changes things up and alters how the image communicates too. Now, the subject’s balance looks off and tilted—is the world feeling off-center to this person? It’s now how we expect to see feet on the ground. This differs a lot from the previous example, where the subject was „flowering”—see what I mean?

These are a lot of different examples to consider. So where do you start, and what happens if you’re feeling lost?

Where Do You Start?

If you’re ever stuck and you’re not quite sure where to begin placing your content, think about those visual relationships. A strong design is unified and works together, so relating different parts of your content to each other is typically a great start.

Try Out Guidelines

You can make yourself a „cheat sheet”—place some guides down! You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a great place to get started.

In addition, keep in mind that a good design doesn’t just look good. A good design works well, too. What do you want to communicate to your audience? Is your movie poster supposed to convey excitement? Is your event poster supposed to get the viewer excited? Think about the mood and the message—what visual associations could you make there?

Let’s take what we’ve looked at and go back to those examples of strong poster design, now that we have some insight into what makes them so strong.

Free Falling

Let’s start with Figen Demireva’s „Free Falling”. Notice the repetition here—we see this falling figure three times, two of which are off the page. It implies movement, which works perfectly with the theme that the artist was trying to convey.

Remember when we talked about visual relationships? Notice how „30 Days of Poster” and „Day 05” share the same top margin. „Day 05”, „Free Falling”, and „30 Days of Poster” also share the same left margin.  Likewise, observe „free and „falling” on the right-hand side. They vary, and this variety gives them added interest. What other visual relationships do you see?

You can check out more of Figen’s lovely design work here!

Good in the End

Next, we have „Good in the End” by Shmuly Gniwisch, featuring beautiful, hand-drawn type.

The color gradually changes here, from the top to the bottom of the piece. It helps create movement, guiding our eyes towards the bottom of both the poster and the phrase. The type itself has a host of beautiful line strokes, flourishes, and embellishments, but notice how they visually relate to one another. There is a very clearly defined left and right margin here. Everything „fits” into this space, which helps establish this as one unified phrase.

More of Shmuly’s work, including process videos, are available here!

Ostracism Apollo

„Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20” is beautifully detailed, varied, and exciting to look at, designed by the talented Severino Canepa.

First, notice some of the supplements here. See the elements around the corners of the design? Note the visual relationships here and how they align with each other.

This premise is expanded upon in an advanced way when we look at the facial features. For example, the large magenta shape on the left-hand side moves and associates with the eye. We see clever cutouts for visual interest associated with the mouth, in blue, and the hair, in magenta.

While there is a lot of variation there, note how the balance is somewhat symmetrically inspired. There’s also generous negative space here, so things don’t get overly chaotic. All of the color and texture here takes something that is „still”—a statue—and gives it a lot of life and excitement.

Check out more of Severino’s work here! He’s got a process video of this poster, as well, if you’d like to watch him at work!

From Pop Culture

Finally, let’s return to our iconic movie poster. Remember, our objective, as designers, isn’t just to make something look good—it should communicate well, too. This poster says a lot with visuals alone.

The silhouette of the bicycle and the two main characters commands our attention, particularly against the darker values in the moon. The imagery has also been cropped in a way that really brings that focus up to the moon in the first place. Without knowing anything about the movie, a flying bicycle is going to be a curious image.

The title is in white—this has a lot of contrast against the dark values of the trees. That makes it stand out. Notice, like our earlier examples, that the title is larger than the supplementary text. It gives it priority and dominance over those other elements. The typography is generally balanced symmetrically—envision a guideline down the center.

Hopefully, this gives you some insights into not only how to make a poster, but how to pick out what makes a poster work well! For added practice, take a look at some of your favorite poster designs and see what design principles you can spot. Remember, if you’re unsure of where to start in your own designs, placing down some guidelines can be a great place to start.

Looking for Extra Help?

Still need some help? If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly tool to help you create poster design mockups, check out Placeit. There are also poster templates you can use to help get you started, if you’d like a little more help getting your poster design off the ground. Need a movie poster template? Placeit has you covered.

And That’s a Wrap!

Thank you for joining me as we explored how to make a good-looking poster! This is hardly the end—there are so many amazing design solutions out there, and the only limit is your imagination! I hope these insights helped spark some ideas. Happy creating, and good luck with your next poster design project!

Want more design tips and insights? Check out these other articles:

• 
  Design Theory
  10 Design Tips for Creating Amazing Wedding Invitations
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Poster Design
  How to Create an Amazing Gig Poster: 5 Awesome Design Tips
  Laura Keung

• 
  Vintage
  A Guide to Vintage Design Styles
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Design Theory
  Decode Graphic Design Jargon: Part 1
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Color Theory
  Advanced Color Theory: What Is Color Management?
  James Thomas

Post pobrano z: How to Make a (Good Looking) Poster

So you’ve decided you’d like to design a poster—but that’s a little easier said than done, isn’t it? Making a poster isn’t terribly difficult, but knowing how to make a poster look good… that’s another story. We ultimately want to create a poster that does its job—communicating a message to the viewer—and does so in a memorable and engaging way.

We’ll take a look at the ins and outs of great poster design: what makes a poster design really strong? We’ll break this down by observing some examples and then discussing some tips and tricks for making your own poster designs look great—and if you’re looking for a user-friendly creation tool, check out Placeit! Not only is it another great source of poster design examples, it’s also a simple, easy-to-use tool for design mockups—for pros and beginners alike.

Now, let’s dig in and take a look at what makes an awesome poster design.

Let’s Look at Examples

Here are some examples of strong poster design (created by, from left to right, Figen Demireva, „Free Falling”, „Good in the End”, Shmuly Gniwisch, and „Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20”, Severino Canepa).

They’re all aesthetically quite different, but they have one major thing in common: they’re all using the principles of design in a strategic and purposeful way. It can be a little hard to recognize, at first, especially if you’re a design newcomer. Don’t worry—we’ll dig into that in just a moment.

A Familiar Example

The same applies to iconic movie posters—you’re probably familiar with this movie, if not also this movie poster. It looks great! One look and we can get the general idea of what the movie’s about: we can expect an otherworldly experience (and that’s even without the iconic „finger touch” visual). There’s a bicycle in the sky! They’re flying! Our eyes go right to the silhouette in the sky.

But how do you design something like this?

Whether you’d like to learn how to make a movie poster, an event poster, or just how to make a good poster in general, there are certain ground rules we can count on for success. We’ll break down these concepts into simple examples and then review them, again, in these working examples of strong poster design.

Let’s start with the basics: a good poster typically has strongly established emphasis and hierarchy.

