photoshop free Tutorials to make an Art Deco poster in Photoshop

If you recently watched the 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, you were probably drawn by the bold, glitzy design of the movie poster. With its striking geometric elements, the Art Deco style that was so popular during the 1920s definitely caught my eye and inspired me to create my own Art Deco poster in Photoshop – so I decided to share a tutorial here.

Before You Start

It’s a good idea to look for some inspiration and references for your poster, since Art Deco is a design movement from a long time back. A simple search for “art deco poster” on Google Images will offer plenty of excellent examples.

My poster is created using only photographs and no vector drawings; you can create or source vector images for use in your poster if you like. First, start off with the Standard movie poster size (20 by 40 inches). If creating something for the web, a smaller size with the same dimensions will do.

Next, select the graphic elements you’d like to use. I randomly chose these two images:

 

Art Deco graphics tend to have clean geometric lines, so these are too realistic. After cutting out the background using a selection tool and cleaning up the edges, use Filter > Filter Gallery > Cutout and adjust the settings to create Art Deco style silhouettes.

Next is the poster text. Again, clean and classy is the key. Use a suitable font (you can find Art Deco fonts here) and to add some gilt, double-click the layer to open Layer Styles and add Bevel & Emboss.

Add more touches, such as a background of sunbursts, clouds, or stars.

Finally, to complete the Art Deco poster, you just have to add some noise. Group the layers together and Alt-click New Layer, then choose the settings as shown below.

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and add just enough noise so that your poster has a vintage appearance. That’s it! Your Art Deco poster is complete.

Some other Art Deco design tips:

-        Images are often made to look larger than life, especially in the foreground. In my poster, for instance, the cat’s face is much bigger than the woman. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate.

-        Stick to a few primary colors in your color scheme. I used only 3: red, black, and gold/beige.