Creating the poster background

Many posters are designed to be scalable, either up or down, while retaining a crispness to their appearance. You’ll create shapes with paths and use masks to control what appears in the poster.

Adding a colored shape to the background

You’ll begin by creating the backdrop for a poster image.

1.	Choose File > Open and select the 10Start.psd file in your Lessons/Lesson10 folder. Some work on the file has been done for you; the image already contains a background layer with a green gradient fill and a series of horizontal and vertical guides. The guides are locked in position. (If you do not see the guides, choose View > Show > and make sure that the Guides command is checked, or choose it now.)
2.	Choose View > Rulers to display a horizontal and a vertical ruler.
3.	Using the tab for the Paths palette, drag the palette out of the Layers palette group. Since you’ll be using these two palettes frequently, it’s convenient to have them separated.
4.	In the Color palette, set the foreground RGB color to a deep blue color by typing 0 as the R value, 80 as the G value, and 126 as the B value.
5.	On the toolbox, select the rectangle tool (). Then, in the tool options bar, make sure that the Shape Layers option is selected.
6.	Drag a rectangle from the intersection of the top and leftmost guides to the third horizontal guide (about three-fourths of the way down the image, slightly below the 5-inch mark on the ruler) and the right margin of the page. You’ve created a rectangle with a deep blue fill. (If you don’t get that result, make sure that you’ve selected the rectangle tool, which is below the type tool on the toolbox, and not the rectangular marquee tool. Also make sure that the Shape Layers option is selected in the toolbar.)
7.	In the toolbox, select the direct selection tool (), hidden under the path selection tool (), and click anywhere on the path (edge) of the blue rectangle to select the path, so that selection handles appear in the four corners.
8.	Select the lower left handle of the blue shape, being careful to select just the handle and not a path segment.
9.	Shift+drag the handle upwards to the next horizontal guide (at about the four-inch mark on the ruler) and release the mouse button when the handle snaps into place against the guide. Now the lower edge of the blue shape slopes down from left to right.
10.	Choose View > Show > Guides to hide the guides, because you are finished using them for this lesson. You’ll be using the rulers again, so do not hide them yet.
11.	Click anywhere inside or outside the blue rectangle in the image window to deselect the path and hide its handles. Notice that the border between the blue shape and the green background has a grainy quality. What you see is actually the path itself, which is a non-printing item. This is a visual clue that the Shape 1 layer is still selected.

About shape layers

A shape layer has two components: a fill and a shape. The fill properties determine the color (or colors), pattern, and transparency of the layer. The shape is a layer mask that defines the areas in which the fill can be seen and those areas in which the fill is hidden.

In the blue layer you’ve just created, the fill is your dark blue color. The color is visible in the upper part of the image, within the shape you drew, and is blocked in the lower part of the image so that the gradient green can be seen behind it.

In the Layers palette for your poster file, you’ll see a new layer, named Shape 1, above the Background layer. There are three items represented along with the layer name: two thumbnail images and an icon between them.

The left thumbnail shows that the entire layer is filled with the deep blue foreground color. The small slider underneath the thumbnail is not functional but symbolizes that the layer is editable.

The thumbnail on the right shows the vector mask for the layer. In this thumbnail, white indicates the area where the image is exposed, and black indicates the areas where the image is blocked.

The icon between the two thumbnails indicates that the layer and the vector mask are linked.

A. Fill thumbnail B. Layer-mask link icon C. Vector-mask thumbnail

Subtracting more shapes from a shape layer

After you create a shape layer (vector graphic), you can set options to subtract new shapes from the vector graphic. You can also use the path selection tool and the direct selection tool to move, resize, and edit shapes. You’ll add some stars to your “sky” (the blue rectangle you just created) by subtracting star shapes from the blue shape. To help you position the stars, you’ll refer to the Star Guides layer, which has been created for you. Currently, that layer is hidden.

