Photoshop Tutorial on making a poster combining image and text using Layer Masks


	Image Text: Create a Poster
	Compositing using Layer Masks and adding Type
	Source images and the text of poems can be found on the Internet using Google. Be aware of copyright issues when using found materials. This poster uses images of the mummified remains of inhabitants of Pompeii, the city ruins with Vesuvius in the background, and a poem by Emily Dickinson, 'I have never seen 'Volcanoes"' [1860].
	Start by collecting several source images and a text; or download the 4 below to use in class by right-clicking (PC) or Control-clicking (Mac) on the thumbnail below and selecting Save Target As from the context menu. Images open in a new window.


	Make a new, blank canvas: File > New > Image Size = 434 pixels x 300 px; Colour = Black. Save As > pompeii_posterRKM (use your own initials and select Photoshop PSD, PDD as the file type).

	Open pompeii2.jpg. Select the Move Tool and drag the image onto the black canvas. Position it to the left of the canvas, leaving a black margin at the right. Close pompeii2.

		Open dog.jpg. Select the dog by clicking on the white background with the Magic Wand (Tolerance 10), then choosing Inverse from the Select menu.

		Again select the Move tool and drag the selected dog onto the poster. Resize by choosing Transform > Scale from the Edit menu and re-position as necessary. Save your work. Close dog.jpg.
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		Open head.jpg and with the Move tool drag this image onto the poster too. In order to remove the background we will use a Layer Mask.

		On the Layer Palette, make sure the head layer is active and click on the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom. The default foreground/background colours should be black/white.

	As when using any selection tool or method, it is advisable to zoom in on the image at least 200% for greater accuracy.

	With black as the foreground colour choose the Brush tool. You can adjust the brush size quickly by right-clicking on the image to bring up a context menu and dragging the slider up or down, or clicking on a fixed size. You are going to remove the background around the head:
	Painting in black on the Layer Mask reveals the background layer 100%. Painting in white obscures it 100% (i.e. restores the top layer – great if you make a mistake or your hand slips!). Shades of grey have relative degrees of transparency and allow for more detailed and varied transparency effects than using the Layer transparency slider on the layer palette, as this affects the whole layer uniformly.
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	When you are happy with your work you can apply the Layer mask by right-clicking on its thumbnail on the Layer Palette and choosing Apply Layer Mask from the pop-up menu. This commits the change. You could also choose to discard the mask and start again.
	One of the main benefits that masks offer is that mistakes or unwanted effects can easily be corrected, as the original pixels are not affected until the mask is applied; unlike, for example using the Eraser, Extract Filter, or select and cut methods which do delete the pixels.


	Repeat these steps with a final image of your choice - I added another mummy. Use a Layer Mask to delete the background, but also experiment with a degree of transparency on the main subject itself by painting a shade of grey on the mask.

	Add appropriate text to the image by selecting the Type tool and clicking on the poster: Choose a suitable font (I used Pepita MT for the poem), colour and size. Note that it is not a word-processing program, so there is no spellchecker and line breaks must be inserted manually by pressing Return on the keyboard.

	You can open the poem text that I have already prepared if you wish (see above). Drag it onto the picture. If it is locked and the word Indexed appears on its layer, go to Image > Mode and choose RGB colour from the menu to unlock it.

	Use the Move tool to re-position the type if necessary.

	To create the Pompeii vertical type I used Times New Roman 48 pt in a colour sampled from the poster itself, typed the text horizontally, then selected Transform > Rotate from the Edit menu.

	Save your work again.

	When the montage is complete save it as a JPG file, which is condensed and flattened, but make sure that you also keep the original PSD layered file so that it is possible to edit the image again in future.
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© RKM 2002- 2007
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