Introduction
I
love doing type treatments. Out of all the designs I’ve created so far,
it’s typographic illustrations that have always taught me a lot, mainly
because I’ve usually tried to make the most of Photoshop and
Illustrator’s tools. You are practically forced to create most of it
from scratch, so how much you polish your design determines how good it
will be.
In this tutorial, I went for a decorative look, by firstly choosing a typeface: Ayosmonika.
I’ve used it before, and this time I wanted to go for a more flat look.
The font seems very organic to me, so I sought and found a good online
resource, the ornate pattern freebie. It’s got lots of rich detail, so it’s enough for what we want.
My
initial colors were violet and yellow, but they seemed out of place. I
later decided to go with a wood texture, and bronze shades (new and
aged) for the decorative elements. These colors would give me an
old-world look, so even though it’s not how it began, it is how it
ended.
Step 1
The first thing we’ll do is create a
very large wooden texture. Getting the same result may be difficult, so
just try to obtain something that looks like a wood texture. Start up
Photoshop and create a new document. Make it big; somewhere around 6000
px by 6000 px (300 ppi).
Select a dark brown (#48403a) as the
foreground color and a lighter version (#ac9f92) as the background
color. Fill the document’s background with the foreground color
(#48403a) and go to Filter > Render > Fibers. Change the settings
(Variance of 12.0 and Strength of 34.0) and randomize it until you get
something similar. Playing around with the settings can help.
OR: If you’re a Graphic River user, you can download a similar texture from my Wood Texture Pack.
Step 2
We’ll
now give the fibers more depth and a darker color. Go to Layer > New
Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map. Once you created it, change its
layer Blending Mode to Overlay and Opacity to 50%.
Step 3
Now create a new blank layer and fill it with the color #633a1c. Set the layer’s Blending Mode to Multiply.
Step 4
And
finally, select the Gradient Tool (G). Choose white as the foreground
color, and create a white to transparent white gradient from top to
bottom. Change the layer Opacity to somewhere around 10%. Select the
entire canvas (Command + A) and copy the merged file (Command + Shift +
C).
Step 5
Create
a new Photoshop document using a landscape A4 canvas (29,7 x 21 cm at
300 ppi). I created mine in CMYK format, so if you want the colors to
make any sense, make sure you select CMYK, not RGB.
Now add the type to this new document. Download
this free font
and type in each letter on a separate layer. The color doesn’t matter,
as it will be replaced by a texture. I chose different shades of green
just to show the layer order.
Step 6
Now
double-click on the letter “T” layer and add these effects. Here are
the color codes for each of them: Drop Shadow set to #000000; Outer Glow
set to #476454; Bevel and Emboss Highlight set to #f09629 and Shadow
set to #45293c, and Stroke set to #466454.
Altogether, your effects should look like the image below.
Step 7
Copy
the layer style (right-click on layer and go to Copy Layer Style) and
paste it over the rest. Also, create a large ampersand behind all the
letters.
Step 8
Create a new blank layer above the letter “T” and make it a clipping mask. Place the wooden texture
inside.
Step 9
Create
another blank layer as a clipping mask above the texture. Make a
selection of the “T” layer (Command + Click on the layer icon) and
contract it by seven pixels (Select > Modify > Contract).
Step 10
Fill it with white and blur it slightly (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur).
Step 11
Change the Layer’s opacity to 40% and select the eraser tool (E). Make it about 80% soft and erase the bottom part.
Step 12
Get
this and
this
screw. Cut them out with the pen tool and desaturate them (Command +
Shift + U). We’ll use the first one for large screws and the second for
smaller ones. Place one of the large ones in the middle of the “T” and
apply the effects shown below.
It will now look like it’s holding the “T” in place.
Step 13
Do the same to create the smaller one and place these screws on all the letters.
Step 14
Now you’ll need this free
ornate pattern.
Open it in Illustrator and double-click on the flourish detail (not the
pattern). Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select a white part of
the detail. Change its color to #486554, Copy it (Command + C) and paste
it (Command + V) into the Photoshop file as a Smart Object.
Step 15
Now add this layer style shown below.
It looks odd now, but it will be better once we add the second color.
Step 16
Create a new blank layer as a clipping mask and paint (#74cdd8) with a soft brush the tips of the flourish detail.
Step 17
Group the layers (Command + G) and duplicate the group, then position it accordingly.
Step 18
Place a large one on the bottom.
Step 19
Add
a few smaller ones that appear to come out of the large one underneath.
Try to keep an orientation that feels natural and organic.
Step 20
Add the final ones too.
Step 21
As
usual, we’ll adjust the colors and contrast of the document with good
ol’ Adjustment Layers. Add the first one by going to Layer > New
Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map.
Step 22
Now add a Selective Color Adjustment Layer and use the Colors drop down menu to get to Blacks.
Step 23
I
thought the composition needed a touch of another color, so let’s add
some orange. Duplicate one of the floral patterns and make it smaller.
Delete the bright cyan and paint with this color instead: #f7db58.
Step 24
Add a few more.
Step 25
Now, make a selection of each letter and paint with the same color.
Step 26
Go
back to the Go Media Illustrator file and double-click the ornate
pattern this time. Select the white part, and make it black. Copy it and
go to Photoshop. Create a new document and keep the Clipboard size.
Paste the pattern into the new document that should be an exact fit.
Make the Background layer invisible and go to Edit > Define Pattern.
Step 27
Create
a new blank layer above the wood texture background in our
illustration. Select the Bucket Tool, and click on the drop down menu to
paint a pattern. Select the newly created one and create one in the
blank layer. Add the layer styles shown below.
This is what you should see at 100%.
Step 28
Create
a new layer, make it a clipping mask and paint with a very large, soft
shadow a few white glows near the center. Keep the Opacity low so that
they don’t become too obvious.
Step 29
Use the same orange to paint a few subtle glows in a few places, just like in the previous layer.
Conclusion
Finding
the right resources can be a great way to eventually create your own
typographic illustrations. It’s like learning from others before you do
everything by yourself. In time, you’ll be able to create details that
are not only of the same or even better quality, but also something that
reflects your style. And hopefully, I’ll be able to write a tutorial
about that some day! You can view the final image below. Be sure to view
the
larger format, as there are details you miss at small sizes.
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