How to Design a Vintage Travel

Poster in Adobe Illustrator and

Photoshop
by Janie Kliever

hat You'll Be Creating

In honor of St. Patricks day, this tutorial will walk you through the steps of
creating an Ireland travel poster in a vintage style. Well be using a simple,
geometric style typical of posters from whats known as the Golden Age of
Travelroughly the early- to mid-1900slike the ones below:

By starting in Illustrator and then switching over to Photoshop, well have the
benefit of Illustrators easy-to-use drawing tools for crisp illustrations, but
also take advantage of Photoshops brushes and blending modes to finish it
off with authentic-looking ink and paper textures.
For more inspiration, go check out some vintage fonts and texture brushes
for Photoshop on Envato Market.

1. Gather Your Resources

There are a couple of things to consider when designing an engaging travel
poster:
1. a recognizable location, landmark, or cultural reference
2. authentically vintage-looking fonts

Step 1
So, first, youll want to select a reference photo or gather some inspiration
for whatever location youve chosen to feature on your poster. If youd like to
copy the composition you see here, you can find the photo at the link below.
For my Ireland poster, Ive chosen an image of the Cliffs of Moher, one of the
countrys top-visited tourist sites.

Reference photo (via Flickr, courtesy of Ilaria)

Step 2
Next, you might want to download the other resources well be using ahead
of time so you dont have to interrupt your progress with the tutorial later.

Fonts: Poller One and Marck Script (via 1001 Free Fonts)

Four-leaf clover vector (via Wikimedia Commons)

Paper texture (via Lost & Taken)

2. Set Up in Illustrator
Open up an A3 document, a common poster size thats roughly 11 x 17
inches. Im using RGB as my color mode so the project will display well
onscreen, but if you end up wanting to print it, dont forget to convert to
CMYK first.

3. Create a Background With Gradients

Step 1
Open a new layer in the Layers panel and name it Background. Use the
Rectangle Tool to draw a rectangle that covers a little less than half of the
artboard.

Step 2
Next, well apply a gradient to the background shape. It will be easier to
adjust your gradients if you have the colors you want to use already in your
Swatches panel. Im using three shades of blue: #4E789C and #A0BEDC for
the first gradient, and #63A0AA for the second one.
With the shape you just drew selected, go to Windows > Gradient and
select Linear under Type, and change the angle to 90.

Step 3
The small squares at the bottom of the color spectrum are called gradient
sliders. Double-click the one on the right and select the dark grayish-blue

shade (#4E789C) from your swatches. Double-click on the left slider and
change the color to white.
Now add a third slider near the middle by hovering with your mouse near the
bottom edge of the color spectrum until your cursor changes to white with a
small plus sign (+) next to it. Click to add a slider and change its color to the
lightest blue color (#A0BEDC).

You can adjust the position of the colors by dragging the sliders at the
bottom. You can also adjust how the colors blend into each other (gradually
or with sharp divisions) by dragging the two diamond-shaped sliders at the
top. The settings Ive used are pictured above.

Step 4
Repeat steps 2 and 3 to create another gradient to fill the lower empty part
of the artboard. This one is a two-color gradient, with the medium blue
(#63A0AA) mentioned earlier along with white, at the settings you see below.

Step 5
Next, well place a hillside in the background. First, add two shades of green
to your swatches: a darker one (#2A7B00) and a lighter one (#529108).
Now use the Pen Tool to draw a crooked line that slopes down from left to
right across the bottom of the poster, and make the color the darker green.
Draw a smaller, similar shape to layer on top and apply a gradient using both
greens (light on the left, dark on the right), as you see below:

4. Draw the Cliffs

Step 1
Lock the Background layer and create a new layer, naming it Cliffs.
Now its time to take a look at your photo. It helps to place it off to the side of
your artboard for easy reference. Use the photo to get a basic idea of the
shape and scale of the cliffs.

Step 2
Use the Pen Tool to rough out the shapes of each cliff. It doesnt have to be
exact, but you do want the sense of the cliffs receding in size off into the
distance. You can even trace over the photo to get the general placement
right if you like.