Emphasis and Hierarchy

The emphasis in our composition commands our attention. It’s often a focal point or a point of interest. Notice, above, that the word „emphasis” really stands out.

Hierarchy is generally used to describe an order of importance in your composition. For example, what’s most important in your poster design? What do you want the audience to see first—and why? This might be the title or perhaps a key image that’ll prove to be engaging and draw your audience in—our emphasis, or focal point.

We can’t stop there, however. Hierarchy is more than just “making things big” or “thinking about what’s most important”. Most compositions have supplemental elements too. We can establish hierarchy in our compositions by using the other principles of design to our advantage. Let’s try this out with a simple example.

A Simple Example

Above is a simplified example of hierarchy. Notice how the movie title is large and dark. This is our focal point. Then, the subtitle is smaller and a lighter shade of gray. Then, even smaller and lighter, we have some credit information. Our eyes start with the largest content and then move downwards until we reach the bottom.

Notice, as well, that the title has higher contrast. Black on white is higher contrast than light gray on white—because of this, the black type commands more attention. Proportion and scale are also at work here. The title is larger and therefore appears more dominant in the composition.

Now, that’s not to say that your title should always have the highest contrast and the largest size in your poster design, no. This is just a simplified example of these design principles in action.

We don’t necessarily have to stack these elements on top of each other, either, to establish a system of hierarchy. Let’s try the same simple design, but with the different parts rearranged.

Let’s Mix It Up

The top of the composition has a lot more negative space now (note, negative space refers to the space not occupied by the design elements—think about it like “breathing room”). I chose to put the subtitle here, with the title at the very bottom. It reads differently, doesn’t it? Our eyes go to the subtitle, in black. The title is large, but has low contrast.

One More Remix

So, again, I’ve repositioned those same three parts of our design. Notice how it affects how the content reads and how our eyes move through the space. We’ve largely been experimenting with proximity—the visual relationship that these elements share.

Above, the credits and subtitle share the same right margin. This makes them look visually related. Notice, as well, that the baseline of the subtitle also aligns with the letter „T” in „Title”. Here are some visual guides to help illustrate this.

Visual Relationships

Notice how the placement of each of these elements is inspired by the others. The power of using proximity to our advantage becomes more obvious when we start to add more content to our composition. Let’s try another simplified example, this time using some imagery. We’ll use a movie poster as our example focus.

An Example With Imagery

If you’d like to follow along, this image is available at Envato Elements. The font used in this example, Lemonade Stand, is available too!

• Young Woman Running (Image)
• Lemonade Stand (Font)

In this example, notice how the type visually associates with the imagery. It’s not haphazardly placed. Instead, it utilizes the imagery as a point of visual reference. Let’s take a second look, with some guidelines.

Deconstructing These Relationships

Note the guidelines placed on top of the same design, above. They were inspired by the shoes and the point where the grass and the ground meet. For the far right guide, I just wanted to stick with one unified margin. Not every guideline has to be directly inspired by your imagery or emphasis to work.

By making these visual associations, we can potentially make our work look more unified. The contents here have been placed purposefully; they’re working together and inspired by each other.

Personally, I like to think of this as my own personal cheat sheet. If I’m not sure where to „put something” in my design, I can create guidelines based on my focal point or another key element in my composition. Using this as a starting point, I can make my own, easy-to-follow map. Now, I might not always stick to it—sometimes, a detour might prove to be a more interesting route—but it can be a handy way to start, especially if you’re not sure where to begin.

Let’s try this a second time.

Build a Design „Cheat Sheet”

Here, I’ve placed our image in the upper part of the composition. I’ve left some space at the bottom, and I’ve drawn on some guidelines. These are key points where I think I’d like to experiment with some visual associations.

This composition generally has asymmetrical balance; notice how most of the weight has been placed on the right side of the composition.

Adding in Content

Here’s our concept with added content. If you’re unable to see this clearly, check out the simplified version on the right. The image has been replaced with a simple shape, but the visual relationships all remain the same.

Let’s Try a Few Other Variants

Notice how cropping and isolation can really change our composition. This time, our balance is more symmetrical—most of the composition is inspired by the centered legs and feet. Check out the simplified version on the right, for suggested guidelines.

Can you spot the emphasis? There’s a lot of attention here drawn to the title. The legs and feet draw our eyes down to that point. It’s got a lot of contrast against the background, too, which really commands our attention.

Let’s take the same concept, change up the aesthetic, and push the movement further.

Pushing the Concept in a Different Direction

This example uses some illustrative elements to add additional movement to the composition. 

I used a number of different visuals to create a flowery, whimsical, flourish-like effect. Notice how these additional elements help further move our eyes towards the base of the shoes and the title. They’re growing outward from this point.

Movement describes how the viewer’s eyes are guided through the composition. All kinds of things can direct our eyes, and movement is often subtle. Remember our hierarchy examples? We started with the title, at the top, and worked our way down to the supplemental elements at the bottom.

If you’d like to check out the assets I used in this example, to experiment on your own, you can check them out here on Envato Elements:

• Fairytales Script Font
• Isolated Blossom of Columbine Flower
• Isolated Purple Crocus Flower Blossom
• Watercolor Leaves Collection

Line and shape can imply movement, help create emphasis, and even change how your work communicates. Let’s take a look at an additional example.

Experimenting With Movement and Orientation

Above, I rotated the content so I’m working with diagonal lines. It changes things up and alters how the image communicates too. Now, the subject’s balance looks off and tilted—is the world feeling off-center to this person? It’s now how we expect to see feet on the ground. This differs a lot from the previous example, where the subject was „flowering”—see what I mean?

These are a lot of different examples to consider. So where do you start, and what happens if you’re feeling lost?

Where Do You Start?

If you’re ever stuck and you’re not quite sure where to begin placing your content, think about those visual relationships. A strong design is unified and works together, so relating different parts of your content to each other is typically a great start.

Try Out Guidelines

You can make yourself a „cheat sheet”—place some guides down! You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a great place to get started.

In addition, keep in mind that a good design doesn’t just look good. A good design works well, too. What do you want to communicate to your audience? Is your movie poster supposed to convey excitement? Is your event poster supposed to get the viewer excited? Think about the mood and the message—what visual associations could you make there?

Let’s take what we’ve looked at and go back to those examples of strong poster design, now that we have some insight into what makes them so strong.

Free Falling

Let’s start with Figen Demireva’s „Free Falling”. Notice the repetition here—we see this falling figure three times, two of which are off the page. It implies movement, which works perfectly with the theme that the artist was trying to convey.

