In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a New Year greeting card with golden stars and snowflakes on a red background using Photoshop CS6. This lesson reveals the compositional technique, working with layer styles, using arbitrary shapes and brushes to get a beautiful holiday card.
The link to the PSD file of the lesson is attached at the end of this lesson. So let’s get started!
Final result
Materials for the lesson:
Create a new document (Ctrl + N) in Adobe Photoshop CS6, the document size is 1920px x 1200px (color mode RGB color mode), resolution 72 pixels / inch (px / inch).
Create a new layer, then, through the bottom toolbar Add layer styles (Add a layer style). Select an option Gradient Overlay (Gradient Overlay).
In settings Gradient Overlay (Gradient Overlay), click on the color scale to open the settings window Gradient Editor (Gradient Editor), set the control points of the color range, as shown in the screenshot below. Click OK to close the window. Gradient Editor (Gradient Editor).
We created the following background for our greeting card:
Next, download a set of arbitrary shapes Decorative snowflakes.
Next, we will create a pattern for our background. To do this, create a new document sized 68px by 76px (color mode RGB color mode), resolution 72 pixels / inch (px / inch). Choose a tool Arbitrary shape 
(Custom Shape Tool (U), In the top settings panel, click the window Figure (Shape) to open the shape selection menu. Find the shapes you just downloaded, and then double-click to select one of the shapes you like.
Click + drag with the mouse to draw a shape, draw four snowflakes to create a pattern, as shown in the screenshot below. The color of the snowflakes is white; the background is temporarily filled with black using the tool Fill 
(Paint Bucket Tool (G).
Translator’s Note: Do not forget to rasterize the layers with the figures of snowflakes.
Hide the layer with black background, then go Editing – Define a pattern (Edit> Define Pattern). Name the pattern in the window that appears. Pattern name (Pattern Name).
Next, let’s go back to our working paper, create a new layer. Let’s go Editing – Fill (Edit> Fill) and in the appeared fill settings window in the window Use (Use) select option Pattern (Pattern), and then in the drop-down menu, select the pattern you just created, click OK.
Change the blending mode for this layer to Overlap (Overlay) value Fillings (Fill) reduce to 21%.
Add a layer mask to the same layer through the bottom toolbar. Next, select a soft round brush in black, the opacity of the brush is 15%.
While on the layer mask of the patterned layer, paint over the selected brush along the edges of the image to hide the pattern on the edges of our postcard, as shown in the screenshot below.
In the center of our greeting card we will write the numbers for next year. Choose a tool Horizontal text 
(Horizontal Type tool (T). Set the font, color, size in the settings tab Symbol (Character). I used the font from the archive, which is downloaded from the FontSquirrel website.
Click on the working paper, then type ’2014 ‘. Press (Enter) to apply the text.
Add to the text layer Layer styles (layer style), select the option Inner shadow (Inner Shadow).
Add an option Shadow(Drop Shadow):
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Next, we will add a congratulatory text. Choose a tool Horizontal text (Horizontal Type tool (T). Set the font, color, size in the settings tab Symbol (Character). I used the font of their archive, which was downloaded from the FontSquirrel website.
Click on the working paper, then type the text. ‘Happy New Year’ / ’Happy New Year ‘. Press (Enter) to apply the text.
Add to this text layer. Layer styles (layer style), select the option Gradient Overlay (Gradient Overlay).
In settings Gradient Overlay (Gradient Overlay), click on the color scale to open the settings window Gradient Editor (Gradient Editor), set the control points of the color range, as shown in the screenshot below. Click OK to close the window. Gradient Editor (Gradient Editor).
Add an option Shadow (Drop Shadow):
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Next, we will draw a small 3-pointed star, star color # F2E18A, select the tool Polygon (
Polygon Tool (U), then in the top settings panel click the icon Geometrical parameters of the tool Rectangle (Polygon Options). Set the parameter Ray depth (Indent Sides) – 30%, put a tick in the box Star (Star). Also in the top settings panel in the window Parties (Sides), set the number of sides – 3.
Click + drag the mouse to draw a star, as shown in the screenshot below:
Duplicate the star drawn layer. Next, with the tool Free Transformation (Free Transform (Ctrl + T), rotate the duplicate star, as shown in the screenshot below:
Choose a tool Pen 
(Pen Tool (P), with the help of this tool we will add a little volume to the star’s rays, in the settings of this tool, set the mode to Layer layer (Shape Layers). Draw the next shape as shown in the screenshot below, the color of the shape is # 820101.
