HOW TO CREATE A MULTI-LAYERED
PANORAMIC POSTER
1: CREATE A FOLDER FOR YOUR IMAGES
On your desktop, create a folder for your Project images (the ones you took), if you haven’t already.
2: OPEN ALL IMAGES IN PHOTOSHOP
In your folder, select all the images and drag them to the Photoshop icon on your dock at the bottom of your desktop.
3: CROP AND RESIZE IMAGES
Crop: Crop out any wasted space. You can use the Crop Tool or select the area with the Rectangular Marquee Tool and go to Image > Crop.
Resize: Once you have cropped all your images, you need to resize them so they have the same height. Go to Image > Image Size. Make sure that the boxes for Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are checked. Also make sure that the image resolution is 300 ppi (pixels per inch). Then select the height you want in inches. The recommended height is 5 inches. The width will vary and will set automatically as long as the Constrain Proportions is selected.
4: CREATE A NEW IMAGE FOR THE BACKGROUND
Once all of your images are the same height and converted to Black and White or left in color, now you can create a new image that will serve as your background.
Go to File > New. When the dialog box pops up, change to the following:
Width: 40 inches
Height: 10 inches
Resolution: 300 ppi
Color Mode: RGB Color, 8 bit
Background Contents: White or Background Color.
Click OK.
5: CREATE A BLACK OR COLORED BACKGROUND (OPTIONAL)
In the Tool Bar located on the left side of your workspace, click on the Paint Bucket. Then go to the bottom of the tool bar and select the Foreground/Background Color square. A dialog box will appear and click on the color you want to set as the background. Once selected, click OK.
6: USE THE RULERS TO CREATE MARGINS ON YOUR POSTER
Go to View > Rulers and make sure there is a check mark next to the Rulers so the grid will appear. Using your mouse, click on the ruler at the top and drag down a guideline to leave an even space at the top. Then, click on the side ruler and drag a guideline to leave space for a right margin and another for the left margin. The margins should be even—perhaps 2 inches. Then click on the top ruler and drag a guideline down for the top margin and the bottom margin. The margins should be even—2.5 inches for the top and bottom. There should also be margins between each photographic image.
7: DRAG YOUR IMAGES ONTO THE BACKGROUND IMAGE
Once the Margin Guidelines are in place, start dragging over your images (make sure you have the move tool selected). All of the images should still be open in Photoshop. Keep the background image on the left side of your workspace and drag the current photo, your image, on the right. Click on the image and drag it over to the background image. Move it into place. Then return to the original image and close the file. Then repeat the same steps with the remaining images.
8: MOVING THE LAYERS INTO PLACE
Go to Window > Layers and make sure there is a check mark next to Layers. The Layers window should appear on the right side of your workspace. Each image that you dragged over is a separate layer so you must click on that layer in order to use it. Click on the layer and click on the Move Tool (1st tool in the left side Tool Bar). Using your ruler guidelines, make sure all the images are in a nice, spaced out alignment. You should have equal space between the images.
9: ADDING TEXT TO YOUR POSTER
Once all the images are in place and you have even margins all around, you can now add text to your poster. Click on the Horizontal Type Tool in the tool bar. Select the area where you want to place the text and beginning writing your text in the text box. You can give the poster a title (optional) and put your name on the poster. There is a text formatting tool bar at the top of the workspace that will allow you to change the font, text size and color. When you have finished with your text, go to Layer > Rasterize > Type. If you need to move your text around, you can use the Move Tool, located in the tool bar to move the rasterized text to the desired location.
10: CREATING ONE LAYER
Once all of the images have been dragged to the background and are in alignment, you need to merge all the layers by flattening the image. To flatten the image, go to Layers > Flatten Image.
11: SAVING FILE
Go to File > Save As. When the dialog box appears, pick your desktop as a place to save your image. Change the name from untitled to your name and select JPEG as the Format. Click Save.