Remember when we talked about visual relationships? Notice how „30 Days of Poster” and „Day 05” share the same top margin. „Day 05”, „Free Falling”, and „30 Days of Poster” also share the same left margin.  Likewise, observe „free and „falling” on the right-hand side. They vary, and this variety gives them added interest. What other visual relationships do you see?

You can check out more of Figen’s lovely design work here!

Good in the End

Next, we have „Good in the End” by Shmuly Gniwisch, featuring beautiful, hand-drawn type.

The color gradually changes here, from the top to the bottom of the piece. It helps create movement, guiding our eyes towards the bottom of both the poster and the phrase. The type itself has a host of beautiful line strokes, flourishes, and embellishments, but notice how they visually relate to one another. There is a very clearly defined left and right margin here. Everything „fits” into this space, which helps establish this as one unified phrase.

More of Shmuly’s work, including process videos, are available here!

Ostracism Apollo

„Ostracism Apollo, Poster Design Challenge #20” is beautifully detailed, varied, and exciting to look at, designed by the talented Severino Canepa.

First, notice some of the supplements here. See the elements around the corners of the design? Note the visual relationships here and how they align with each other.

This premise is expanded upon in an advanced way when we look at the facial features. For example, the large magenta shape on the left-hand side moves and associates with the eye. We see clever cutouts for visual interest associated with the mouth, in blue, and the hair, in magenta.

While there is a lot of variation there, note how the balance is somewhat symmetrically inspired. There’s also generous negative space here, so things don’t get overly chaotic. All of the color and texture here takes something that is „still”—a statue—and gives it a lot of life and excitement.

Check out more of Severino’s work here! He’s got a process video of this poster, as well, if you’d like to watch him at work!

From Pop Culture

Finally, let’s return to our iconic movie poster. Remember, our objective, as designers, isn’t just to make something look good—it should communicate well, too. This poster says a lot with visuals alone.

The silhouette of the bicycle and the two main characters commands our attention, particularly against the darker values in the moon. The imagery has also been cropped in a way that really brings that focus up to the moon in the first place. Without knowing anything about the movie, a flying bicycle is going to be a curious image.

The title is in white—this has a lot of contrast against the dark values of the trees. That makes it stand out. Notice, like our earlier examples, that the title is larger than the supplementary text. It gives it priority and dominance over those other elements. The typography is generally balanced symmetrically—envision a guideline down the center.

Hopefully, this gives you some insights into not only how to make a poster, but how to pick out what makes a poster work well! For added practice, take a look at some of your favorite poster designs and see what design principles you can spot. Remember, if you’re unsure of where to start in your own designs, placing down some guidelines can be a great place to start.

Looking for Extra Help?

Still need some help? If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly tool to help you create poster design mockups, check out Placeit. There are also poster templates you can use to help get you started, if you’d like a little more help getting your poster design off the ground. Need a movie poster template? Placeit has you covered.

And That’s a Wrap!

Thank you for joining me as we explored how to make a good-looking poster! This is hardly the end—there are so many amazing design solutions out there, and the only limit is your imagination! I hope these insights helped spark some ideas. Happy creating, and good luck with your next poster design project!

Want more design tips and insights? Check out these other articles:

• 
  Design Theory
  10 Design Tips for Creating Amazing Wedding Invitations
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Poster Design
  How to Create an Amazing Gig Poster: 5 Awesome Design Tips
  Laura Keung

• 
  Vintage
  A Guide to Vintage Design Styles
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Design Theory
  Decode Graphic Design Jargon: Part 1
  Grace Fussell

• 
  Color Theory
  Advanced Color Theory: What Is Color Management?
  James Thomas

Post pobrano z: How to Make Halftone Effect Patterns and Brushes in Photoshop and Illustrator

In this tutorial, I’ll show you what halftone is and how to achieve a halftone effect. I’ll also show you how to make your own halftone brushes.

What Is Halftone?

You might be familiar with halftone patterns being used in printing. While the pattern is essential for that specific medium, halftone patterns also give a unique look to design work. Halftone is a technique that simulates tone gradations by using dots. These dots vary in size, spacing and sometimes even shape to generate a halftone gradient effect. The closer and bigger the dots on the halftone, the darker the image is. The smaller and more spread out the dots are, the lighter the image is. When it is all put together, the halftone effect creates the illusion of gradation when seen from afar.

Nowadays, halftone is commonly used digitally to achieve a comic-book look, representing nostalgia for the past in the digital age.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to achieve a halftone effect in Photoshop. You can apply these steps to any image of your liking to achieve a black and white halftone and color halftone. We will also take a look at how to create your own halftone brushes in Photoshop, which can help you add great details to your artwork. Lastly, we will look at how to create halftone brushes in Illustrator. This is perfect if you are getting started in the illustration world and want to develop your skill and style. 

In a hurry? We’ve got amazing halftone textures and halftone vectors over at Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Go check them out! 

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube Channel:

What You Will Need

You’ll need access to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator; if you don’t have the software, you can download a trial from the Adobe website. You’ll also need this image:

• Headphones isolated on white background

Download the image, and when you are ready, we can dive in! 

1. How to Make a Halftone Pattern in Photoshop

Step 1

Drag the Headphones isolated on white background image into Photoshop. We will convert this into a variation of halftone images to try different settings.

To achieve a color halftone in Photoshop, go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. 

Step 2

In the Color Halftone option window, you’ll notice the Max. Radius and Channels options. Max. Radius dictates the maximum size of the dots, which will dictate how detailed you want your image to be. The bigger the dots, the less detailed it is; the smaller the dots, the more detailed it will be. 

The Channels represent cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and the angle these colors will get mixed in. This is to achieve specific colors and tones. The angle creates moiré effects and rosette patterns that are useful for printing when halftoning is necessary. In this tutorial, we will focus on the look of halftone effects that can be printed or used digitally as a style. 

The Color Halftone option window has default settings. Mine are set to the following: 

• Max. Radius 8 pixels
• Channel 1: 108
• Channel 2: 162
• Channel 3: 90
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK. 

In the example below, you can see that we’ve created a color halftone in Photoshop. The closer and bigger the dots are, the darker the image is, and the smaller and more spread out, the lighter the image is. The image is very textured due to the low Max. Radius. Look at the image from afar, and you’ll notice that the dots disappear, lending a tone gradation illusion. 

Step 3

Press Command-Z to go back a step. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Let’s try the halftone effect with a different Max. Radius setting:

• Max. Radius 20 pixels
• Channel 1: 108
• Channel 2: 162
• Channel 3: 90
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK.