Make sure to not make them too large, so you have room for the text at the
top. As a group, the edge of the cliffs should stop short of the right edge of
the artboard, and the top of the tallest one should end about two-thirds of
the way up the artboard from the bottom.
If you need to adjust the size, select all the pieces at once to preserve their
size and position relative to each other.

Step 3
We want the cliffs to be lighter in color as they get smaller so they look as if
theyre fading into the distance. An easy way to get lighter or darker versions
(also known as tints and shades) of a base color it to use Illustrators Color
Guide tool.
So first make the largest cliff a dark grayish-brown color, #474549. This is our
base color. Now open up the Color Guide (Window > Color Guide) and
select Shades from the drop-down menu.

Step 4
Youll see our base color in the middle of the first row with a little arrow
pointing at it. To the right of that are lighter versions, or tints, of that color.
Apply those to the remaining three cliffs.

I also added gradients to the middle two cliffs for a little extra depth, making
the right edges one shade darker; you can do the same if you like.

Step 5
To add some grassy patches to the cliffs, take a look at the reference photo
for placement ideas, and then use the Pen Tool to place some simple,
angular shapes.

The greens are the same we used for the hillsidethe darker green for the
first cliff, and the lighter green for the second one.

Step 6
Our last step to finish off the cliffs is to add some water foaming up at the
bottom, so select the Pen Tool again. This time, instead of just clicking in
anchor points for straight lines and angles, click and hold while dragging
your cursor to create a smooth, curved line that loops in and out along the
bottom edges of the cliffs.

Step 7
Remove the outline on the shape if you have one (by changing the Stroke
color to None), and then apply a gradient. From the Gradient Fill dropdown menu, select Fade to White. This will make one side of the gradient
white and the other clear, letting whatever color is underneath show
through. You can see the other settings below:

5. Create a Tourist Figure

In the style of illustration were using, drawing people really isn't that
complicated. Its simply a series of geometric and curved shapes (like the
ones weve been drawing already) stacked strategically together. You may
want to work on this part off in the empty space beside your artboard so you
have some room to put all the pieces together and so the background
doesnt get in your way.
If youd like to just go for it and create your own figure, feel free (and then
skip down to the Arrange the Typography section). But if youd like to copy
this one, read on for the step-by-step process. First, lock the Cliffs layer
and create a new one called Tourist.

Step 1
The main body is basically just two tapered rectangles (drawn with the Pen
Tool): one with straight edges and the other with curved sides. The width of
the shapes should be the same where they meet. The colors are as follows:
#C1272D for the red; #314463 for the blue.

Step 2
For the arms, start out by drawing a shallow, sideways V with the Pen Tool
this is the inside angle of the left arm. Continuing from one of the endpoints,
still using the Pen Tool, draw a straight line extending out and two curved
lines to form the outer edge of the arm; close the shape with another straight
line.
(Heres a quick Pen Tool tip: When transitioning between a curved and a
straight line, youll want to click on the anchor point before continuing to
convert it from a smooth point to a corner point, so youll have a completely
straight line and clean angle.)

If needed, resize the completed shape so its the same height as the torso.
Well reuse it for the right arm, so copy and paste the shape to duplicate it,
and then rotate it 180 degrees by selecting Object > Transform > Rotate
and typing in 180. With the shape still selected, click on the top middle
handle on its frame and drag it down a bit so the arm is not as tall as the
first.

Step 3
Next up, the hands and legs. For the hands, draw right on top of the arms
with the Pen Tool so the proportions turn out right and you dont have to
resize. Similar to the arms, we have a combination of straight and curved
lines: straight lines for the top of the hands and fingers, and a curve for the
underside of the hand where the palm is.
For the legs, draw two narrow, tapered rectangles and add some simple
shoes or boots on top. Select both the legs and boots and send everything to
the back (Object > Arrange > Send to Back) so theyre behind the skirt.

Step 4
Lastly, the scarf, hair, and hat (well be placing them in that order on top of
the torso).
For the scarf, all you need is a rectangle with curved sides and two leaf-like
shapes, in the same darker green color we used before. Draw these with the
Pen Tool without worrying too much about creating perfect shapes; most of
the scarf will be covered up by the hair.