1.	In the Layers palette, click the box to the far left of the Star Guides layer to display the eye icon () for that layer (but leave the Shape 1 layer selected). The Star Guides layer is now visible in the image window.
2.	In the Paths palette, make sure that the Shape 1 Vector Mask is selected.
3.	In the toolbox, select the polygon tool (), hidden under the rectangle tool ().
4.	In the tool options bar, select the following: In Sides, type 9 and press Enter. Click the Geometry Options arrow (immediately to the left of the Sides option) to open the Polygon Options. Select the Star check box, and type 70% in the Indent Sides By option. Then click anywhere outside the Polygon Options to close it. Select the Subtract From Shape Area option () or press either hyphen or minus to select it with a keyboard shortcut. The polygon tool pointer now appears as crosshairs with a small minus sign ().
5.	Move the polygon tool crosshairs over the center of one of the white dots and drag outward until the tips of the star rays reach the edge of the faint circle around the dot. Note As you drag, you can rotate the star by dragging the pointer to the side. When you release the mouse, the star shape appears to fill with white. However, this is not a fill; the star is a cutout from the blue shape, and the white you see is the background layer underneath it. If the background layer were another image, pattern, or color, that’s what you would see inside the star shape.
6.	Repeat step 5 for the other three white dots to create a total of four stars. Notice that all the stars have grainy outlines, reminding you that the shapes are selected. Another indication that the shapes are selected is that the Shape 1 vector mask thumbnail is highlighted (outlined in white) in the Layers palette.
7.	In the Layers palette, click the eye icon for the Star Guides layer to hide it. Notice how the thumbnails have changed in the palettes. In the Layers palette, the left thumbnail is as it was, but the vector mask thumbnails in both the Layers palette and Path palette show the slant of the blue shape with the star-shaped cutouts.

Deselecting paths

Deselecting paths is sometimes necessary to see the appropriate tool options bar when you select a vector tool. Deselecting paths can also help you view certain effects that might be obscured if a path is highlighted. Before proceeding to the next section of this lesson, you’ll make sure that all paths are deselected.

1.	Select the path selection tool (), which is currently hidden under the direct selection tool ().
2.	In the tool options bar, click the Dismiss Target Path button ().

Your paths are now deselected and the grainy path lines have disappeared, leaving a sharp edge between the blue and green areas. Also, the Shape 1 Vector Mask is no longer highlighted in the Paths palette.

Drawing paths

Next, you’ll add more elements to your poster, but you’ll work with these elements on different layers. Throughout this lesson, you’ll create new layers so you can draw, edit, paste, and reposition elements on one layer without disturbing other layers.

Before you begin, make sure that the Shape 1 layer is still selected in the Layers palette.

1.	In the Layers palette, click the New Layer button () at the bottom of the palette to create a new layer. A new layer, named Layer 1, appears above the Shape 1 layer in the Layers palette and is automatically selected.
2.	Select the ellipse tool (), which is currently hidden under the polygon tool ().
3.	In the tool options bar, select the Paths option ().
4.	Start dragging the ellipse tool in the upper left area of the poster and then hold down Shift as you continue dragging. Release the mouse button when the circle is close to the bottom edge of the blue shape.
5.	In the tool options bar, select the Exclude Overlapping Path Areas option ().
6.	Hold down Shift and draw a second circle within the first.
7.	Compare the sizes and positions of your circles to the 10End.psd image and make any necessary changes: To move a circle, select it with the path selection tool () and then drag it to another location. (If necessary, choose View > Snap To > Guides to deselect this command so that you can move the circles exactly where you want them.) To resize a circle, select it with the path selection tool and choose Edit > Free Transform Path; then hold down Shift and drag a corner handle to resize the circle without distorting its shape. When you finish, press Enter to apply the transformation. Note In the Paths palette, only the new Work Path appears at this time. The Shape 1 Vector Mask that you created earlier (the blue shape with star cutouts) is associated with the Shape 1 layer. Since you are not working on the Shape 1 layer now, that vector mask does not appear in the Paths palette.

In the Paths palette, the thumbnail shows the two subpaths with a white area between them.

Combining paths into a filled shape

Your next task is to define the two circles as a single element, so that you can add a colored fill.

1.	Using the path selection tool (), select one of your circles, and then hold down Shift and select the second circle. Both paths are now selected.
2.	In the tool options bar, click the Combine button. The Combine button is now dimmed because the two paths are now treated as one shape.
3.	In the toolbar, click the Default Foreground And Background Colors button (), which is to the lower left of the two larger color swatches and changes them back to black and white. A. Foreground Color button B. Default Foreground and Background Colors button C. Switch Foreground and Background Colors button D. Background Color button
4.	In the same area of the toolbar, click the Switch Foreground And Background Colors button (), so that the foreground is white and the background black.
5.	In the Paths palette, drag the work path to the Fill Path With Foreground Color button () at the bottom left of the palette.
6.	In the Layers palette, change the Opacity to 40%, either by typing or by clicking the Opacity arrow to open the pop-up slider and dragging it. You can try different Opacity values and compare the results they produce.
7.	If the circle shape is still selected, click the Dismiss Target Path button () in the tool options bar, and then choose File > Save. Unlike the star-shaped cutouts on the Shape 1 layer, the area between the two circles on Layer 1 now has a white fill. Otherwise, you could not change the opacity of the white area. For example, if you experimented with reducing the layer opacity for the Shape 1 layer, the blue shape would become more transparent, but the stars would remain solid white because that is the color on the layer behind that area of Layer 1.