You’ll notice the dots are much bigger, and you can see the CMYK color mix as a scattered pattern. 

Step 4

Press Command-Z to go back a step. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Let’s try the halftone effect with the same Max. Radius setting as above and changing the channels to 45:

• Max. Radius 20 pixels
• Channel 1: 45
• Channel 2: 45
• Channel 3: 45
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK.

You’ll notice the dots are the same size but the angles are lined up on a grid, creating a neat pattern. 

Step 5

Press Command-Z to go back a step.

Another way of achieving a halftone effect is by using the bitmap option. With the bitmap option, you can create a black and white halftone effect and use different halftone shapes. This technique will maintain the edges of the image as a cookie-cutter to create the halftone pattern. In order to access the bitmap option, we need to turn the image to grayscale. 

Head over to Image > Mode > Grayscale, followed by Image > Mode > Bitmap.

Step 6

In the Bitmap option window, set the Output to 72 Pixels/Inch. Under Method, Use: Halftone Screen and click OK. 

In the Halftone Screen option window, set the Frequency to 3 Lines/Inch, the Angle to 45 degrees, and Shape to Round. Click OK.

You’ll notice in the image below that compared to the Halftone Effect, this instead cuts out the dots on the edge. 

Step 7

Let’s say you want to achieve a different kind of halftone effect. Press Command-Z to go back a step.

Go to Image > Mode > Bitmap. In the Bitmap option window, set the Output to 72 Pixels/Inch. Under Method, Use: Halftone Screen and click OK. 

Let’s use the same settings, but this time change the Shape to Line. Click OK. By the traditional definition, this isn’t exactly halftone because it is not composed of dots, but it has the same idea. We are creating a halftone gradient with the lines.

2. How to Make Halftone Brushes in Photoshop

Step 1

Go to File > New and create a new file named Halftone brush. 

Set the Width and Height to 1500 Pixels, Resolution to 72 Pixels/Inch, and click Create.

Step 2

Select the Brush Tool (B) from the toolbar. Right-click on the document to open the brush options. 

Select the Hard Round Brush, and set the Size to 500 px and the Hardness to 25%. The hardness will help spread out the brush, and this will translate into a halftone gradient in which the dots vary in size as they spread out.

Step 3

Click once on the document to create one brush stroke.

Head over to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Set the Max. Radius to 20 Pixels and all the Channels to 45. Click OK.

Step 4

Go to Edit > Define Brush Preset. In the Brush Name option window, set the Name to Halftone Brush. Click OK.

Step 5

Now you can use the new brush by brushing strokes on the document. 

Head over to Window > Brush Settings to open the Brush Settings panel. Here, you can change the settings to achieve different looks. Change the Spacing to 1% to achieve a smoother transition and to 95% to separate the strokes. Now your brush is ready to use. 

3. How to Make Halftone Brushes in Adobe Illustrator

Step 1

Open Illustrator, and head over to File > New. 

In the New Document window, select the Print tab. Select the Letter size blank preset. Name the file Halftone, and set the Units to Centimeters and Orientation to Horizontal. Click Create. 

Step 2

For this brush, we will create a halftone pattern in Illustrator from scratch and later build up to a composition.

Select the Ellipse Tool (L) from the toolbar. Click on the artboard to open the Ellipse option window. Set the Width and Height to 1 cm. Click OK.

Set the Fill color to Black. 

Create a second Ellipse, this time setting the Width and Height to 0.3 cm. Click OK. 

Step 3

Select both circles. Open the Align panel by going to Window > Align. Select the Horizontal Align Center button. 

Select the Blend Tool (W) from the toolbar. Click on any of the circles followed by the other circle. This will fill the gap between the two objects by creating a number of steps. 

Step 4

To alter the number of steps between the two objects, double-click on the Blend Tool button on the toolbar.

In the Blend Options window, check the Preview box. Set the Spacing to Specified Steps, and set the number to 9. Click OK.

Step 5

Head over to Object > Expand. In the Expand option window, select Object and Fill. Click OK. This will convert steps into objects. You’ll know you’ve done so when the line from the Blend Tool running across the steps has disappeared. 

Duplicate the object to the right by holding Shift-Option and dragging. Shift will keep the object at the same axis, and Option will Duplicate the object.

Select the Blend Tool (W) from the toolbar. Click on one set of circles followed by the second set. This will create steps to fill in the gap.

Step 6

Go to Object > Expand and click OK in the Expand option window. 

In order to create a brush, we need to create a tile that is able to multiply. Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a square that covers the center of the outermost circle from left to right. Below, I’ve colored the rectangle in cyan for you to see.

Step 7

While selecting the circles and the square, press Command-7 to Make a Clipping Mask. 

Step 8

Hold down Shift-Option on your keyboard and drag to the right three times to create a tile. 

Step 9

Open the Brushes panel by going to Window > Brushes.

Select all three tiles and drag into the Brushes panel. In the New Brush window, select Art Brush. Click OK.

Step 10

On the Art Brush Options window, Name the brush Halftone. Set the Width to Fixed and Brush Scale Options to Stretch to Fit Stroke Length. Click OK.

Step 11   

To apply the brush on a path, select the Pen Tool (P) from the toolbar. Create a line on the artboard. Set the Stroke color to Black. 

On the Brushes panel, select the Halftone brush we created. 

Step 12

You can control the size of the pattern by opening the Strokes panel. Go to Window > Strokes. On the Strokes panel, set the Stroke Weight to 0.75 pt. 

Step 13

Let’s apply this halftone brush pattern to a circle. 

First, head to the Brushes panel and double-click on the halftone brush to change the settings. In the Art Brush Options window, set the Colorization Method to Hue Shift. 

Step 14

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create an ellipse on the artboard—any size is fine. Set the Fill color to 40% Cyan. 

Select the Brush Tool (B) from the toolbar. Draw a curve on the bottom left quadrant portion of the circle. 

Set the Stroke on the Strokes panel to 0.5 pt. Set the Stroke color to a darker cyan. Position the stroke on the ellipse. 

Select the ellipse and press Shift-Command-] to bring the shape Forward. Select both the ellipse and the stroke and press Command-7 to Make a Clipping Mask. 

Select the ellipse again and set the Fill to 40% Cyan. 

This is great to add subtle shadows to your illustration.

Great Job! You’ve Finished This Tutorial!

