《Designing Birthday Cards with CSP: Utilizing Materials and Text Design》
This time, the theme is "How to Make a Birthday Card".
To be honest, while CSP's text processing functions still have considerable room for improvement, its powerful asset library and free drawing and post-processing capabilities are enough for me to choose this software to design birthday cards!
In this article, I will introduce how to design birthday cards by using assets. In the final part, I will focus on recommending various assets, including both free and paid ones.
In the demonstration images, only free assets will be used. You are welcome to follow the steps and try to create your favorite design!
**TIPS: Since the explanatory part of this article is quite long, especially in the text design section where several methods are provided, please make good use of the table of contents for easy reading!
【Introduction to Each Part of the Card】
First, here's a brief explanation of the different components of a card.
1. Text: Such as "Happy Birthday (to you)"
2. Text Holder: A frame used to place text.
3. Character/Theme: Different characters can be placed as the card's theme. For example, the birthday person's favorite animal, anime character, or even their own photo!
4. Decorations: Decorations commonly used on birthday cards, such as birthday cakes, desserts, flowers, balloons, ribbons, confetti, candles, gifts, etc.
These divisions are made to help beginners easily grasp the concepts and are not rigid designs. You can add or remove elements according to your preferences at any time.
Sometimes, you can choose not to have a "character" as the theme, but instead, only add decorations, such as making a large birthday cake the main subject of the design. This is entirely up to your creative freedom!
Now, let's officially begin!
【Step-by-Step Instructions】
1. Set Card Size (Image File Size)
First, will this birthday card be published online or printed out?
The requirements for file settings differ for these two purposes, which you can set after clicking [New File].
For printing: Resolution of 300dpi or higher
For online publishing: Resolution of 72dpi or higher
As for the image ratio, birthday card designs are generally quite flexible, so you can choose whatever you prefer.
When creating a new file, you can set the "unit" and then input the values.
Still unsure how to decide? Just select the default settings like "B5", "A5", or "Postcard" to the right of "Width" for now! You can always change the image size later in [Edit] > [Change Canvas Size].
**TIPS: If you need to print the card, generally, for "personal use" only, no other settings are necessary.
However, if you wish to implement some professional settings, such as more accurate print colors and setting crop marks, please search for "print" in Clip Studio Tips to learn about "CMYK color mode", "bleed", "trim", suitable file types for printing, and other relevant information.
Additionally, if you need to print it and then fold it into a bi-fold card, you also need to ensure that images are only placed on one half of the canvas. Whether it's the top/bottom/left/right half depends on how your card surface will be folded.
2. Choose a Text Box You Like
Next, let's create a text box you like!
Here are two methods for your reference.
✧2a. Using CSP's Default Figure Tools
First, let's introduce CSP's default figure tools.
You can use these tools to draw simple shapes such as rectangles, rounded rectangles (as shown), polygons, circles, etc.
✧2b. Using Assets
Do you find the shapes above too simple? No problem, go search in the asset library!
Enter "Frame" in the CSP asset library and select "Image Material" in the detailed settings to narrow down the search results.
(You can also set the price of the assets you are looking for according to your requirements)
Since the search results can be quite numerous, I usually sort by "Popularity".
(It's not that assets with more downloads are necessarily better than those with fewer, but when there are too many assets and limited time to search, this is a necessary compromise.)
Additionally, you can also enter design elements as keywords, such as "Ribbon", "Flower", etc., to further narrow down the scope.
This time, I used this free strawberry frame asset, which is very cute!
There are many other beautiful frame assets available in the asset library, and I will concentrate on recommending them in the final section by.
After downloading the assets, you can find them in the "Download" section of the asset library.
Image assets can be directly dragged onto the canvas for use.
Then, use the Free Transform function (Ctrl+T) to adjust the image to a suitable size and position.
3. Add Text
There are several ways to add text, and here I will introduce four different methods in detail.
If you want to focus on the image part first, feel free to skip this section and go directly to the next heading, then come back later to choose which method best suits your birthday card design.
✧3a. Simple Text Insertion: CSP's Default Text Function
With CSP's default text function, after selecting "Text" in the left toolbar, you can directly input text.
In version 3.0 or higher, there is also a "Circle Text" tool available.
