Make a Botanical Plate Holiday Card of a Balsam Fir

1. Create a 1500 × 2100 px document with a white background.
2. Select the Background layer, set the foreground colour to #F1E8D4 and choose Edit → Fill.
3. Click the top ruler at x 110, 750 and 1390 to drop vertical guides for the margins and the centre line.
4. Click the left ruler at y 296 and 1712 for the header and footer rules.

Old plates are framed with a heavy rule and a hairline just inside it.

1. Rename Layer 1 to Plate Border. Pick the Pencil and set the colour to ink, #2E2419.
2. At Size 4, click the top-left corner 58 px in from both edges. Then Shift+click the other three corners and the first one again.
3. At Size 2, draw a second rectangle the same way, 70 px in from the edges.
4. Still at Size 2, draw two rules under the header from the left guide to the right guide, at y 296 and y 302. Draw one more along the footer guide at y 1712.

1. Pick the Text tool. Set IM Fell English SC at 92 px, Align to Center, and colour #2E2419. Click on the centre guide near the top and type ABIES BALSAMEA. Press Tab to commit it, and rename the layer Title.
2. In the Text panel, set Letter spacing to 6. Then use the Move tool and the arrow keys to centre the title on the centre guide, about halfway between the top frame and the header rule.
3. Click Plate Border. Type THE BALSAM FIR, WITH STUDIES OF SNOW CRYSTALS in Old Standard TT at 22 px, colour #5A4632, letter spacing 5. Centre it about 30 px under the title and rename it Subtitle.
4. Click Plate Border again. In crimson #A3262A, at 22 px with letter spacing 3, add PL. XXV. left-aligned at the left margin, just inside the top frame. Click Plate Border once more and add FAM. PINACEAE. right-aligned at the right margin.

1. Add two layers above Plate Border: Needles first, then Twig above it. The needles go underneath so the bark covers their bases.
2. Pick the Brush and open the brush settings from the tip thumbnail in the options bar. Set Size 18, Hardness 95, Spacing 2 and Taper 1500.
3. Paint the twig in bark brown #7A5638 in one slow stroke. Start at the cut end, about (220, 1430), and curve up to the tip at about (1300, 870), with the steepest part near the start.

Taper is the distance over which the stroke shrinks to nothing, counted from where it starts. Set it a little longer than the stroke, so the twig thins toward the tip but still reaches it.

Fir branches grow in a flat spray, with side shoots leaving the twig at about 50–60°.

1. Set the brush to Size 10 and Taper 250.
2. Paint six side shoots from points along the twig, on both sides. Make each one 150–225 px long, with a slight curve toward the tip.
3. Make the lowest upward shoot the longest, rising toward the empty top-left of the page.

1. ⌘-click the Twig thumbnail in the Layers panel to load its outline as a selection.
2. Add a layer called Bark Shade. Set the brush to Size 9, Hardness 40 and Taper 0.
3. Paint #4E3523 along the underside of the twig and each shoot, just below the centre line. The selection keeps the paint on the wood.
4. Press ⌘D to deselect. Open the layer's effects drawer (the ✦ button on its row) and set the blend mode to Multiply.

1. Select Twig. Lasso a small oval across the cut end, about 8 × 18 px, and fill it with pale wood #D9B98C.
2. Add a layer called Buds. With a Size 11 brush in #8A5A3A, click once on every shoot tip. Then click a Size 4 dot of #F7EEDA just up and left of each one, for the resin highlight.
3. Select Twig, open its effects and turn on Stroke at Width 2 in ink #2E2419.

This is the longest step: about 400 needles. Balsam fir needles lie flat in two rows, one each side of the twig, leaning forward toward the tip.

1. Select Needles. Set the brush to Size 9, Hardness 100, Spacing 2 and Taper 110. A short taper rounds the needle tips.
2. In #2F5538, work along the main twig from just past the cut end to the tip, painting one needle out from each side every needle's width or so. Each needle is a short, slightly curved stroke 50–60 px long, angled 65–75° forward from the twig.
3. Make the needles shorter as you near the tip, and leave two gaps on top of the twig where the cones will sit.
4. Paint the side shoots the same way at Size 8, with needles about 48 px long.

