Photoshop Tutorial : Create a Postage Stamp With Your Artwork
Today, I’m going to take a look at how to use Photoshop and one of your photographs (or any image) and make it look like a postage stamp. This technique uses the Eraser tool and paths.
1. Open up the pic that you want to make into a stamp. The picture below is the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin.
2. Select the whole image by pressing Ctrl + A (windows) or Cmd + A (mac)
3. Press Shift + Ctrl + A (windows) or Shift + Cmd + J (mac) to cut the image from the background and pop it into a new layer.
4. Add some white space around your image by choosing Image > Canvas Size. In the dialog box check the Relative checkbox. Depending on the size of your image add between 2.5 – 5 cm (1 – 2 inches) all around. If the option is available, make sure that the Canvas Extension colour is set to white. Click OK.
5. On the layers palette hold down Ctrl (windows) or Cmd (mac) and click on the Create a New Layer icon. This will add a new blank layer under the layer you have selected. Select the Rectangular Marquee tool and draw a selection around your image, leaving an even amount of white space all around. See below.
6. Set the foreground colour to white and fill the selection by press Alt + Backspace (win) or Option + Backspace (mac). The image won’t look any different because you’ve added white on top of white. Press Ctrl + D / Cmd + D to deselect the marquee.
7. With the new white layer still selected, click on the Add a Layer Style button at the bottom of the layers palette. Choose Drop Shadow from the drop down menu. Set the Drop Shadow options so that at least a little bit of shadow appears on all sides. I used the following settings:
Angle 100 degrees
Distance 5 px
Spread 10 %
Size 10 px
Click Ok to apply the shadow.
8. Now we’re going to use the Eraser tool as a brush to knock some holes out of the border we just created. Select the Eraser from the toolbox and in the Options Bar at the top of the screen, set the Mode to Brush. Click on the down-arrow beside the Brush preview to pick a brush. Again, depending on the size of your image and the size of the border you created, the brush size will vary. I set the brush to around 20 pixels and the hardness to 100%.
In Photoshop you have great control over Brushes and how they work. Now we’re going to change some of the options on our current brush.
9. Choose Window > Brushes to open the Brushes palette. On the left hand side click on the words “brush tip shape”. Set the Spacing to about 200%. (Make sure the Spacing check box is checked first)
10. Hold down the Ctrl key (windows) or Cmd key (mac) and click on the white rectangle layer thumbnail (the one with the drop shadow on it). This selects the contents of the layer. Now select the Pen tool from the toolbox and then choose Window > Paths. This opens the Paths palette. Click on the triangle in the top right corner of the paths palette and from the flyout menu choose Make Work Path. Enter a tolerance of 2.0 pixels and click OK.
A new path will appear in the paths palette and by default it will be called “Work Path”. Click on this path and then click on the triangle at the top right and choose Stroke Path from the flyout menu.
11. When the Stroke Path dialog box appear, choose Eraser from the Tool pop-up menu. Click OK. This is where all your hard work of setting up comes into play. Photoshop now works its magic.
So now you should see your image with half-circles knocked out, giving the postage Stamp effect.
You’ll notice there is still a thin black line around the image. That’s the path. To get rid of it, go back to the paths palette and click below the Work Path to deselect it.
Now to finish up, you can add some text.
I’m embarrassed to say that it’s so long since I bought a stamp I can’t remember how much they are here so I’m guessing 50 cents. (Not that it makes any difference really). I used Myriad Pro Bold Condensed font for the text and … Voila!
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Comments
13 Responses to “Photoshop Tutorial : Create a Postage Stamp With Your Artwork”
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Hi, my name is Jennifer Farley and I am a designer and design instructor based in Ireland. Read more about Laughing Lion Design .
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Awesome tutorial.
I love it.
Why do not you use Camtasia and create some video tutorial? It would be even easier for you to post tutorials.
Thanks again.
Francesco
Thanks Francesco!
I have been using Camtasia in the classroom to record some of my classes, I need to do a bit of editing though, to cut the waffle out!
How fun is this! Thanks for the tutorial.
You’re very welcome Rachel.
[...] Jennifer of Laughing Lion Design has a neat tutorial on turning your photo into a postage stamp. [...]
[...] 20th, 2007 Here’s a link to a really good Photoshop Tutorial at the Laughing Lion Design website. Posted by hollym Filed in Design ·Tags: design postage [...]
Jennifer,
I am trying to teach myself adobe premiere elements version 4 and am having difficulties locating tutorial as good as yours. Do you also provide tutorials for adobe premiere elements 4. I live in a remote country town in Australia and it is difficult to get access to classroom training. As your tutorials are so easy to follow and well written, I will use them to learn Photoshop.Thank you very much for helping someone like me. Cheers! Eve
Hi Eve
Thanks for visiting and for your kind comments, much appreciated!
You should try the Adobe “Premiere Elements Classroom in a Book” book. I use these books myself for teaching my classes. They are very much step by step and also include CDs with exercise files on them. I think they are available for most versions of Premiere Elements.
http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Elements-Premiere-Classroom-Collection/dp/032153395X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196683771&sr=1-2
I’m new to the whole Photoshop thing and this website is really good!!
I’m going 2 try out the stamp thing right away!!
Hello Jennifer,
I am very appreciative of your generosity to post this tutorial…..I have been looking for a stamp tut that works for me. So far….no joy.
If you have time would you mind helping me? When I get to the part to select Make Work Path on the Paths palette, the option is greyed out. I followed the tutorial exactly as you wrote it, but I’m stuck at the Paths palette. Any ideas?
Candace
would like to know how to do this in pse6???? thanks
Impressive postage stamp effect.
Cheers! Great tutorial. I found it very useful. Thanks a lot!