To the same layer with the drawn figure, add a layer mask. Choose a black soft round brush, brush opacity 30%.
Being on the layer mask of the layer with the drawn figure, using the selected brush, paint over the shape to reduce the opacity and get the result, as in the screenshot below:
Using the same technique and tools, add volume to the rest of our star’s rays.
Merge all layers with star elements into one group (hold down the CTRL + key and select all layers in the layers palette, and then holding down the left mouse button, drag the selected layers to the button Create a new group (Create a new group), located in the bottom settings panel.
Add a Layer styles (layer style) to the created group and in the window that appears, apply the option Color overlay (Color Overlay).
Translator’s Note: First draw all the layers with the star elements drawn, then merge all the layers with the star elements into one layer (CTRL + E) and add the layer styles to the merged layer.
Add an option Shadow(Drop Shadow):
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
You must rasterize the layer with the group (while on the layer with the group, press the keys (CTRL + E) to Merge group (Merge Down). Apply a tool to the rasterized layer. Free Transformation (Free Transform (Ctrl + T), then rotate the star, as shown in the screenshot below:
Translator’s Note: if in the previous step you have already merged all the layers into one layer, then immediately proceed to the transformation.
Duplicate the combined layer with the star four times, also apply to duplicate layers Free transformation (Free Transform (Ctrl + T) to change the size and their location, as shown in the screenshot below:
Go to the layer with the star, which is shown in the screenshot below:
To the selected star layer, add a new adjustment layer. Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) as a clipping mask. Move the slider to the left to change Color tone (Hue) color range and then increase the value Brightness (Lightness) and Saturation (Saturation), as shown in the screenshot below.
Hold the (Alt) key + click between the adjustment layer Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) and a star layer to convert this adjustment layer to a clipping mask. Thus, the correction of this adjustment layer will affect only the star layer.
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Next, add the new adjustment layer to the same star layer. Curves (Curves), set the curve, as shown in the screenshot below, for a small color correction.
Hold the (Alt) key + click between the adjustment layer Curves (Curves) and a star layer to transform this adjustment layer into a clipping mask.
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Next, with the tool Ellipse 
(Ellipse Tool (U), draw a sphere.
To layer with created sphere, add Layer styles (layer style) and in the window that appears, select the option Stamping (Bevel and Emboss).
Add an option Inner shadow (Inner Shadow).
Next, select the option Gradient Overlay (Gradient Overlay).
In settings Gradient Overlay (Gradient Overlay), click on the color scale to open the settings window Gradient Editor (Gradient Editor), set the control points of the color range, as shown in the screenshot below. Click OK to close the window. Gradient Editor (Gradient Editor).
Add an option Shadow (Drop Shadow):
We have the following scope:
Merge the layer with the sphere into one group (hold down the CTRL + key and select the desired layer in the layers palette, then hold down the left mouse button and drag the selected layer onto the button Create a new group (Create a new group), located in the bottom settings panel.
Add layer styles to the created group and in the window that appears, select the option Color overlay (Color Overlay).
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
You must rasterize the layer with the group (while on the layer with the group, press the keys (CTRL + E) to Merge group (Merge Down).
Duplicate the rasterized layer with the sphere five times. Apply tool to duplicate layers Free Transformation (Free Transform (Ctrl + T) to change the size of the spheres and their location, as shown in the screenshot below:
The spheres for which the arrows are indicated should be grouped into one group:
Next, duplicate the adjustment layers. Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) and Curves (Curves). Place duplicates of these adjustment layers on top of the layer with the group with previously specified spheres.
Translator’s Note: duplicate adjustment layers Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) and Curves (Curves) that you have already applied to the star layer, or simply create new adjustment layers with the same settings.
Hold the (Alt) key + click between the adjustment layers and the layer with the group with spheres to convert these adjustment layers into a clipping mask.
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
Go to the topmost layer in the layers palette, then add a new adjustment layer. Curves (Curves). Set the curve as shown in the screenshot below to make a small color correction.
The result should be as in the screenshot below.
And we finished the lesson! Thank you for being with me during the lesson.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Final result