In the tool settings, you can adjust text size, font, alignment method, and more.
If you can't find it in the window, you can click the wrench icon in the bottom right to select it.
**TIPS: Having trouble deciding which font to use?
When a text layer is selected, move your mouse over the text (no left-click needed), and use the scroll wheel to move up and down to quickly change fonts!
You can also select individual letters and adjust their font size separately .
If you need to rotate words to different angles, you'll need to edit them individually on separate layers.
After selecting the text layer, move your mouse towards the corner of the selection box. Once the mouse icon changes to a rotate icon, you can easily rotate the text.
You can also add the recipient's age, etc.
Done!
✧3b. Creating Text Wrap: Using the Brush Tool
While CSP's text tool doesn't currently have a text wrapping function, we can achieve a similar effect by using a custom brush tool.
First, I've prepared a pre-configured brush for download:
The text inside is all handwritten by me.
You can also replace this text in the brush settings with your own handwriting or with fonts you've downloaded for free use.
After installing the brush, in the "Brush tip" section of the tool settings, you can click the icon shown in the image to change letters :
Note that you need to register the desired letter images as assets first so they can be selected.
Please refer to sections [2] and [3] of the following official tutorial for registration methods.
**TIPS: If you want the brush to be usable with the drawing color, remember to set the display color of the registered asset's layer to "Gray".
Once you have satisfactory letters, you can freely use the brush to draw wrapped text!
If you want to draw specific shapes, you can also use ruler assistance .
When creating a ruler, select the appropriate ruler tool (for text wrapping, "straight ruler", "curve ruler", or "figure ruler" are commonly used), and then you can draw the shape you desire.
Done!
✧3c. Creating Special Fonts: Utilizing Vector Layers
Another method is to leverage the property of CSP vector layers that prevents quality degradation, allowing users to fine-tune individual fonts.
First, after inputting the desired font with the text tool, right-click the layer and select [Convert Layer].
Select "Vector Layer" as the type and click "Vector Settings."
In the vector settings, you can control the line width. Additionally, it is recommended not to select "Output all in black," and for anti-aliasing, choose "Weak" or higher.
This will yield the following result:
Select the "Correct line" tool for vectors, and choose "Move control point" in "Control point."
When the mouse moves over the text, vector lines and control points will appear. Moving the control points allows you to change the font shape.
Using "Vector line pinch" allows you to quickly change line shapes over a larger area.
(It's similar to "skewing"; you can just drag directly on the canvas)
If you want to change the line color, use the "Object selection tool." After clicking on a vector line, adjust it in the tool window. You can modify color, line thickness, brush type, etc.
If you want to enlarge certain letters, use the "Object selection tool" and choose "Scale, Rotate, Skew" as the "Transform method" in the tool window. Then, select the vector lines (holding "Shift" allows you to select multiple lines simultaneously), and a transformation box will appear. You can adjust it by moving the control points on the box.
**TIPS: Pressing "Ctrl+T" directly will only change all lines on the entire layer at once. Therefore, be sure to use the Object selection tool to transform individual lines.
During the vectorization process, shaky lines may appear, which is due to too many control points on the lines. We can use "Simplify Vector Line" to improve this situation.
When using it, it is recommended to use a thin brush , otherwise the line changes will be too drastic.
And just like that, stylized text is complete!
✧3d. Handwritten Text
Still can't choose a suitable font? No problem! Handwritten text with a brush is also great!
Here are two brushes specially designed for writing:
Usage example:
**TIPS: Here, you can also use vector layers for handwritten text, making it convenient to fine-tune strokes using vector control tools.
That concludes the text design part for now.
I chose to use the text tool from section 《3a》 to input text and adjusted the size and angle of individual letters.
Additionally, I typically adjust the text color last , after placing most other design elements.
Because text color usage is very flexible, this allows it to complement other objects (such as strawberries whose colors cannot be changed) and harmonize the overall color scheme of the image.
(The text color style adjustment part will be introduced in 【Step 6】 below.)
4. Add Main Design Elements
In addition to the strawberries on the text frame, I also wanted to add cute animals as the card's theme.
So, I searched for "cat" in the CSP asset library and found this adorable cat brush!
Since this asset is a "brush," it needs to be installed into the brush tool before use.
