6 Steps to Creating Custom Greeting Cards in Photoshop Within 5 Minutes
Imagine your customers or loved ones receiving identical holiday greeting cards from different people. This is typical in the retail word, but to truly stand out, you can start creating custom greeting cards in Photoshop. The process of creating greeting cards in Photoshop is fun and easy, as long as you have the basic understanding of Photoshop Layers, Blending Modes, and know how to use the Eraser tool. Let’s see how this can be done within 5 minutes!
Become a Quality Digital Hoarder!
Build a library of graphics and images that you’ve created or purchased. Take pictures of rich and colorful surfaces such as walls, floors, clothing textures, etc. Once built, your digital library allows you to quickly navigate through your textures, which you can incorporate into any design. This process will save a lot of time, and you won’t need to surf the web for low res graphics, which shouldn’t be used in the first place.
If you’re too busy, head over to your closest arts & crafts store and buy different kinds of paper which you’ll scan and use in your designs. I go to Michaels for material to create custom textures for design work. But, if you don’t want to mess with any of it, check out Graphic Authority. They have amazing Photoshop templates and design resources.
My small collection of holiday backgrounds.
1. Choose the Size When Creating Custom Greeting Cards
Before you start creating custom greeting cards, find out what size you want your cards to be. Make sure that you can easily buy envelopes for the right size card. In the graphic below, I created a 5×7 template at 300 ppi. Next, I created a blank layer and used the Paint Bucket Tool (Shortcut: B) to fill it with red. From my holiday backgrounds library, I picked a graphic and placed it over the red background.
Place a graphic over a new layer.
2. Layer & Test Different Blending Modes
Notice that the graphic above has some vignetting. Use a Blending Mode, as demonstrated below, to locate the right mode that will help eliminate unnecessary elements. In this case, the Pin Light Blending Mode eliminated dark areas in the graphic. As you can see below, there is no vignetting and no shadows. Try creating interesting effects by layering and blending layers.
Pick a suitable blending mode to mix two different layers.
3. Consider the Layout. Think of Image Placement
You have to consider the picture you’re using in your custom greeting card. Is it a large family? Perhaps a portrait or two? Knowing this in advance will help you determine the layout of your card. In the graphic below I used the Rectangle Tool (Shortcut: U) to draw two blocks into which I’ll place images when the card is complete.
Decide where your images will be placed.
4. Choose the Right Font or Else!
Bad typography can ruin a perfectly designed layout. Make sure that your fonts compliment the style and the flow of your greeting card. You can download hundreds of fonts for free at 1001 Free Fonts. I selected the Christmas category at 1001 Free Fonts and downloaded the second font, which you can see in the graphic above.
5. Style Your Image Boxes
Once you design your layout, it’s time to style different elements. In the graphic below I added strokes and changed their color. To do that, I right click on the image box layer and select Blending Options. Once there, you’ll see different options on the left, including the Stroke option.
Right click on a layer and select Blending Options. Test different options.
6. Mix & Match and Bring in Other Textures
Now that the layout is done, it’s time to bring in other textures from my collection of textures. This is the most fun part because the hardest part is done, and it’s time to play around with blending modes and other textures. To see the finished PSD file of this greeting card, download it here.
Download the PSD file of this 5×7 card here.
Will You Create Custom Greeting Cards This Season?
How about you? Will you create custom greeting cards in Photoshop this year? Have you done it before? Let us know by leaving a comment in the comments area below. Tell us about your experience with designing custom greeting cards, and don’t forget to subscribe to my blog, if you liked this post and the free card I designed for you. See you next week. Cheers.
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