7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

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CreateaRetroStyle,Airline
Destination,TravelPoster
byBenMounsey 8Jul2015 0Comments

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ThispostispartofaseriescalledPosterDesign.

CreateaVarietyof3DLetteringEffectsforPosterDesign

25CreativeandChallengingVectorPosterDesignTutorials

http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/createaretrostyleairlinedestinationtravelpostervector4303 1/23
7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

WhatYou'llBeCreating

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

ThistutorialwasoriginallypublishedinFebruary2011
asaTuts+Premiumtutorial.Itisnowavailablefreeto
view.Althoughthistutorialdoesnotusethelatest
versionofAdobeIllustrator,itstechniquesandprocess
arestillrelevant.

Thistutorialtakesalookatthedesignandstyleof1950sairtraveltourismposter
design.We'lltakealookatthetypographicqualitiesandcompositionoflate50s
posters,andthenutilizemoderndigitalrenderingtechniquestocreateanillustrated
Australiatourismadcampaign.

BeforeWeStart
Airtravelwasaheightofluxurynotattainablebyeveryoneinthe1950s,butthe
grandeurandallurecreatedbyadcampaignsofthetimecapturedtheimaginationof
ageneration.Airlinescapitalizedonportrayingtheexperienceofflightinmany
differentways,beitflightsoffancy,anintergalacticsceneofpassengersflyingin
spaceagestyle,orthesheerluxuryofadsportrayingthecomfortanddecadenceof
passengerswaitedonhandandfoot.

Nevershortofabeautifulstewardess,theuseofcharacterillustrationfeatured
heavily,asthefaceoftheairlinewasanintegralpartofmostcampaigns,avisionof
perfectionwaitingonthehappypassengers.

Bold,beautifultextadornedtheadswithaquippystraplineortwo,typographybeing
astrongidentityforanybrand,favoringscriptwitheaseandfluidity,havingimpact
butbeingsoftandcharismatic.Theexcitinganddynamiccompositionsfeatured
basicprinciplesthatdrewtheeyearoundthepictureandtotheinformation.

Wecanapplytheprincipleslearnedfromtherichheritageoftravelpostersonnew
projects,andsotothatend,I'mgoingtoshowyouhowtocreateanewtravelposter.
ThisoneisforAustralia,acountrywithnoshortageofredeemingfeatures,andits
sunandsandculturewillgreatlyinfluenceourcolorpalette.

Research:Checkoutthevintageadbrowser,anexcellent(andfree)sourceof
inspiration.
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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

1.ResearchandSketchYourConcept

Step1
FirstIdidalittleresearchonAustralia,andbegansketchingsomeideas,usingbasic
compositionsallthetimewhilekeepingtheprinciplesofthevintageadsinmind.

Step2
ThecompositionincludesmanyPOI(pointsofinterest)spotillustrationsonthemap,
sobyconsultingvarioustourismwebsitesIgatheredsomekeypointstosketch.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

2.PrepareYourDocument

Step1
OnceIhadallmysketchestogether,IscannedinmyimagesreadyforIllustrator.

Thenextstepistomakeaguidelayer:placethescannedsketchesintoIllustrator,
arrangetosuitandtcomfortablyonthecanvas,droptheOpacitydowntoaround
80%andswitchtheBlendingModetoMultiply.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Step2
Nextmakeanewlayerforthebackdropbelowourguidelayer.UsingtheRectangle
Tool(M)andaturquoisecolorasll(nostroke),drawashapetocoverthecanvas.
Nowwehaveouroceanbackdrop.

IntheimagebelowyoucanseethecolorpaletteI'musing,butifyouprefer,youcan
pickyourown.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

3.CreateYourMap

Step1
Nextweneedtocreatethemap.Itookasimplifiedlookatthis.It'snotasifthisisa
precisemap,sojustroughouttherecognizableshapeofthelandmasswiththePen
Tool(P).Useawarmyellowcolorforthis.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Step2
UsingtheLineSegmentTool(\)markouttheroughareasofAustralia.Setthe
StrokeWeightto2ptandtickDashedLine,makingsurethatit'ssettoRound
CapandRoundJoin.

Step3
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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Copythemapandpastebehind(CommandC>CommandB),changethellcolor
towhite,andadda4ptwhitestrokeaswell.MakesurethatAlignStroketo
Outsideisselected.Nowweshouldhaveawhiteborderaroundthemap,likea
shoreline.

Step4
Nextcopyandpastebehindaduplicateofourshorelineshapeandincreasethe
strokeweightthreefold.Expandtheshape(Object>Expand>Expand
Appearance).

Nowwe'regoingtoturntheshapeintohalftonedots.Thisprocesstakesplace
severaltimesoverthecourseofthetutorial,butIwillexplainitonlyonce,andyou
canreferbackasneeded.

