Recreating an invitation.

[Norts89]

Hi everyone, first of all I am very new to design on PS but want to learn so one day I can be like you great people and offer the same help I hope to receive from this discussion!

I am wanting to recreate an image from scratch.

I am struggling with numerous things with my project and need to seek professional help.

I believe what I learn on here whilst putting my design together will help me along the way in the future with other projects.

I live in the UK and I'm getting married next year in Mexico. I have been looking at different ideas for invitations on Google and my favourite one by far is a boarding pass.

I have uploaded the image I would certainly like to near duplicate, and below I will post the things I need help with.

Hope you can help!!

So first of all.. New canvas, I gave my self plenty of room and created a rectangle to the size I was happy with for my boarding pass. W :15cm H : 7.5cm

Now after curving off the edges I found similar art work online which I thought may work, the artwork downloaded seemed to be created on PS but at a much bigger scale. I'm having trouble reducing the size down to fit my boarding pass, after reducing the size, it becomes ridiculously pixelated. I also do not know how to change the colour.

I think you will understand what I mean more on my screenshots and of the actual image I am trying to duplicate. Maybe I'm going the wrong way about it I really don't know.

Please can someone help me with my situation, otherwise my wedding invites will be going out on plain paper

Thanks in advance for any help received.

I am using PS CC15 with Windows 10 as well if that helps.

Any help at all in the right direction to recreate this image below would so greatfully appreciated.

Thanks everyone

Liam

 

[Helios]

Hi Liam,

Firstly congrats on your engagement.

I think there are a few things I could say to help here, but it must be remembered that I am new to this site, and also I am using a very old version of photoshop. Most things should function in the same way, but others may have more up to date tips than I!
For instance, certain tools I mention may not work the same in later versions, or be found in different places.

So first of all.. New canvas, I gave my self plenty of room and created a rectangle to the size I was happy with for my boarding pass. W :15cm H : 7.5cm

One thing you should double check before you do anything else - your physical dimensions sound fine, but what is your resolution? If you hope to print the invite, it needs to be at least 150 dpi, or will potentially come out pixelated. 300 dpi is preferable, but 150 should just about do.
To check this, go to Image > Image Size and check the field that says 'resolution'. Ensure that your centimetre dimensions are still 15 x 7.5 when you alter anything. You may need to uncheck 'constrain proportions' if the numbers are changing themselves automatically.
One final thing to check here - is the resolution working at pixels per cm or pixels per inch? This is a drop down list next to the resolution field - I personally find pixels/inch a little more manageable to work with in terms of size, but this is entirely up to you.
(All this refers to is the number of pixels that occupy a square inch, or a square cm, on your canvas. The more pixels, the sharper and cleaner the image will be when you come to print. Too few pixels, and the print will look 'pixellated'.)

Be advised that altering the resolution might make existing layers of the canvas that you've already made appear pixelated - you might want to start again on a fresh layer, or even a whole new canvas. It sounds like a pain, I know, but it's way better to start as you mean to go on.

Now after curving off the edges I found similar art work online which I thought may work, the artwork downloaded seemed to be created on PS but at a much bigger scale. I'm having trouble reducing the size down to fit my boarding pass, after reducing the size, it becomes ridiculously pixelated.

Can I ask how you've been adjusting it's size so far?
To adjust the size of an individual layer, I normally use 'Free Transform' (ctrl-T), and photoshop should (SHOULD) automatically smooth everything off once you ok the change.
(This should be at the top of your screen - two buttons will appear once you start using the tool, a tick and a circle with a cross through it - a cancel button. Remember to select the tick once you're happy with the size.)
Hold Shift to keep the height and width proportions in tact as you scale down.

The thing to watch out for with Free Transform is to not bring the size of the layer up above its original dimensions, as this will cause pixellation.
Try not to over use it, either - the auto-smoothing that photoshop does each time will eventually cause those clean edges to blur. Go back to your original downloaded image and drag it onto the canvas again if this happens, or save a copy of the image on another layer and hide it before you start.

I also do not know how to change the colour.

There is one thing you could try, but bear in mind this may not work depending on the properties on the image you've downloaded - it is solid black, so it may not contain any colour to adjust. However, try the following:
Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation (or ctrl-U)
Start by ticking the box marked 'Colorize'. Now slide the 'Lightness' slider up a little (to the right). You may now be able to slide the 'Hue' and Saturation' sliders to adjust the colour of the layer.
As I said though, this may not work.

I hope some of that has helped - my apologies if you already knew some things though! And apologies in advance if my out of date knowledge causes confusion, but as I said, it should mostly all work the same. Other, more experienced members will certainly have their own (better) advice too, I'm sure.