How to Create a 90s Abstract Rave Poster in Adobe Photoshop

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a rave flyer with an abstract 90s design in Adobe Photoshop.

What You’ll Need to Create This 90s Rave Flyer

Install the font, and you are ready to start.

1. How to Set Up a New Photoshop File

Step 1

Let’s start this rave flyer 90s-inspired design. In Photoshop, go to File > New. Name the document Rave-Poster.Set the Width to 1270 px and Height to 1600 px. Set the Resolutionto 72 Pixels/Inch. Click OK.

Create a new Photoshop file

Step 2

In the Layerspanel, click on Create a New Fill or Adjustment Layer > Gradientto get some rave colors started. In theGradient Fill window, select the Styleto Linearand click on the Gradient swatch to set the colors.

Under Presets,select the Foreground to Background preset. Under Gradient Type, set the left color stop swatch to #00a175 and the right color stop to #0500e8. Click OK.

Add a gradient fill layer with a linear style from color green to blue

2. How to Create the Background Lights Effect

Step 1

On the Layerspanel, create a new layer by pressing Shift-Command-N.

On the toolbar, select the Brush Tool (B). Right-click to set the brushSize to 250 px and select a rounded brush with Hardnessof 0.

Create a new layer and select the brush tool

Step 2

We’ll add more rave colors. Using the color codes below, create single brush stamps by clicking on the document.

Orange: #ff6600
Magenta: #ff00df
Red: #ff0055

Using the brush tool use the colors orange magenta and red and create brush stamps over the new layer

Step 3

While selecting the same layer, go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.In the Motion Blur window, check the Previewbox. Set the Angleto -50 and the Distanceto 1500 Pixels.Click OK.

Feel free to experiment with the settings. Changing the angle and distance will result in different outcomes.

Apply a motion blur filter on the brush stamps to create a light effect

Step 4

You can repeat this section as many times as you like. Try making the brush size smaller or larger or choosing different rave colors. I added another layer with the same colors to add more dimension.

Repeat the action as many times youd like to create a dynamic background

3. How to Create the Dust Effect

Step 1

To create the dust effect, we need to create something similar to the steps above. Create a new layer on the Layers panel by pressing Shift-Command-N.

Select the Brush Tool (B) and set the foreground color to #aeaeae. Right-click to set the Brush options. Set the Size to 500 px and the Hardnessto 100%.Brush over the center of the page.

Create a new layer and using the brush tool and a color grey brush over the layer

Step 2

While selecting the layer with the brush stroke, head over to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.Depending on the Distance we set, we will either get a blur that is barely there or one that maintains the original shape we started with. I will maintain the Angleof -50and set theDistanceto 531.Click OK.

Apply the motion blur filter

Step 3

To create the dust effect, head over to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.Here, we can set the coarseness of the particles. We can always lower the opacity later to create a “barely there” look. Check the Previewbox to see what the result will be. I will set the Amountto 180%and the Distributionto Uniform.Click OK.

Select the dust particle layer on the Layers panel and lower the Opacityto 35%.

Apply a noise filter on the same layer to create the particles and lower the opacity of the layer

4. How to Edit a Visually Interesting Image

Step 1

Open the Scenic view of ruins and bronze statue in ancient Pompeii in Photoshop.

On the Layerspanel, double-click on the Backgroundlayer to unlock it. The New Layer window option will open—rename the layer Statue.Click OK.

Open the statue image from Envato Elements in Photoshop and unlock the layer

Step 2

On theLayerspanel, add a Layer Maskto the Statuelayer.

Add a layer mask to the statue image

Step 3

Using the Brush Tool (B),set the foreground color to black. Start by brushing over the outside of the statue—in this case, we want to maintain only the statue to use on the Rave-Posterfile.

Use the backslash ()key to see the parts that have been masked.

Mask out the image leaving only the face of the statue

Step 4

Let’s crop the image to be easily manageable in the Rave-Poster file. In the toolbar, select the Crop Tool (C)and crop the image to just around the statue. Press Enter to proceed.

Crop the image to just around the statue

Step 5

Right-click on the Statue layer and select Duplicate Layer.Under Destination > Document, choose the Rave-posterfile.Click OK.

Duplicate the layer onto the rave-poster file

Step 6

Head over to the Rave-Posterfile. We need to resize and rotate the image. Select the Statuelayer and press Command-Tto Transform.Go to the option bar, and activate theMaintain Aspect Ratio button. Set the Widthand Height to 45% and the Rotationto -45 degrees.