In this tutorial, you learned what halftone is and how you can achieve this comic book look. This style will lend a great texture to your artwork and a style that can range from clean comic book to grungy. Today, you learned to:

• apply a halftone effect to an image
• apply a halftone effect to a black and white image through the Bitmap option
• create halftone brushes in Photoshop
• create halftone brushes in Illustrator

If you are new to Photoshop and Illustrator and need halftone backgrounds or halftone brushes right away, head over to Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. We’ve got many options to explore! 

If you liked this tutorial, you might like these:

• 
  Illustrator Brushes
  A Huge Compilation of 40 Free Illustrator Brushes
  Sonali Vora

• 
  Comics
  How to Create Halftone Effects in Adobe Illustrator
  Sara Berntsson

• 
  Photography
  10 Best Print-Inspired Halftone Effects (Color and Black-and-White) for Photoshop
  Andrew Childress

• 
  Photography
  10 Cool Comic and Cartoon Effects for Photos with Photoshop Actions
  Marie Gardiner

• 
  Graphic Design
  How to Create a Light Streak Effect for a Contemporary Ballet Poster in Adobe Photoshop
  Laura Keung

• 
  Adobe Photoshop
  New Course: 10 Tips to Master Adobe Photoshop Brushes
  Andrew Blackman

Post pobrano z: How to Make Halftone Effect Patterns and Brushes in Photoshop and Illustrator

In this tutorial, I’ll show you what halftone is and how to achieve a halftone effect. I’ll also show you how to make your own halftone brushes.

What Is Halftone?

You might be familiar with halftone patterns being used in printing. While the pattern is essential for that specific medium, halftone patterns also give a unique look to design work. Halftone is a technique that simulates tone gradations by using dots. These dots vary in size, spacing and sometimes even shape to generate a halftone gradient effect. The closer and bigger the dots on the halftone, the darker the image is. The smaller and more spread out the dots are, the lighter the image is. When it is all put together, the halftone effect creates the illusion of gradation when seen from afar.

Nowadays, halftone is commonly used digitally to achieve a comic-book look, representing nostalgia for the past in the digital age.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to achieve a halftone effect in Photoshop. You can apply these steps to any image of your liking to achieve a black and white halftone and color halftone. We will also take a look at how to create your own halftone brushes in Photoshop, which can help you add great details to your artwork. Lastly, we will look at how to create halftone brushes in Illustrator. This is perfect if you are getting started in the illustration world and want to develop your skill and style. 

In a hurry? We’ve got amazing halftone textures and halftone vectors over at Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Go check them out! 

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube Channel:

What You Will Need

You’ll need access to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator; if you don’t have the software, you can download a trial from the Adobe website. You’ll also need this image:

• Headphones isolated on white background

Download the image, and when you are ready, we can dive in! 

1. How to Make a Halftone Pattern in Photoshop

Step 1

Drag the Headphones isolated on white background image into Photoshop. We will convert this into a variation of halftone images to try different settings.

To achieve a color halftone in Photoshop, go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. 

Step 2

In the Color Halftone option window, you’ll notice the Max. Radius and Channels options. Max. Radius dictates the maximum size of the dots, which will dictate how detailed you want your image to be. The bigger the dots, the less detailed it is; the smaller the dots, the more detailed it will be. 

The Channels represent cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and the angle these colors will get mixed in. This is to achieve specific colors and tones. The angle creates moiré effects and rosette patterns that are useful for printing when halftoning is necessary. In this tutorial, we will focus on the look of halftone effects that can be printed or used digitally as a style. 

The Color Halftone option window has default settings. Mine are set to the following: 

• Max. Radius 8 pixels
• Channel 1: 108
• Channel 2: 162
• Channel 3: 90
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK. 

In the example below, you can see that we’ve created a color halftone in Photoshop. The closer and bigger the dots are, the darker the image is, and the smaller and more spread out, the lighter the image is. The image is very textured due to the low Max. Radius. Look at the image from afar, and you’ll notice that the dots disappear, lending a tone gradation illusion. 

Step 3

Press Command-Z to go back a step. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Let’s try the halftone effect with a different Max. Radius setting:

• Max. Radius 20 pixels
• Channel 1: 108
• Channel 2: 162
• Channel 3: 90
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK.

You’ll notice the dots are much bigger, and you can see the CMYK color mix as a scattered pattern. 

Step 4

Press Command-Z to go back a step. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Let’s try the halftone effect with the same Max. Radius setting as above and changing the channels to 45:

• Max. Radius 20 pixels
• Channel 1: 45
• Channel 2: 45
• Channel 3: 45
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK.

You’ll notice the dots are the same size but the angles are lined up on a grid, creating a neat pattern. 

Step 5

Press Command-Z to go back a step.

Another way of achieving a halftone effect is by using the bitmap option. With the bitmap option, you can create a black and white halftone effect and use different halftone shapes. This technique will maintain the edges of the image as a cookie-cutter to create the halftone pattern. In order to access the bitmap option, we need to turn the image to grayscale. 

Head over to Image > Mode > Grayscale, followed by Image > Mode > Bitmap.

Step 6

In the Bitmap option window, set the Output to 72 Pixels/Inch. Under Method, Use: Halftone Screen and click OK. 

In the Halftone Screen option window, set the Frequency to 3 Lines/Inch, the Angle to 45 degrees, and Shape to Round. Click OK.

You’ll notice in the image below that compared to the Halftone Effect, this instead cuts out the dots on the edge. 

Step 7

Let’s say you want to achieve a different kind of halftone effect. Press Command-Z to go back a step.

Go to Image > Mode > Bitmap. In the Bitmap option window, set the Output to 72 Pixels/Inch. Under Method, Use: Halftone Screen and click OK. 

Let’s use the same settings, but this time change the Shape to Line. Click OK. By the traditional definition, this isn’t exactly halftone because it is not composed of dots, but it has the same idea. We are creating a halftone gradient with the lines.

2. How to Make Halftone Brushes in Photoshop

Step 1

Go to File > New and create a new file named Halftone brush. 

Set the Width and Height to 1500 Pixels, Resolution to 72 Pixels/Inch, and click Create.

Step 2

Select the Brush Tool (B) from the toolbar. Right-click on the document to open the brush options. 

Select the Hard Round Brush, and set the Size to 500 px and the Hardness to 25%. The hardness will help spread out the brush, and this will translate into a halftone gradient in which the dots vary in size as they spread out.

Step 3

Click once on the document to create one brush stroke.

Head over to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Set the Max. Radius to 20 Pixels and all the Channels to 45. Click OK.

Step 4

Go to Edit > Define Brush Preset. In the Brush Name option window, set the Name to Halftone Brush. Click OK.

Step 5

Now you can use the new brush by brushing strokes on the document. 