Needles that all match look stamped. Go over about a third of them again in darker #284329, then about a fifth in lighter #4F7A50. Scatter the darker and lighter ones over the whole branch, not in clusters.

1. Add a layer called Needle Sheen above Needles. With a Size 3 brush at Opacity 80 and Taper 80, paint #6E9461 along the upper edge of each needle on the main twig, stopping short of the tip.
2. ⌘-click the Needles thumbnail to select every needle. Then add a layer called Needle Shade.
3. Set a big soft brush: Size 70, Hardness 0, Opacity 45. Paint one stroke of #22382A along the underside of the twig, about 35 px below it. The needles that hang below the twig fall into shadow.
4. Deselect, and set Needle Shade to Multiply.

Give Needles a Stroke effect at Width 1 in needle ink #1F3624. That's a shade darker than the needles rather than black, so the foliage reads as drawn, not cut out.

Fir cones stand upright on top of the branch.

1. Select Bark Shade and add a layer called Cone, so it sits above all the wood.
2. With the Lasso, draw an upright cone on the first gap in the needles: about 104 px wide, rising 340 px from the twig. Round the foot, keep the sides straight for the lower half, narrow the top to about 60% of the width, and finish with a rounded tip.
3. Pick the Gradient tool, open Advanced… and set four stops:

• #3A2040 at the start
• #B58AB0 at the 30% point
• #7A4A72 at the 55% point
• #2A1530 at the end

1. Drag straight across the cone from its left edge to its right edge. The light band a third of the way in turns the flat shape into a cylinder.

Keep the cone selected so nothing spills.

1. Shadows: with a soft brush (Size 9, Hardness 0, Opacity 40, Taper 0) in #1E0C24, paint a short arch every 24 px up the cone, five or six across. Stagger each row by half a scale, like brickwork. Narrow the arches toward the sides, where the scales turn away from you.
2. Edges: switch to Size 3, Hardness 100, Opacity 90 in scale ink #24112A, and trace each arch again just above its shadow.
3. Rims: at Size 2, Opacity 55 in #D9B5D2, add a short pale line along the top of each edge.

1. Pick the Dodge / Burn tool and set Mode to Burn, Exposure 20 and Size 30. Drag once from the foot to near the tip, down the right third of the cone.
2. Switch Mode to Dodge at Exposure 22 and Size 22. Drag once down the left third, where the gradient's highlight is.
3. Deselect. Give Cone a Stroke effect at Width 2 in #24112A.

1. ⌘-click the Cone thumbnail, then press ⌘C and ⌘V. The copy pastes in place on a new layer, already selected, with the Move tool active. Rename it Cone 2 and give it the same Stroke effect.
2. ⌘-click the Cone 2 thumbnail to select it again, then drag it along the twig to the second gap, about 260 px to the right and 140 px up.

Two identical cones look copied. Hold ⌘ and drag the top-left corner handle in toward the centre until the cone is about three quarters of its size. ⌘ keeps the proportions.

1. Drag the round rotation handle just outside the top-right corner to tilt the cone about 6° to the right.
2. Press ⌘D to apply the transform.
3. Nudge the cone with the arrow keys until its foot sits on the twig.

Engravers shaded with lines, not soft paint. The hatching should only cover the shadow side, so build that selection first.

1. Add a layer called Cone Hatching.
2. ⌘-click the Cone thumbnail.
3. Pick the Rectangular Marquee, hold Shift+Alt, and drag a box over the right third of the cone. Shift+Alt intersects, leaving only the part of the cone inside your box.
4. Choose Select → Feather… and feather by 6 px, so the hatching fades out toward the light.

1. Select the Cone Hatching layer. Set the brush to Size 1, Hardness 100, Opacity 100, in #1A0A20.
2. Draw straight diagonal lines rising to the right, at 45°, every 5 px across the selected area. Overshoot the cone: the selection trims the lines to the shadow side.
3. Deselect. Then do the same for Cone 2: ⌘-click its thumbnail, Shift+Alt-drag a marquee over its right third, feather by 6 px, and hatch it.
4. Set Cone Hatching to Multiply at 70% opacity.

