Web Development: How to Create a Squid Game Letterpress Text Effect in Photoshop

How to Create a Squid Game Letterpress Text Effect in Photoshop

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to recreate the business/invite card design from the Squid Game television series.

To start, we'll use a brown kraft paper texture to create the background. Using basic vector shapes and several distorting techniques along with some smudgy brushes, you will learn how to create the geometric shapes that go on the front of the business card.

Moving to the back of the business card, you will learn how to create a rubber ink stamp effect and a letterpress effect in Photoshop.

If you're looking to create more complex letterpress vintage text effects, feel free to check out Envato Elements, where you can find plenty of resources that you can use to create letterpress ink effects or rubber ink stamp effects in a matter of seconds. This set of Photoshop ink stamp effects is just one of the many examples. Check it out and cut out the hassle of learning how to create a rubber ink stamp effect in Photoshop.

What You Will Learn in This Tutorial

How to set up the bleed area
How to add a kraft paper texture
How to create a letterpress effect in Photoshop
How to create a rubber ink stamp effect in Photoshop

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

What You Will Need

You will need the following resources in order to complete this Squid Game business card:

Vintage Textures
Inktober Brushes
Kraft Paper Texture
Typrighter font

1. How to Create a New Document and Set Up the Bleed Area

Step 1

Hit Control-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the drop-down menu, and set the Width to 1050 px and the Height to 600 px. Select CMYK for the Color Mode and set the Resolution to 300 ppi, and then click that Create button.

Step 2

Before we add the kraft paper texture and start work on the design, let's add the bleed area. The bleed is the area outside a document that's trimmed after printing.

To start, let's add some guides around the edges of your canvas. Start by enabling the Rulers (Control-R) and then go to View > Snap To > Document Bounds to make sure that new guides will snap to the document edges.

Now click the top rulers and drag down a guide to the top edge of your document. Move to the left rulers and drag a second guide to the left edge of your document. Using the same techniques, add another two guides on the other two edges of your document. Having these guides active will help you demarcate the printed area from the area that will be trimmed.

Step 3

To add the bleed, go to Image > Canvas Size and increase the Width and Height values by 40 px.

You can add 40 px to the existing values or you can check the Relative box and enter 40 in both Width and Height boxes. Once you're done, click OK to expand your canvas. Now that your document is set up, let's see how you can easily add a kraft paper texture in Photoshop.

2. How to Add a Kraft Paper Texture in Photoshop

Step 1

Download this Brown Kraft Paper Texture from Envato Elements and simply drag it inside your document.

Move to the control panel and focus on the size attributes. Make sure that the Maintain aspect ratio button is checked, right-click the Width value and select pixels, and then set it to 1100 px. When you're done, press Enter.

Step 2

Make sure that your brown kraft texture is still selected in the Layers panel and go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation.

You can check the Use Previous Layer... box to make sure that the adjustment layer will only affect your kraft texture, and then click OK to open the Properties panel. Set the Hue to +20, the Saturation to -15, and the Lightness to -10. We'll use this brown kraft texture for both sides of the business card.

3. How to Create the Front Side of the Business Card

Step 1

Select the Triangle Tool (U) from your toolbar and first focus on the control panel. Remove the Fill color, set the Stroke color to black and the Width to 30 px, and then open the Stroke Options menu to set the Alignment to Inside.

Now click on your canvas to create a triangle. Set Width and Height to 200 px, and click OK to create your triangle shape.

Step 2

Continue with the Rectangle Tool (U), and click again on your artboard and create a 200 px square.

Switch to the Move Tool (V), align this square with your triangle, and leave a 50 px gap between these two shapes, as shown in the following image. Make sure that your Smart Guides are enabled to make things easier (View > Show > Smart Guides).

Step 3

Select the Ellipse Tool (U) and use it to create a 200 px circle. Again, use the Move Tool (V) to align this shape with the other two and leave a 30 px gap between your circle and the triangle, as shown in the following image.

Step 4

Focus on the Layers panel (Window > Layers) to select your three shapes, right-click on one of them, and go to Merge Shapes to easily unite them.

Step 5

Press Control-A to load a selection around your entire canvas, make sure that your shapes are still selected, and grab the Move Tool (V). Focus on the control panel and click the Align horizontal center and Align vertical center buttons to easily center your vector shapes.

Step 6

Return to the Layers panel, right-click on your shapes, and go to Convert to Smart Object to turn your shapes into a smart object.

Keep this smart object selected and go to Filter > Distort > Ripple. Set the Amount to 20% and the Size to Large, and then click OK to apply the effect.

Step 7

Make sure that your smart object is still selected, and this time go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 0.5 px and click OK.

Step 8

Download this set of Vintage Textures from Envato Elements, select "Texture04", and simply drag it inside your document.

Step 9

Focus on the Layers panel, hold down the Control key, and click the thumbnail of the texture to load a selection around it. Once you get that selection, reselect your smart object, hold down the Alt key, and click that Add Layer Mask button from the bottom of the Layers panel to add a subtle mask for your geometric shapes. Feel free to remove the texture from the Layers panel after the mask is applied.

Step 10

For this step, you will need this set of brushes from Envato Elements. Focus on the Layers panel and add a new layer using the Create a new layer button.