Head over to Window > Brush Settings to open the Brush Settings panel. Here, you can change the settings to achieve different looks. Change the Spacing to 1% to achieve a smoother transition and to 95% to separate the strokes. Now your brush is ready to use. 

3. How to Make Halftone Brushes in Adobe Illustrator

Step 1

Open Illustrator, and head over to File > New. 

In the New Document window, select the Print tab. Select the Letter size blank preset. Name the file Halftone, and set the Units to Centimeters and Orientation to Horizontal. Click Create. 

Step 2

For this brush, we will create a halftone pattern in Illustrator from scratch and later build up to a composition.

Select the Ellipse Tool (L) from the toolbar. Click on the artboard to open the Ellipse option window. Set the Width and Height to 1 cm. Click OK.

Set the Fill color to Black. 

Create a second Ellipse, this time setting the Width and Height to 0.3 cm. Click OK. 

Step 3

Select both circles. Open the Align panel by going to Window > Align. Select the Horizontal Align Center button. 

Select the Blend Tool (W) from the toolbar. Click on any of the circles followed by the other circle. This will fill the gap between the two objects by creating a number of steps. 

Step 4

To alter the number of steps between the two objects, double-click on the Blend Tool button on the toolbar.

In the Blend Options window, check the Preview box. Set the Spacing to Specified Steps, and set the number to 9. Click OK.

Step 5

Head over to Object > Expand. In the Expand option window, select Object and Fill. Click OK. This will convert steps into objects. You’ll know you’ve done so when the line from the Blend Tool running across the steps has disappeared. 

Duplicate the object to the right by holding Shift-Option and dragging. Shift will keep the object at the same axis, and Option will Duplicate the object.

Select the Blend Tool (W) from the toolbar. Click on one set of circles followed by the second set. This will create steps to fill in the gap.

Step 6

Go to Object > Expand and click OK in the Expand option window. 

In order to create a brush, we need to create a tile that is able to multiply. Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a square that covers the center of the outermost circle from left to right. Below, I’ve colored the rectangle in cyan for you to see.

Step 7

While selecting the circles and the square, press Command-7 to Make a Clipping Mask. 

Step 8

Hold down Shift-Option on your keyboard and drag to the right three times to create a tile. 

Step 9

Open the Brushes panel by going to Window > Brushes.

Select all three tiles and drag into the Brushes panel. In the New Brush window, select Art Brush. Click OK.

Step 10

On the Art Brush Options window, Name the brush Halftone. Set the Width to Fixed and Brush Scale Options to Stretch to Fit Stroke Length. Click OK.

Step 11   

To apply the brush on a path, select the Pen Tool (P) from the toolbar. Create a line on the artboard. Set the Stroke color to Black. 

On the Brushes panel, select the Halftone brush we created. 

Step 12

You can control the size of the pattern by opening the Strokes panel. Go to Window > Strokes. On the Strokes panel, set the Stroke Weight to 0.75 pt. 

Step 13

Let’s apply this halftone brush pattern to a circle. 

First, head to the Brushes panel and double-click on the halftone brush to change the settings. In the Art Brush Options window, set the Colorization Method to Hue Shift. 

Step 14

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create an ellipse on the artboard—any size is fine. Set the Fill color to 40% Cyan. 

Select the Brush Tool (B) from the toolbar. Draw a curve on the bottom left quadrant portion of the circle. 

Set the Stroke on the Strokes panel to 0.5 pt. Set the Stroke color to a darker cyan. Position the stroke on the ellipse. 

Select the ellipse and press Shift-Command-] to bring the shape Forward. Select both the ellipse and the stroke and press Command-7 to Make a Clipping Mask. 

Select the ellipse again and set the Fill to 40% Cyan. 

This is great to add subtle shadows to your illustration.

Great Job! You’ve Finished This Tutorial!

In this tutorial, you learned what halftone is and how you can achieve this comic book look. This style will lend a great texture to your artwork and a style that can range from clean comic book to grungy. Today, you learned to:

• apply a halftone effect to an image
• apply a halftone effect to a black and white image through the Bitmap option
• create halftone brushes in Photoshop
• create halftone brushes in Illustrator

If you are new to Photoshop and Illustrator and need halftone backgrounds or halftone brushes right away, head over to Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. We’ve got many options to explore! 

If you liked this tutorial, you might like these:

• 
  Illustrator Brushes
  A Huge Compilation of 40 Free Illustrator Brushes
  Sonali Vora

• 
  Comics
  How to Create Halftone Effects in Adobe Illustrator
  Sara Berntsson

• 
  Photography
  10 Best Print-Inspired Halftone Effects (Color and Black-and-White) for Photoshop
  Andrew Childress

• 
  Photography
  10 Cool Comic and Cartoon Effects for Photos with Photoshop Actions
  Marie Gardiner

• 
  Graphic Design
  How to Create a Light Streak Effect for a Contemporary Ballet Poster in Adobe Photoshop
  Laura Keung

• 
  Adobe Photoshop
  New Course: 10 Tips to Master Adobe Photoshop Brushes
  Andrew Blackman

Post pobrano z: How to Make Halftone Effect Patterns and Brushes in Photoshop and Illustrator

In this tutorial, I’ll show you what halftone is and how to achieve a halftone effect. I’ll also show you how to make your own halftone brushes.

What Is Halftone?

You might be familiar with halftone patterns being used in printing. While the pattern is essential for that specific medium, halftone patterns also give a unique look to design work. Halftone is a technique that simulates tone gradations by using dots. These dots vary in size, spacing and sometimes even shape to generate a halftone gradient effect. The closer and bigger the dots on the halftone, the darker the image is. The smaller and more spread out the dots are, the lighter the image is. When it is all put together, the halftone effect creates the illusion of gradation when seen from afar.

Nowadays, halftone is commonly used digitally to achieve a comic-book look, representing nostalgia for the past in the digital age.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to achieve a halftone effect in Photoshop. You can apply these steps to any image of your liking to achieve a black and white halftone and color halftone. We will also take a look at how to create your own halftone brushes in Photoshop, which can help you add great details to your artwork. Lastly, we will look at how to create halftone brushes in Illustrator. This is perfect if you are getting started in the illustration world and want to develop your skill and style. 

In a hurry? We’ve got amazing halftone textures and halftone vectors over at Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Go check them out! 

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube Channel:

What You Will Need

You’ll need access to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator; if you don’t have the software, you can download a trial from the Adobe website. You’ll also need this image:

• Headphones isolated on white background

Download the image, and when you are ready, we can dive in! 