A cone sitting on top of every needle looks pasted on. Add a layer called Front Needles above the hatching. With the needle brush (Size 8, Taper 110) in #2F5538, paint about ten short needles (about 40 px) from the twig up across the foot of each cone. Give the layer the same Width 1 Stroke as Needles.

The detail figures go in their own group. Select Cone 2, click New Group in the Layers panel and rename it Details. Add a layer called Fig 2 Needle inside it.

It's much easier to draw a long thin shape level and turn it afterwards.

1. With the Lasso, draw a needle lying flat across the top-left of the page, about 390 px long and 36 px wide. Give it a narrow stalk ending in a small round disc on the left, and a rounded tip with a tiny notch on the right.
2. Fill it with a linear gradient across its width, from #264A2F at the edges to #4B7B52 in the middle.
3. Inside the selection, paint two faint pale bands (Size 4, Opacity 50, #D3DFCF) along its length, stopping 60 px short of each end. These are the rows of breathing pores on the underside.
4. Paint a dark midrib (#1F3A26, Size 3) down the centre. Deselect, and add a Stroke of Width 2 in ink.

1. ⌘-click the Fig 2 Needle thumbnail to select it, and pick the Move tool.
2. Drag the top-right rotation handle counter-clockwise until the needle stands diagonally, about 60°.
3. Press ⌘D to apply it. Then nudge the needle with the arrow keys until it's centred at about (270, 540).

1. Add a layer called Fig 3 Section. Lasso a flattened lens shape about 192 × 60 px, centred at (500, 620), with a slight bump on top. Fill it with #B9CDA6 and add a Stroke of Width 2 in ink.
2. Add a layer called Fig 3 Ducts. For each ring: drag an Elliptical Marquee, fill it with ink, choose Select → Shrink… by 2 px, and fill again with the inside colour.

• In the middle, a 40 × 24 px vascular strand filled with #6F8F5A.
• Near each end, a 16 px resin duct filled with #F3EBD3.

1. Click a row of Size 4 white dots along the bottom edge for the pores.

1. Add a layer called Fig 4 Bract. Lasso a tongue shape centred on x 800, with a sharp point that pokes about 40 px above where the scale's top edge will be. Fill it with #A9B66E and give it an ink Stroke.
2. Add a layer called Fig 4 Scale. Lasso a broad fan about 260 px wide and 175 px tall, narrowing to a short stalk at the bottom, centred at (800, 560).
3. Fill it with a radial gradient: #A97AA0 at the start, #6E4466 at the 55% point and #3A2040 at the end. Drag from just above the centre out toward the lower right.
4. Still selected, paint fine lines (Size 2, Opacity 45, #2A1530) fanning up from the stalk. Deselect, and add an ink Stroke.

1. Add a layer called Fig 5 Wing. Lasso a smooth, rounded paddle shape tilted up to the right, centred at about (1150, 590). Fill it with a linear gradient from #D9B98C at the seed end to #EFE0C4 at the tip.
2. Paint four faint veins (#7A5636, Size 2, Opacity 50) along the wing. Add a Stroke of Width 2 in sepia, and set the layer to 88% opacity so it reads as papery.
3. Add a layer called Fig 5 Seed and lasso a small dark oval (#5A3A2A) at the wing's lower end. Give it an ink Stroke.
4. Add a layer called Detail Hatching. ⌘-click Fig 4 Scale, then Shift+Alt-drag a marquee over its lower-right lobe and Feather it by 6 px. That's the shadow side, ready for hatching.

1. On Detail Hatching, hatch the selected lobe at 45° with a Size 1 brush in #2E1E28, 5 px apart, as you did the cones.
2. ⌘-click Fig 5 Wing and draw seven short hatch lines across the trailing edge of the wing.
3. Deselect, and set the layer to Multiply at 70%.