Resize and rotate the image

Step 7

The advantage of working with Layer Masks is that we can hide and show parts of them without completely deleting them. In this case, I want to refine the statue by only keeping the face and masking out the neck area. Select the Layer Mask on the Statuelayer and, using the Brush Tool (B)and black as a foreground color, start brushing the parts off. There is no right or wrong.

Here, you can also hide the edges of the photo that are easy to miss when using Layer Masks and duplicating images.

Refine the masking on the statue image

Step 8

Select the Statue layer, not the layer mask linked to it.Head over to Filter > Distort > Wave.In the Wavesettings window, set the Typeto Square,which means that the effect will divide the image into squares. Set the Number of Generatorsto 20,the Wavelengthto Min. 817and Max. 818, Amplitudeto Min. 1and Max. 2,and finally the Scaleto 100%both Horizontaland Vertical.Click OK.

If the statue covers the dust layer, feel free to enlarge it or move it around so that it’s visible.

Apply the wave filter onto the statue layer

Step 9

In some cases, images don’t exactly match the background color we are working with, and it’s necessary to find a way to make the image neutral. In this case, we will convert it to Black and White. On the Layerspanel, click on Create a New Fill or Adjustment Layer > Black & White.

Add a black and white adjustment layer

Step 10

If we want to have only the image in black and white, we must create a Clipping Mask. While holding down the Optionkey, hover between the Black & WhiteAdjustment Layer and the layer below, and click once you see the arrow pointing down. A Clipping Mask will apply the Adjustment Layer only to the layer underneath.

Create a clipping mask on the black and white layer to be applied only on the statue image

Step 11

We can adjust the Brightness/Contrast if the poster looks somewhat dull. On the Layerspanel, click on Create a New Fill or Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast. In the Propertiespanel, we can adjust as much or as little as we want. There are advantages to tweaking the Brightness/Contrast this way instead of via Image > Adjustment.We can hide and show the layer and tweak the settings with the Propertiespanel.

Add an adjustment layer to tweak the brightness contrast of the overall file

5. How to Add Text and Use Stylistic Alternates

Step 1

The rave flyer 90s-inspired design is looking great so far. Now it’s time for text. Select the Type Tool (B) in the toolbar and add the text, “SHADES OF ELECTRO FESTIVAL”.Using the Type > Panel > Characterspanel, set the font to Space Odyssey - Modern Sans Serif, the Size to 140 pt, the Leadingto130 pt,and the Trackingto 40.

Add text using the type tool

Step 2

The font includes extended features on some letters that expand the width dramatically. In order to access these, you need to keep the Characterspanel open. You can also access it by going to Type > Panel > Characters.

In this case, we will only use some of the alternates to fit the width of the poster. While on the text layer, select the letters H and A,head over to the Characterspanel, and click the Stylistic Alternatebutton to use the alternate. Change the color of the text to white.

Using the characters panel activate the stylistic alternate button for the different letters

Step 3

I changed the alternates of some of the other letters. Feel free to put your own spin on it.

It is up to you which letters youd like to change to stylistic alternates

Step 4

Add a few more details such as stages, bands, dates, website, and address. I added the text below, but feel free to create your own version.

Berkley Danceclub
Stages
Funhouse — Disorder
Nouveau — Ozid
Thrill — DJ Kitoo
04/OCT - 03/OCT/2018
WWW.WHD.COM
23 CARLETON ST. 40933

To rotate the text, create a text layer and use the Transform Toolby pressing Command-T.Hover over a corner of the text, hold down Shift, and drag to achieve an even rotation.

Add a few more text details to the poster to create a visually interesting composition You can rotate text with the transform tool

6. How to Save the File for Web

Head over to File > Save and save the file as you would normally.

To save a JPEG file for the web, head over to File > Save for Web or Shift-Option-Command-S. Select the file type in which you want to save the document—I am choosing JPEG—and set 100 for Quality. Under Image Size, you can change the pixel size of the image if you have any size constraints.

On the bottom left-hand side, you can see a preview of the size of the file. This is useful when there are size constraints on a website and you need to lower the image’s quality or size.

Click onSave…to choose the location in the new window, and click onSave again.

Save the image as a jpeg for web

Congratulations! You’ve Finished This Tutorial

You’ve created an awesome 90s rave flyer inspired by old rave posters. You’ve done great! In this tutorial, we’ve learned to:

Create an abstract poster but still have compelling imagery and typography.
Create a clipping mask with Adjustment Layers.
Use different Filters such as Motion Blur, Wave, and Noise.
Use Stylistic Alternates when a typeface has extended features.

final product