1. How to Make a Halftone Pattern in Photoshop

Step 1

Drag the Headphones isolated on white background image into Photoshop. We will convert this into a variation of halftone images to try different settings.

To achieve a color halftone in Photoshop, go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. 

Step 2

In the Color Halftone option window, you’ll notice the Max. Radius and Channels options. Max. Radius dictates the maximum size of the dots, which will dictate how detailed you want your image to be. The bigger the dots, the less detailed it is; the smaller the dots, the more detailed it will be. 

The Channels represent cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and the angle these colors will get mixed in. This is to achieve specific colors and tones. The angle creates moiré effects and rosette patterns that are useful for printing when halftoning is necessary. In this tutorial, we will focus on the look of halftone effects that can be printed or used digitally as a style. 

The Color Halftone option window has default settings. Mine are set to the following: 

• Max. Radius 8 pixels
• Channel 1: 108
• Channel 2: 162
• Channel 3: 90
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK. 

In the example below, you can see that we’ve created a color halftone in Photoshop. The closer and bigger the dots are, the darker the image is, and the smaller and more spread out, the lighter the image is. The image is very textured due to the low Max. Radius. Look at the image from afar, and you’ll notice that the dots disappear, lending a tone gradation illusion. 

Step 3

Press Command-Z to go back a step. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Let’s try the halftone effect with a different Max. Radius setting:

• Max. Radius 20 pixels
• Channel 1: 108
• Channel 2: 162
• Channel 3: 90
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK.

You’ll notice the dots are much bigger, and you can see the CMYK color mix as a scattered pattern. 

Step 4

Press Command-Z to go back a step. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Let’s try the halftone effect with the same Max. Radius setting as above and changing the channels to 45:

• Max. Radius 20 pixels
• Channel 1: 45
• Channel 2: 45
• Channel 3: 45
• Channel 4: 45

Click OK.

You’ll notice the dots are the same size but the angles are lined up on a grid, creating a neat pattern. 

Step 5

Press Command-Z to go back a step.

Another way of achieving a halftone effect is by using the bitmap option. With the bitmap option, you can create a black and white halftone effect and use different halftone shapes. This technique will maintain the edges of the image as a cookie-cutter to create the halftone pattern. In order to access the bitmap option, we need to turn the image to grayscale. 

Head over to Image > Mode > Grayscale, followed by Image > Mode > Bitmap.

Step 6

In the Bitmap option window, set the Output to 72 Pixels/Inch. Under Method, Use: Halftone Screen and click OK. 

In the Halftone Screen option window, set the Frequency to 3 Lines/Inch, the Angle to 45 degrees, and Shape to Round. Click OK.

You’ll notice in the image below that compared to the Halftone Effect, this instead cuts out the dots on the edge. 

Step 7

Let’s say you want to achieve a different kind of halftone effect. Press Command-Z to go back a step.

Go to Image > Mode > Bitmap. In the Bitmap option window, set the Output to 72 Pixels/Inch. Under Method, Use: Halftone Screen and click OK. 

Let’s use the same settings, but this time change the Shape to Line. Click OK. By the traditional definition, this isn’t exactly halftone because it is not composed of dots, but it has the same idea. We are creating a halftone gradient with the lines.

2. How to Make Halftone Brushes in Photoshop

Step 1

Go to File > New and create a new file named Halftone brush. 

Set the Width and Height to 1500 Pixels, Resolution to 72 Pixels/Inch, and click Create.

Step 2

Select the Brush Tool (B) from the toolbar. Right-click on the document to open the brush options. 

Select the Hard Round Brush, and set the Size to 500 px and the Hardness to 25%. The hardness will help spread out the brush, and this will translate into a halftone gradient in which the dots vary in size as they spread out.

Step 3

Click once on the document to create one brush stroke.

Head over to Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. Set the Max. Radius to 20 Pixels and all the Channels to 45. Click OK.

Step 4

Go to Edit > Define Brush Preset. In the Brush Name option window, set the Name to Halftone Brush. Click OK.

Step 5

Now you can use the new brush by brushing strokes on the document. 

Head over to Window > Brush Settings to open the Brush Settings panel. Here, you can change the settings to achieve different looks. Change the Spacing to 1% to achieve a smoother transition and to 95% to separate the strokes. Now your brush is ready to use. 

3. How to Make Halftone Brushes in Adobe Illustrator

Step 1

Open Illustrator, and head over to File > New. 

In the New Document window, select the Print tab. Select the Letter size blank preset. Name the file Halftone, and set the Units to Centimeters and Orientation to Horizontal. Click Create. 

Step 2

For this brush, we will create a halftone pattern in Illustrator from scratch and later build up to a composition.

Select the Ellipse Tool (L) from the toolbar. Click on the artboard to open the Ellipse option window. Set the Width and Height to 1 cm. Click OK.

Set the Fill color to Black. 

Create a second Ellipse, this time setting the Width and Height to 0.3 cm. Click OK. 

Step 3

Select both circles. Open the Align panel by going to Window > Align. Select the Horizontal Align Center button. 

Select the Blend Tool (W) from the toolbar. Click on any of the circles followed by the other circle. This will fill the gap between the two objects by creating a number of steps. 

Step 4

To alter the number of steps between the two objects, double-click on the Blend Tool button on the toolbar.

In the Blend Options window, check the Preview box. Set the Spacing to Specified Steps, and set the number to 9. Click OK.

Step 5

Head over to Object > Expand. In the Expand option window, select Object and Fill. Click OK. This will convert steps into objects. You’ll know you’ve done so when the line from the Blend Tool running across the steps has disappeared. 

Duplicate the object to the right by holding Shift-Option and dragging. Shift will keep the object at the same axis, and Option will Duplicate the object.

Select the Blend Tool (W) from the toolbar. Click on one set of circles followed by the second set. This will create steps to fill in the gap.

Step 6

Go to Object > Expand and click OK in the Expand option window. 

In order to create a brush, we need to create a tile that is able to multiply. Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a square that covers the center of the outermost circle from left to right. Below, I’ve colored the rectangle in cyan for you to see.

Step 7

While selecting the circles and the square, press Command-7 to Make a Clipping Mask. 

Step 8

Hold down Shift-Option on your keyboard and drag to the right three times to create a tile. 

Step 9

Open the Brushes panel by going to Window > Brushes.

Select all three tiles and drag into the Brushes panel. In the New Brush window, select Art Brush. Click OK.

Step 10

On the Art Brush Options window, Name the brush Halftone. Set the Width to Fixed and Brush Scale Options to Stretch to Fit Stroke Length. Click OK.

