Monday, November 23, 2020

How to Create a Greeting Card Template in Photoshop

Final product image
What You'll Be Creating

In today's tutorial, you'll learn how to make a card template in Photoshop for a birthday card that you can customize using different styles, colors, and typography. This is a wonderful way to go the extra mile for your loved ones on their birthday.

Without further ado, let's jump right in!

What Will You Learn in This Photoshop Card Template Tutorial?

  • How to set up your Photoshop artboard for a printable document
  • How to find awesome color palettes online
  • How to use the Brush Tool to create a doodle art style
  • How to make a greeting card template in Photoshop

What Will You Need?

To complete this project, you will need:

You can explore more fonts on Envato Elements.

1. How to Select the Canvas and Presets for a Printable Document

Create a new document and select A4 size under the Print tab. Next, change the name of the file to Birthday Card Template Inside.

  • Use of Artboards: Keep the Artboard box unchecked
  • Page Orientation: Landscape
  • Optimal Printing Resolution: 300 PPI (Pixels Per Inch)
  • Color Mode: CMYK
  • Color Bit: 16 Bit 
Canvas and Preset Selection for a Printable Document

2. How to Set Up the Canvas for the Outside Page

Step 1

Go to Workspace on the top right and choose Essentials. This will give you all the tools you will need next to your artboard to create the card.

How to Choose a Workspace in Photoshop

Step 2

Press Command-R to open your Ruler. Change the measurement system to centimeter by right-clicking on the Ruler (or choose the system you are most comfortable with).

How to select Ruler Measurements in Photoshop

Step 3

Use the Ruler to drag and drop guide lines on the artboard to create the margins. 

  • Outer left margin: 1.5 cm
  • Outer right margin: 1.5 cm
  • Top margin: 2 cm
  • Bottom margin: 2 cm
  • Internal center margin: 3 cm
How to Add Margins to Your Printable Documet

Step 4

To add the bleed, go to Image > Canvas Size. Under New Size, add 0.3 cm to the Width and Height. This will give you a 0.15 cm of bleed on all sides of the artboard. 

A bleed gives a printer some space for page movement and printing inconsistencies. It ensures that after printing, no edge remains unprinted. 

How to Add Bleed to Your Printable Document

3. How to Save Your Printable Card File

Step 1

Save this file with its default settings intact (Format: Photoshop) to your computer by going to File > Save As (Command-Shift-S).

How to Save Your File on Photoshop - 1

Step 2

Save another copy of this file with its default settings intact (Format: Photoshop) to your computer. This time, rename the file to Birthday Card Template Outside.

How to Save Your File on Photoshop - 2

Now you should have the "Birthday Card Template Outside" file open.

4. How to Choose a Color Scheme and Font for Your Printable Card

We will use a handmade doodle style for this tutorial. 

For the color scheme, we are going to choose from a trending scheme on Coolors. Here we are using: 

  • Teal: #45C2C9
  • White: #FFFFFF
  • Cream: #FDEADE
  • Orange: #F6895F
  • Pink: #EA5370
How to Choose a Color Scheme from Coolers

Now that you have your style and color scheme in place, it's time to finalize a font for your birthday card. 

In this tutorial, we have used the Chamberline and Doodle font since it goes well with our handmade style. You can explore more fonts on Envato Elements under the Fonts tab. 

How to Download and Install a Font From Envato Elements

Once you’ve completed these steps, you will have all your tools ready. Now comes the fun part! It’s time to design our birthday card.

5. How to Create the Design Elements in the Birthday Card

For this template, we will make birthday-related elements like bunting and confetti using the Brush Tool, with the color scheme we chose in the last section.

Step 1

Create a New Layer (Command-Shift-N) using the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and name it "Happy". Write "Happy" on the right-hand side of the card in any font size using the Chamberline and Doodle font. Choose a color from your color palette using the Eyedropper Tool (I). 

How to Add a Type Layer in Photoshop CC

Step 2

Press Command-T to transform and, while maintaining the aspect ratio, increase the width of the layer to 7.5 cm. 

Step 3

Create a New Layer using the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and name it "Birthday". Write "Birthday" in any font size using the Chamberline and Doodle font using a color from your color palette. Write it just below "Happy".

How to Use the Horizontal Type Tool

Step 4

Transform the layer while maintaining the aspect ratio, and increase the width of the layer to 7.5 cm. 