Select this new layer to make sure that the elements which you're about to create will be added on it, and pick the Brush Tool (B) from your toolbar. Open the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes), set the Size to 250 px, and start by selecting the "Knife" brush from the list. Move to your design, focus on the right edge of the square, and add a little smudge, as shown below. Keep in mind that you can press the arrow buttons from your keyboard to rotate the brush before applying it.

Using the same technique, use the other brushes indicated in the following image to add more smudges for the other shapes. You'll have to adjust the brush size for each brush, but this can be easily done using the left and right square bracket keys.

Step 11

Return to the Layers panel to select your smart object along with the smudges layer and press Control-G to Group them.

Keep this group selected and make sure that it's collapsed, and then go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color. Again, check that Use Previous Layer... box to make sure that the layer style will only affect your group, and click OK.

Set the color to C=76% M=79% Y=55% K=73% and click OK. Using this technique, you can easily recolor all elements from your group. All you have to do is double-click the color and replace it with the one that you prefer.

Once you're done, disable the group's visibility as you're about to move to the back of this business card.

4. How to Create the Back Side of the Business Card

Step 1

Start with the Ellipse Tool (U) and use it to create a 130 px circle. Fill this shape with black and make that there's no Stroke color.

Step 2

Using the same tool, create a 112 px circle and move it to the center of that black circle using the Move Tool (V). Keep this new shape selected and focus on the control panel or the Properties panel (Window > Properties).

Remove the Fill color and set the Stroke color to red. Lower the Width to 4 px and open the Stroke Options panel to set the Alignment to Center.

Step 3

For this step, let's enable the Grid (View > Show Grid or Control-'). You'll need a gridline every 1 px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides, Grid & Slices, and enter 1 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box.

Now select the Pen Tool (P) and create a triangle that's somewhat similar to the one from the first image. Once you're done, move to the control panel, open the Stroke Options panel, and set the Corners to Round. You can use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to adjust the points that make up this triangle and make sure that the edges of this shape do not exceed those of the red circle.

When you're happy with the look of your triangle, reselect the Pen Tool (P) and create a second path, as shown in the second image.

Step 4

Focus on the Layers panel to select all three red paths, right-click on one of them, and go to Rasterize Layers.

Focus on these new layers, hold down the Control key, and click the thumbnail of the first one to load a selection around it. Next, hold down Control and Shift, and click the thumbnail of the second one to add it to your selection. Finally, do the same for the third layer to add it to your selection. You should end up with a selection around all your red elements, as shown in the second image.

With this selection active, select your black circle from the Layers panel, hold down the Alt key, and click that Add Layer Mask button to mask your circle. You won't notice any change until you remove the red layers, so select them from the Layers panel and delete them. Once you're done, you can disable the Grid (View > Show Grid or Control-').

Step 5

Keep focusing on the Layers panel and turn your house logo into a smart object (Convert to Smart Object), and then go to Filter > Distort > Ripple. Set the Amount to 10% and the Size to Large, click OK, and then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 0.5 px and click OK.

Step 6

Make sure that your logo is still selected and add a layer mask using that same Add layer mask button.

Select this mask, pick the Brush Tool (B) from your toolbar, make sure that the Foreground Color is set to black, and then focus on the Brushes panel.

From that same pack of brushes that you got from Envato Elements, select the "Spray Noise" brush, set the Size to about 300 px, return to your logo, and click it on it to add a letterpress effect.

Step 7

Select the Horizontal Type Tool (T) from your toolbar and focus on the Character panel (Window > Character) to set the settings for the text that you're about to add.

Select the Typrighter font, set the size to 13 pt, the tracking to 130, and the color to black, and then click on your artboard to type in the number. Once you're done, switch to the Move Tool (V) to place your text 50 px from the logo, as shown in the following image.

Step 8

Turn your text into a smart object, keep it selected, and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Keep the Radius at 0.5 px, click OK, and go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Set the Angle to 45 degrees and the Distance to 2 px, and click OK.

Step 9

Add a layer mask to your text and use that same "Spray Noise" brush to give your text a subtle letterpress effect.

Step 10

Group your logo along with the text (Control-G) and move the group to the center of the canvas.

Step 11

Add a new layer, drag it inside the group created in the previous step, and select it.

Reselect the Brush Tool (B) and set the brush size to about 100 px, and then use the "Splatter Spray" brush to add some smudges for your text, as shown in the following image.

Step 12

Add a Solid Color Fill (Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color...) just as you did for the first group, and with this final touch your Squid Game business card is ready for printing.

Step 13

Finally, you can make your design stand out using a mockup from Placeit. All you have to do is upload your final business card design, crop it so it fits the mockup, and that's it.

Congratulations! You're Done!

Here is how your Squid Game business card should look. I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects.

Feel free to adjust the final design and make it your own. You can try other kraft textures or maybe try different smudge effects. You will find some great sources of inspiration at Envato Elements, with interesting solutions to create letterpress ink effects or ink stamp effects in Photoshop.

Popular Assets From Envato Elements

Envato Elements is an excellent resource for assets that can be used to easily create letterpress ink effects, rubber ink stamp effects, or ink stamp effects in Photoshop. Here's a short list of some of the most popular resources that you can find.

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Don't worry if you prefer Illustrator. You can create vintage letterpress text effects just as easily. This set of graphic styles is a perfect example. Just a few clicks, and you've got your letterpress ink effect.

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