Step 5

For the hair, start off with the Ellipse Tool to draw an oval. Then return to
the Pen Tool to draw a sort of a curved triangle with a tail for the ends of
the hair.
After you arrange the two shapes together, you can unite them into one by
selecting Window > Pathfinder > Unite; even out any lumpy spots with
the Smooth Tool (access it with a click-hold of the Pencil Tool).

The color of brown Im using for both the hair and boots is #603813.

Step 6
We'll put together the hat in two stages, covered in steps 6 and 7. For some
visual supplements to these steps, scroll down to the image at the end of
step 7.

Use the Ellipse Tool to draw an oval for the brim, and rotate it so its
tilted slightly, about 45 degrees.

Select the Add Anchor Point Tool (accessed with a click-hold on the
Pen Tool) and click to add an anchor point on the oval about halfway
between the left and bottom points. Change over to the Direct
Selection Tool and drag that new point slightly inwards.

Still using the Direct Selection Tool, grab the leftmost anchor point
and drag it up and left so that side of the oval is longer and straighter.

When you click on an anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool, some
handles will appear. You can click and drag those handles to manipulate the
outlines of your shape.

Experiment with adjusting the handles of the anchor points on the left
side until you have a flatter oval with a slight indent.

Step 7
Now well work on the crown of the hat.

Start off with a small rectangle tilted at a similar angle to your oval.

Use the Add Anchor Point Tool to place an anchor point on the top
side of the rectangle near the middle. Then drag it down and left with
the Direct Selection Tool. Also drag the two bottom points outwards,
more so for the one on the right.

Click on the upper left anchor point with the Direct Selection
Tool, and in the Anchor Point toolbar that appears across the top of
your screen, select the Convert selected anchor points to smooth
button. This will give that corner a rounded edge, and you can adjust
the handles if needed.

Use the Pen Tool to finish off the hat with a red band. The blue color is the
same we used earlier for the skirt.

Step 8
Now your tourist figure is complete! Adjust the size of each element as
needed to fit with the previous parts of the illustration. When youre satisfied
with the result, switch back to the regular Selection Tool, drag an invisible
box around the whole illustration to select all the parts, and hit
Command/Control-G to group them together.

Place the figure in the bottom left corner of the composition and size to fit if
necessary.

6. Arrange the Typography

Step 1
If you havent already, download and install the fonts well be using (Poller
One and Marck Script) along with the four-leaf clover vector graphic. Create a
new layer named Text.

Step 2
Type out IRELAND using the Poller One font at about 130 pt. Change the
color to white.
With the word selected, go to Effect > Warp > Rise and set the Bend to
56%. Position it more or less in the center of the sky area above the cliffs.

Step 3
Use the Ellipse Tool to create a small white circle that covers the hole in the
R. Well be replacing it with the four-leaf clover graphic for a little extra St.
Patricks Day festiveness.

Place the graphic (File > Place > locate where you have the file saved),
change the color to green (the green well be using from here on out is the
darker shade), and reduce the size so it fits within the curve of the R.

Step 4
Now lets add a shadow. Copy IRELAND and Paste in Back, changing the
color to green. Now go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. On
the sliders under Move, drag them both to the left the smallest increment
you can, which is -0.0139 in. Then type 12 in the box labeled copies (if you
want a bigger shadow, just type in a bigger number). Youll end up with a
nice cast shadow like this:

Step 5
Next up, well add the rest of our text. Using the Marck Script font, type out
Visit at 110 pt and change the color to white.

Place the word in the empty space above IRELAND (so the V just about
lines up with the clover) and rotate it to a similar angle. Then go to Object >
Transform > Shear and type 20 in the Shear Angle box.

