Re-imagine found vintage images as modern minimalist digital collages with a hint of a risograph look and reduced colour palette!

Using vintage images and giving them new life as modern minimalist digital collages is a great way to develop your visual language, create exciting work for your portfolio and level up your Adobe Photoshop skills along the way!

There are many ways you can approach creating collages, and in this class, we will explore creating digital collages with a timeless minimal look by combining vintage illustrations of animals with linear charts or graphs, some vintage type and clean, digital geometric shapes, and then giving all these elements a graphic look reminiscent of screen prints or risographs, and tying the composition together with a reduced colour palette.

Working with vintage images and turning them into prints and surface patterns has been one of my favourite areas of visual experimentation for years. And in this class, I am super excited to share with you my favourite approach to creating minimalist collages using vintage graphics! Combining detailed images of animals with technical drawings, charts or some sort of linear infographics allows you to create a strong visual contrast and a juxtaposition between the organic, natural forms with something dry and technical which always makes for appealing visuals. And mixing in additional elements, such as type and solid geometric shapes helps to add more visual interest to your work.

In this class, you will learn:

where to find suitable, public domain (free to use) vintage images online;
tips, ideas and a technique for combining sources images into your collage composition;
how to use Adobe Photoshop’s filters and adjustments in a smart, non-destructive way to create two kinds of graphic treatments which will give the elements a solid colour print aesthetics;
colouring approaches for creating collages with a different vibe and a technique for colouring your collage elements;
how to add more visual interest to the composition by creating a layering effect;
how to enhance the look by fine-tuning the colours and texturing your collage.

Throughout this class, I will step-by-step walk you through the complete process of creating this kind of digital collages. To follow along with this class you will need a desktop version of Adobe Photoshop, and for the best experience, familiarity with its core tools, functionality (including Layers, Smart Objects, Adjustments and Layer Masks) and interface is highly recommended.

By the end of the class you’ll be equipped with everything you need to know to start creating your own striking minimalist collages for posters, print-on-demand products, editorial illustration or graphic design projects, and I cannot wait to see what this class will inspire you to create!

— Jenya / Attitude Creative

Recommended classes to take your collages a step further:

Texturing in Adobe Photoshop: 5 Easy Techniques Using Filters — add more varied and complex texture to your collages;
Create Unique Framed Art Mock-ups with Adobe Firefly & Adobe Photoshop — showcase your collages as art prints in any interior setting your can imagine.

Alicia Setoda

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