Step 11   

To apply the brush on a path, select the Pen Tool (P) from the toolbar. Create a line on the artboard. Set the Stroke color to Black. 

On the Brushes panel, select the Halftone brush we created. 

Step 12

You can control the size of the pattern by opening the Strokes panel. Go to Window > Strokes. On the Strokes panel, set the Stroke Weight to 0.75 pt. 

Step 13

Let’s apply this halftone brush pattern to a circle. 

First, head to the Brushes panel and double-click on the halftone brush to change the settings. In the Art Brush Options window, set the Colorization Method to Hue Shift. 

Step 14

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create an ellipse on the artboard—any size is fine. Set the Fill color to 40% Cyan. 

Select the Brush Tool (B) from the toolbar. Draw a curve on the bottom left quadrant portion of the circle. 

Set the Stroke on the Strokes panel to 0.5 pt. Set the Stroke color to a darker cyan. Position the stroke on the ellipse. 

Select the ellipse and press Shift-Command-] to bring the shape Forward. Select both the ellipse and the stroke and press Command-7 to Make a Clipping Mask. 

Select the ellipse again and set the Fill to 40% Cyan. 

This is great to add subtle shadows to your illustration.

Great Job! You’ve Finished This Tutorial!

In this tutorial, you learned what halftone is and how you can achieve this comic book look. This style will lend a great texture to your artwork and a style that can range from clean comic book to grungy. Today, you learned to:

• apply a halftone effect to an image
• apply a halftone effect to a black and white image through the Bitmap option
• create halftone brushes in Photoshop
• create halftone brushes in Illustrator

If you are new to Photoshop and Illustrator and need halftone backgrounds or halftone brushes right away, head over to Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. We’ve got many options to explore! 

If you liked this tutorial, you might like these:

• 
  Illustrator Brushes
  A Huge Compilation of 40 Free Illustrator Brushes
  Sonali Vora

• 
  Comics
  How to Create Halftone Effects in Adobe Illustrator
  Sara Berntsson

• 
  Photography
  10 Best Print-Inspired Halftone Effects (Color and Black-and-White) for Photoshop
  Andrew Childress

• 
  Photography
  10 Cool Comic and Cartoon Effects for Photos with Photoshop Actions
  Marie Gardiner

• 
  Graphic Design
  How to Create a Light Streak Effect for a Contemporary Ballet Poster in Adobe Photoshop
  Laura Keung

• 
  Adobe Photoshop
  New Course: 10 Tips to Master Adobe Photoshop Brushes
  Andrew Blackman

Post pobrano z: 10 Free Mockups Available on Placeit (T-Shirt, iPhone, and More!)

Mockup templates offer a great way for graphic designers and business owners to preview, showcase or promote their artwork and logos easily. If you’re looking for a variety of free mockup templates, you really can’t do better than these cool mockups available at Placeit.

What’s more, the Placeit software makes these free product mockups super easy to use. Let me show you what I mean.

How to Use Your FREE Mockup Templates

1. Go to Placeit and sign up for FREE! Select the free product mockups you want to use from the list below.

For example, I’ll use the Folded T-Shirt Mockup Lying Next to a Camera and Clothes on a Bed template for my demonstration here.

2.  Upload your design.

3. Select a T-shirt colour to match your design.

3. Hit the Free Download button.

4. Select the 'Buy this Mockup’ button. 

Don’t worry—you will not have to pay for anything. This just activates the download process.

5. Download Your Design When It Has Been Processed.

And that’s it. Now you have a terrific free mockup ready to use as you wish.

Now that you know how easy it is to use these free mockup templates, let’s look at the other cool mockups available for download.

10 Best Free Online Mockup Templates  

Half Letter Flyer Template on a Container Edge

This is another flyer mockup free to download that allows you to see how your flyer will look in a real-life scenario. This time, the flyer is posted on a container surface. This allows you to see if your flyer would stand out and what it would look like posted around town.

Mockup of an iPhone Lying on a Pink Surface with Purple and Yellow

If you’ve created a great app and are looking for just the right free iPhone mockup to advertise your creation, this mockup, which shows an iPhone shot from above and displayed against a beautiful multicoloured surface, is an excellent option. 

iPhone X Mockup Lying on a Blue Surface Near Broken Paper

This free iPhone mockup brings a bit more style to your project as the iPhone X is pictured against a bright blue background and set off by layers of torn paper in gorgeous colours. Would be great for displaying loads of different kinds of apps.

iPhone X Mockup Lying on a Wooden Bench Outdoors

This flat lay of an iPhone lying at an angle on a weathered wooden table is a great free iPhone mockup choice for apps or websites dealing with health, the environment, or the great outdoors.

iPhone X Mockup Lying on a Red Carpet

Photographed against a gorgeous rug of warm beautiful colors, this free mockup template adds a bit of earthiness and texture to your iPhone display. Just upload your image or enter the URL for a website, and your mockup is ready to use.

Cup Mockup Featuring a Coffee Cup on Top of a Kitchen Counter

Keep your viewer’s eyes riveted to your design when you use this terrific free coffee mug mockup which sits in the foreground of the photo and stands out quite clearly against a softly blurred background of a kitchen countertop. 

Woman Wearing a Round Neck T-shirt Mockup

Featuring a young woman standing behind a counter, this free T-shirt mockup template uses a real-life context to bring your designs to life and help people visualize themselves wearing your T-shirts.

Mockup of a T-Shirt Lying Flat Over Cut out Shapes

This free T-shirt mockup template features a flat lay format and allows you to change the background to fit seamlessly into whatever context you need to use the mockup in. Then you just use the cut-out shapes in a contrasting colour to jazz up your design. 

Folded T-Shirt Mockup Lying Next to a Camera and Clothes on a Bed

Maybe you want to show off a fashion brand or a travel logo. Either way, this free T-shirt mockup template is another great way to incorporate a real-life context—this time, a neatly folded T-shirt lying on a bed next to other items—that would work well to show your designs to their best advantage.

T-Shirt Mockup Featuring Man Wearing a Yellow and Green Bracelet

This simple, free T-shirt mockup template with its neutral background would be a great way to show off products or services targeting a male audience. Just upload your image, select the desired T-shirt colour, and you’re done.

Take Your Free Mockup Template for a Spin 

That’s it for our wonderful collection of free mockup templates. Why not try one out and show us how you’ve used it in the comments below? 

And if you like the free mockup templates featured here but haven’t seen quite what you’re looking for, there are plenty more terrific mockup templates at both Placeit and Envato Elements, so definitely check out both sites and let me know in the comments if you’ve found a new favourite that’s not on my list.