Tocreatethehalftonedots,firstchangetheselectiontoagraycolorofthefollowing
properties:C=0M=0Y=0K=30.ThengotoEffects>PhotoshopEffects>
Pixelate>ColorHalftone.Inthesettingspanelchangethefollowing:Max.Radius
to15andalltheChannelsto1.ClickOKandyoushouldnowhaveadottyblack
andwhiteshape.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

NowgotoObject>ExpandAppearance,andLiveTracetheshapewithasetting
suchasSimpleTraceorDetailedIllustrationthatwillIgnoreWhite.NowExpand
theshapeandyoushouldhaveaneatlycutoutdottyprinttexture.

Coloritwhiteandoffsetitslightlyfromthelandmass.

Step5
Makeaduplicateofournewhalftonedotsandcolorwithastrongorangecolor.Then
offsetagainthiscreatesanotherlayerofdimensiontoourotherwiseflatmap.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

4.IllustratethePointsofInterest

Step1
CreateanewlayerabovethemapthislayerwillcontainthePOIelements.With
theGuidelayerturnedonabove,tracethroughthesketches,usingthePenToolto
blockinthebasicshapes.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Step2
AdddetaillineworkwiththeBlobBrushTool(ShiftB).Youcangroundsomeof
thePOIelementswithashadowusingthesamehalftonedoteffect.

Tip:DoubleclicktheBlobBrushToolicononthetoolbartobringupthesettings
panel,andswitchonPressuresensitivitytogetthetaperedlines.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Step3
OnanewlayerabovethePOIartwork,weneedtoaddtheforegroundelements.
Startingwiththeairplane,blockinthebasicshapeinwhitewiththePenTool,using
thesketchasaguide.Featureslikethepropellorsandwindowsarealldrawn
freehandwiththeBlobBrushTool,tokeepamoreanimatedfeel.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Step4
We'reshowingtheundersideoftheaircraft,andit'simportantthatitreadswell.So
copyandpasteinfront(CommandC>CommandF)theshapeofthemainbody,
andusetheKnifeTooltosliceawayacontourofshadefromtheunderside.Delete
theexcess,andcolorwiththelightorange.Applythesameprincipleandcolorthe
wingsorangetoo.

Step5
Theadditionofacloudlayerwilladdfurtherdimensionalitytothepiece.Youcan
makethemwithsimplePenToolshapesaroundtheplane,staggeredtocreate
space.Makeafewofthebackgroundonesinthepinkcolortocreatemoredepth.
Justasanicetouch,Iaddedsomejetstreamstotheplanethisaddsmovementto
thepiece.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

5.AddtheTypography

Step1
Nextcomesthetypography.IdrewthetypefreehandwiththeBlobBrushTool,and
usedtheDirectSelectionTool(A)andthePenTooltorefinetheoveralllook.It's
handytopracticeloopy,joineduptypeonpaperfirstbeforeswitchingtotheWacom
tablet.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Step2
Toadddefinitiontothetext,selectallandCopyandPastebehind(CommandC>
CommandB),offsettotheleftandaboveslightly,andthenchangetheduplicate's
colortowhite.Thisisasimplewaytomakethetextpop.

AwesomeWork,You'reNowDone!

Theillustratedtravelposterhasfallenoutoffavorsomewhatsinceitsheadydaysin

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

the50s,whichisashame.PersonallyIliketheheightenedrealitydepictionofan
illustrateddestination.

It'salsoalovelyplatformtoexploittypography.Dynamic,eyecatchingtextisamust
onanyposter,andwithatravelposteritneedstowootheviewerinanalmost
romanticstyle.Therearesomebeautifulexamplesoftravelpostersaround,andI
wouldrecommendcheckingthemout,astheywillundoubtedlyproveinspirational
forfuturework.

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

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7/17/2015 CreateaRetroStyle,AirlineDestination,TravelPosterTuts+Design&IllustrationTutorial

Difficulty:
Advanced
Length:
Long
Categories:

GlobalInfluences PosterDesign Illustration Vector PrintDesign Retro GraphicDesign

AdobeIllustrator

Translations:

Tuts+tutorialsaretranslatedintootherlanguagesbyourcommunitymembersyoucanbeinvolvedtoo!

Translatethispost

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AboutBenMounsey
greenglasses,aka:BenMounsey,livesinLondon,workingfreelanceinboththeanimationandillustration
industries,hisworkvariesfromprintmediatodesignforanimation.Hisclientlistincludesthelikesof
CartoonNetwork,NickelodeonandITV,withhisworkshownonCbeebies,andpublishedinComputerArts
Magazineandnumerouschildren'sbooks.Showcasedinhisworkisaloveof50'sretro,humourandbig
characters...andhats.Youcanfindoutmore,andseehiswork,at:greenglasses.co.uk

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