Step 5

Choose the Kyle Ultimate Pencil Hard brush in the Brush Tool to create all the doodle art.

How to Choose a Brush in Photoshop

Step 6

Create a New Layer and name it "Typography Decor". Choose the Brush Tool (B) to make squiggles around the words. Use the brush at 20 pt to outline each word with squiggles. And then hide all the layers to make the rest of the design.

How to create a Doodle Effect in Photoshop

Step 7

Create a New Layer and name it "Bunting Small Outline". Draw Bunting 1 using the brush at 10 pt with hex #000000.

How to Use the Brush Tool in Photoshop - 1

Step 8

Create a New Layer and name it "Bunting Big Outline". Draw Bunting 2 using the brush at 20 pt with hex #000000.

How to Use the Brush Tool in Photoshop - 2

Step 9

Create a New Layer and name it "Bunting Small Fill". Using the brush at 20 pt, fill the bunting with multiple colors from the color palette.

How to Use the Brush Tool to Fill Colors in Photoshop - 1

Step 10

Create a New Layer and name it "Bunting Big Fill". Using the brush at 20 pt, fill the bunting with multiple colors.

How to Use the Brush Tool to Fill Colors in Photoshop - 2

Step 11

Create a New Layer and name it "Confetti". Draw confetti on the whole card using the brush at 10 pt. Do not fill the confetti with colors. Now unhide all the layers except the color palette layer to save the file.

How to Make a Composition in Photoshop

Step 12

Now open the Birthday Card Template Inside file and create a new layer, naming it "Confetti Outline". Draw confetti on the left side of the card using the brush at 10 pt. 

The right side of the card is meant for writing birthday messages. You can either write a birthday message by hand or use the Horizontal Type Tool (T). For this card, we will write by hand, so we'll leave the right side of the card empty.

How to Create the Inside Page of a Birthday Card - 1

Step 13

Create a New Layer and name it "Confetti Fill". Using the brush at 20 pt, fill the confetti with multiple colors.

How to Create the Inside Page of a Birthday Card - 2

6. Which Presets to Use While Saving Your Printable File in Photoshop

Step 1

Now let’s save the files as PDFs in the same location. Press Command-Shift-S and save the file with the same name in Photoshop PDF format.

How to Save a File as a PDF in Photoshop

Step 2

Select High-Quality Print and uncheck Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities.

Selecting High Quality Print and Unchecking Preserve Photoshop Editing Capabilities in Photoshop

Step 3

Go to Compression, change the compression option to Do Not Downsample, and Save the file.

Now save both the files after choosing these presets.

Compression of a File in Photoshop While Saving it as a PDF

Here is your final Photoshop card template!

How to Create a Printable Birthday Card Template on Photoshop

7. Tips on Printing Your Photoshop Card Template

Choosing the Right Paper

Since we chose a handmade doodle style for this card, we must also keep in mind the appropriate texture of the paper to use with it. Handmade paper will go well with this style as it is very textured and rough. It gives the illusion that the design is handmade.

Another thing to keep in mind is the paper’s thickness. Usually, cards are made using thicker paper, with a GSM (Grams per Square Metre) ranging from 230 to 300, but you can also use a thickness as low as 180 GSM. Any lower than that, and it will make your card look like paper torn from a diary. For this card, we can go with white handmade paper at 220 GSM.

Printing

Compile both PDFs using Adobe Acrobat or Preview on Mac, and print them using the double-sided printing option in your printer.

Remember that choosing the right paper for printing is just as important as creating your design. If you are unsure about which paper to use, experiment by printing your design on a couple of them and see which one tells the story better. For example, for this card, a handmade paper is the way to go. And maybe with a minimal design, matte paper would look better.

That's All, Folks!

While creating a birthday card template, the most important thing to keep in mind is to have fun while doing it. You are making this to bring smiles to people's faces, and there's no better joy than creating something out of nothing. You can make tens if not hundreds of greeting card templates in Photoshop just by choosing different colors, fonts, and art styles each time. 

If you're in a hurry and don't have the time to create a birthday card, don't worry—we've got you covered! Check out the hundreds of birthday card Photoshop templates on Envato Elements.

I hope you liked this Photoshop card template tutorial and would give it a try. Homemade birthday cards are a great way to go the extra mile for your loved ones. Go give them a try!

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