Step 6
Our last bit of textThe Cliffs of Moheris a mix of the two typefaces. You
can see the arrangement below.
All the capital letters (excluding the C and M in script) are set in Poller One,
35 pt. The parts following the C and M are rotated and then sheared 20
degreesthe same technique we just used for Visit.
The C and M are set in Marck Script at 132 pt. The M has also been rotated
and then sheared 20 degrees to fit better with the tilt of the text. The word
of is 54 pt, with no additional effects. The color is the same blue we used
for the first gradient, #4E789C.

And that wraps up the placement of our typography. Heres what we have so
far: the completed vector portion of our illustration. Next, well switch over to
Photoshop. (But dont close your Illustrator document yet, because well
need it one more time here shortly.)

7. Set Up in Photoshop
Step 1
Now its time to add some texture to our illustration. Open a new Photoshop
document with the same specifications as your Illustrator document:

Step 2
Download the paper texture if you havent already. Place it in your document
and size it to fill the whole canvas.

Step 3
Create a new layer in Photoshop. Now go to Illustrator and copy all the
contents of your artboard (now were done with Illustrator).
Paste into your new Photoshop layer. When a dialog box pops up asking what
you want to paste it as, select Smart Object. That way, if you notice
anything in your vector illustration that you want to change, all you have to
do is double-click on the smart object and it will automatically open in

Illustrator. You make any changes you want, save it in Illustrator, and the
changes magically appear right in Photoshop. Pretty neat!

Step 4
With your smart object selected, go to Layer > Layer Style > Blending
Options and select Hard Light from the Blend Mode drop-down menu. All
the other settings can stay the same. This makes it look as if our vector
illustration was actually printed on real paper.

The brown paper will give the illustration a certain tone. If youd like to tweak
that tone, maybe making it more yellowish or greenish, try experimenting
with the options youll find under Image > Adjustments > Variations.

8. Add Texture
Our method for adding texture to the actual illustration is a simple one
involving just two tools: the Quick Selection Tool and the Brush Tool, using
one of Photoshops default brushes.

Step 1
Create a new layer. Choose the Quick Selection Tool, making sure to select
the Sample All Layers checkbox at the top of the screen. This will allow us
to select specific areas that we want our brushed textures to stay within.
Now lets start with the grassy hillside. Use the Quick Selection Tool,
clicking and dragging your cursor across the hillside. The tool should make
your selection automatically conform to the exact shape of the hillside,
indicated by a wiggly dashed line:

Step 2
Now choose the Eyedropper Tool and click within the lighter green area of
the hillside to select that color. Pick the Sea Sponge 2 brush, or any other
textured brush you like (you can find this one in the Brushes panel in the
Faux Finishes Brushes category).

Make the diameter of the brush fairly large, between 400 and 500 pixels, and
add some highlights along the top of the hillside. Apply the brush one click at
a time rather than with strokesthe grainy texture will show up better this
way. And dont worry about coloring outside the linestextures will only be
applied within the bounds of the area we selected with the Quick Selection
Tool.

Remember, you can always erase anything you dont like.

Step 3
Repeat the same process for the cliffs. Try adding texture in two tones: one
lighter than the base color of a cliff and one darker. You can also lower the
opacity of your brush for a more faded effect or to help blend in the edges of
your textures.

If you want to remove part of your selection (say you selected the whole first
cliff but want to subtract the grassy patches), just hit the Subtract from
selection button (the third one in the toolbar at the top of your screen)
before resuming using the Quick Selection Tool. If you want more precise
selecting ability, reduce the size of your brush.

Step 4
For the sea foam, start off with white and concentrate your texture brushing
close to the bottom edges of the cliffs.
Then use the Eyedropper Tool and pick blues from the water area of your
illustration, working inwards with the brush toward the white textures you
just applied to soften the hard outer lines of that white gradient a bit.

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Step 5
Last but not least, add a little shading to your tourist, and then admire your
finished creation!

Youve Arrived at Your Destination!

Congratulations on making it all the way through. I hope you've learned
some tips and techniques for pairing the unique tools and abilities found in
both Illustrator and Photoshop to complete a single project. Hopefully youve
got in some good practice using the Pen Tool and anchor points in one, and
applying texture with blending modes and brushes in the other.

As always, feel free to share how your project turned out or ask questions in
the comments section. Happy designing!