The method is very simple: just drag it from the asset library to the brush tool window.
Since the brush property draws cats continuously, I wanted to place the cats more flexibly in different positions for the design. Therefore, I will first add a new layer, pre-draw images of individual cats , and then select the desired cats to place them.
(If the canvas is not large enough, you can also create a new canvas and draw various cats on it beforehand)
**TIPS: If the cats are deformed due to being drawn freehand, you can click on the canvas once, then hold "Shift" and draw a straight line. This will prevent the cats from deforming!
After selecting the cats with the lasso tool, copy them:
Place them on the card and adjust their positions:
**TIPS: Slightly overlapping images can give the cats a greater sense of interaction and make the overall image more cohesive.
When copying and pasting individual cats, they are already separated into different layers, allowing you to control their stacking order by adjusting the layer hierarchy. There's no need to rush to merge the layers at this stage.
5. Add Decorations
Next, let's add other decorative assets to enrich the image!
✧5a. Add Background Color/Pattern
First, I filled the background color of the text frame.
Add a new layer below the text frame layer, then select both layers simultaneously and use "Enclose and Fill".
Because it seemed a bit plain, I added a light-colored repeating cat pattern on top.
Drag the image asset onto the canvas, then rotate it slightly so the pattern doesn't look too rigid.
Since the original color of the asset was too dark, I added a new layer above it, filled it with a light yellow, and set it as a clipping layer . This way, I can change the color of the asset.
✧5b. Enhance the Festive Atmosphere
To enhance the festive atmosphere, I decided to add balloons and pennants to the design.
After drawing the balloons, you need to separately draw the strings and bows tied to them.
**TIPS: You can draw simple shapes with a light color, then set the "Layer Property" and enable "Border effect" to easily get an outline.
Below the balloon layer, add a new layer for drawing pennants.
I used brushes of different colors and sizes to make the image more vibrant.
However, the addition of pennants seemed to make the text part appear cluttered.
So, I created a layer mask and erased the middle part to prevent the pennants from interfering with the central text frame.
✧5c. Add Other Effects
Although the current design is already good, I still want this card to have a livelier style.
So, I decided to add a concentrated line pattern below the pennant layer.
After installing the tool, hold down "Shift" while dragging outwards with the left mouse button to get a perfect circle.
Then, use the "Object operation tool" to fine-tune the size, position, and angle of the pattern.
6. Adjust Text Design
Finally, let's adjust the text design!
The simplest way, of course, is to change the text color and add a border.
(For how to add a border, refer to the balloon section above)
Additionally, you can also use auto action assets from the asset library to quickly achieve various design effects.
After downloading the assets, please refer to the official help for information on how to install auto actions:
Usage example:
After selecting the text layer, left-click the desired auto action.
Since this auto action is set to a fixed color, you can later use "Layer color" in "Layer Property" to change the color yourself.
Examples of other auto actions (with additional color changes):
This way, you can achieve even more unique text designs!
In the demonstration image, I chose the first example, "3D effect," for the text design on the card, and changed the color and added an outline to match the overall image.
7. Other Fine-tuning
Of course, you can also fine-tune any part depending on the overall design.
For example, I felt that the cats' colors currently looked duller than other areas.
So, I added a "Tonal Correction Layer" above the cat layer and adjusted its saturation and brightness.
Additionally, I also fine-tuned the background cat pattern and the color of the balloons.
I also added a piece of cake to fill the slightly empty space below the text:
8. Done!
【Asset Recommendations】
Finally, we come to the asset recommendations section!
In addition to the assets used in the demonstration images above, CSP also has many assets suitable for birthday themes. Unfortunately, due to the vast number of excellent assets in CSP's asset library, it's impossible to list them all here.
If you have time, be sure to search the asset library for assets that suit your style and discover some surprises!
✧Text Frame Recommendations
✧Handwritten Font Brush Recommendations
✧Cute Animal Recommendations
✧Party-Related Asset Recommendations
✧Text Style Auto Action Recommendations
【Conclusion】
Thank you for reading this far!
As an additional reference, the following two simple designs were also created using the CSP asset library; the text uses the designs mentioned above:
What do you think of this tutorial?
Feel free to leave a comment and let me know! I hope this tutorial has been helpful to you.
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