Make a Wanted Poster in Photoshop

There is something just plain fun about wanted posters, well the fake ones, at least. I’ve seen wanted posters used in some of the most creative ways, from invitations to help wanted advertisements. Of course, the stand-by is a framed photo.

Making your own wanted poster is so easy in Photoshop, you’ll want to make them for of all your family members! All you need is a photograph that you want to use, a wanted poster template that you can download here, and Photoshop. Any version of Photoshop from 7 on will work fine and most graphics editors that can handle layers.

Making the Poster

1. Open the photograph you want to use in Photoshop. Our first step is to turn this photo into a sepia-toned antique. How easy is it? Terribly. With your photo open, set your foreground color to a tannish orange. Then, using your rectangle shape tool (make sure it’s the shape tool, not the marquee tool!), draw a square that covers the canvas. Now, change that shape layer’s mode to “Overlay”, “Color”, or “Hue”. Each layer mode will affect the final look differently, so just go with what you like best. Reference Illustration 01.

2. Now we get to start putting the poster together. Leave your sepia-toned photo open, and open the wanted poster template. Then, grab your “move tool” and drag & drop the photo onto the poster. Resize until the photograph will fit easily in the upper portion of the template. Reference Illustration 02.

3. I wanted to add a little style to the poster before going further. Photoshop has a very clean star shape built in – I used this shape to create a series of stars down each side of the photograph. Reference Illustration 03.

4. What’s left? Text, of course! I used Cleaver’s Juvenia Blocked, which is available for download at most free font sites. Use some creativity with the wording you choose – the standard “Wanted Dead or Alive” is a bit overdone … I’m sure you can come up with something perfect. Reference Illustration 04.

5. The last thing that I did was add a wood pattern to the background. Mayang provides dozens of free wood textures that you can view and snag from her site.

And you’re all done! Try printing the finished photo out and framing it – great work.

For another great Photoshop tutorial, read “Creating Different Image Effects in Adobe Photoshop – Part 1.”