1. Select Cone 2 and add a new group called Snow.
2. Inside it, add a layer called Brass Rim. Drag an Elliptical Marquee 328 px across, centred at about (1140, 1378). Fill it with a linear gradient from #C9A45E (top left) through #B08D4A to #6E5427 (bottom right).
3. Give the rim a Stroke of Width 2 in brass shadow #4A3518, and a light Drop Shadow (offset 3, blur 6, opacity 25%).
4. Add a layer called Field and select a 300 px circle on the same centre. Fill it with a radial gradient from #C8D2DB to #9EAFBE, starting a little above and left of the centre.
5. Add a Width 1 Stroke in #4A3518, and a faint Inner Glow in #4A5A6A at Size 24 and 30% opacity.

Snow crystals have six-fold symmetry, so draw one sixth and let the brush copy it.

1. Add a layer called Stellar Crystal and pick the Brush.
2. Click Radial Symmetry in the options bar and set Segments to 6.
3. ⌘-click the centre of the field to move the symmetry centre there.
4. Set the colour to #2B3A4A. With a Size 3 brush, draw one straight edge of a small hexagon about 23 px above the centre. Draw a second, fainter edge inside it at Size 2. The other five edges appear as you draw.
5. At Size 5 with Taper 150, draw one arm straight up from the hexagon, about 120 px long. Five copies appear around it.

Side branches on a real crystal run parallel to the neighbouring arms, so they leave the arm at 60°.

1. Set the brush to Size 3 and Taper 40. Add five pairs of side branches up the arm, at 60° to either side. Make them longest in the middle (about 36 px) and shortest near the centre and the tip (about 17 px).
2. At Size 2, add a small twig pointing outward from the middle of each of the two longest branches.

Every stroke you make on one arm lands on all six.

Symmetry is still on, so these take only a few strokes each.

1. Fig. 6, a hexagonal plate: add a layer called Fig 6 Plate and ⌘-click at (590, 1470) to move the symmetry centre there. In #3D5A80 at Size 3, draw the top edge of a hexagon about 140 px across. At Size 2, add a smaller inner edge, a spoke from the centre to a corner, and a tiny centre hexagon.
2. Fig. 7, a stellar plate: add a layer called Fig 7 Stellar Plate and ⌘-click at (800, 1470). Draw the outline of one broad arm about 74 px long with click and Shift+click lines. Shape it like a leaf on a short stem, joining the next arm near the centre. Add a midrib and two short veins.
3. Click Radial Symmetry again to turn it off, so ⌘-click goes back to normal.
4. Select Brass Rim, add a layer called Crystal Wash, and lasso-fill both figures' outlines with #DCE8F2. Set the layer to 85% opacity.

Draw the tag level first and turn it at the end.

1. Select Cone 2, add a group called Specimen Tag and a layer called Tag inside it.
2. Lasso a 230 × 96 px tag with its two left corners clipped, centred at about (330, 1600). Fill it with #E6D3A8.
3. Eyelet: select a 22 px circle near the left end and fill it with #A8884F. Choose Select → Shrink… by 4 px and press Delete to punch the hole.

1. With the Pencil at Size 1 in #B79C72, draw two ruled lines across the tag, 30 px apart.
2. Click Tag. Add No. 25 in Old Standard TT, 15 px, crimson, right-aligned near the top-right corner, and rename it Tag No.
3. Click Tag again. Type Abies balsamea in La Belle Aurore at 22 px, colour #2B2A4A, above the first rule. Rename it Tag Name.
4. Click Tag again and type Katahdin, 21 Dec. at 16 px above the second rule. Rename it Tag Place.
5. Now nudge each line until it sits just on its rule. Type both lines before moving either one: a click near an existing line of text edits that line.

1. Select Tag Place, the text layer just above Tag, and choose Layer → Merge Down. Do the same for Tag Name and then Tag No, until all the lettering is part of Tag.
2. Give Tag a sepia Stroke at Width 2 and a soft Drop Shadow (offset 3, 5; blur 6; 30%).
3. ⌘-click the Tag thumbnail. With the Move tool, drag a rotation handle to turn the tag about 8° counter-clockwise, then press ⌘D.

1. Add a layer called String. Set the colour to crimson #A3262A, pick the Pen tool and set Stroke to 4 in the options bar.
2. Zoom in on the cut end with ⌘-scroll. You need to see the anchors clearly.
3. Click once on one side of the twig near the cut end, click again on the other side, and press Enter. Enter adds the path and strokes it in the foreground colour.
4. Make a second wrap the same way, 12 px further along.

The last path you drew stays selected, and a click on one of its anchors edits it. So start each new path a few pixels away from the last one's anchors.

1. Bow: for each loop, click just below the twig, drag out a curved anchor about 34 px to one side, then click back on the first anchor to close it. Press Enter.
2. Tail: click the eyelet, drag a sagging anchor halfway up, click just under the knot, and press Enter. Add one short loose end the same way.
3. Open the Paths panel and click the highlighted path to deselect it, so its outline stops showing.
4. Give String a small Drop Shadow and choose View → Fit to Screen.

1. Select the Title layer, add a group called Lettering, and add a layer called Leaders inside it.
2. Click Leaders before each numeral. Add 1 to 8 in Old Standard TT at 26 px, ink, center-aligned, and rename each one (Fig 1, Fig 2 and so on).
3. Put 2, 3, 4 and 5 on one shared baseline about 30 px below the lowest figure in the row, each centred under its figure.
4. Put 1 just left of the cut end. Put 6, 7 and 8 on one baseline under the snow row.

1. Click Leaders, then add a small a (20 px) to the left of the cross-section. Click Leaders again and add a b to its right.
2. Select Leaders. With the Pencil at Size 1, click next to each letter and Shift+click on the part it names. The a points to a resin duct and the b to the central strand.

1. Click Leaders. Pick Pinyon Script at 88 px, center-aligned, in ink. Click on the centre guide below the footer rule and type Greetings of the Season, then press Tab. Rename the layer Greeting.
2. Nudge it so its tallest swash sits 35 px below the footer rule.
3. Click into the greeting with the Text tool and press ⌘A to select every letter. Set the colour to crimson #A3262A and press Tab.

Start each new line well away from any existing text, for example over the empty middle of the branch, then nudge it into place. A click inside the greeting's text box would add to the greeting.

1. Key: click Leaders. In Old Standard TT, 19 px, #5A4632, center-aligned, type the first line, press Return, and type the second:

• 1. Fruiting branch. 2. Needle, under side. 3. Needle in section: a, resin duct; b, vascular strand.
• 4. Cone scale and bract. 5. Winged seed. 6, 7. Snow crystals. 8. Stellar crystal, magnified.

1. In the Text panel, set Letter spacing to 1 and Line height to 1.8. The panel keeps the last spacing you used, so check it. Nudge the key so its top sits about 45 px under the greeting.
2. Footer: click Leaders, then type WINTER SOLSTICE, MMXXVI in Old Standard TT at 16 px, crimson, letter spacing 5. Centre it about 35 px under the key.
3. Margin note: click Leaders, then type LOPSY HERBARIUM SHEET 25 DRAWN FROM LIFE at 13 px in sepia, letter spacing 4. Pick the Move tool and click Rotate 90° CCW in the options bar. The text turns and stays editable. Nudge it into the left margin, centred on the frame's height.

1. Select Background and add a layer called Foxing. Set the colour to #9C7A4A and run Filter → Clouds… at Scale 6.
2. Run Filter → Gaussian Blur… at 60 px to melt the clouds into soft stains, then Filter → Add Noise… at 3, Mono.
3. Set the layer to Multiply at 7% opacity. Keep it subtle.
4. Add a layer called Aged Edges. Make a radial gradient that stays transparent until the 86% point and ends in #8E6E42. Drag from the centre of the page to a corner, and set the layer to Multiply at 30%.

1. Select the Lettering group and add a layer called Grain. It lands inside the group, which is fine. Fill it with #808080 and run Add Noise… at 14, Mono, Gaussian. Set it to Overlay at 7%, so everything looks printed on the same sheet.
2. Step back and look at the bottom margin. The roundel's shadow sits a little close to the footer rule. Select the Snow group in the Layers panel, pick the Move tool, and press Shift+↑ once and ↑ twice. The whole group, roundel and crystals together, rises 12 px.
3. Turn off View → Show Guides and choose File → Quick Export PNG.