Design a Cut-Paper Collage Website Landing Page

1. Choose File → New and make a 1440 × 1720 px document.
2. Click the top ruler at x 80, 720 and 1360 to drop three vertical guides. The outer two are the page margins and the middle one splits the hero into text on the left and pictures on the right. Click the left ruler at y 112 (the bottom of the nav), 980 (the bottom of the hero) and 1560 (the top of the footer).
3. Click Background, set the foreground colour to #EFE5CF and choose Edit → Fill.
4. Double-click Layer 1 and rename it Paper Grain. Fill it with #808080, then choose Filter → Add Noise… with Amount 16, Mono and Gaussian, and click Apply. Click the ✦ button on the layer's row to open the effects drawer and set the blend mode to Overlay. Then click the opacity figure on the layer's row and drag it to 35%. The grey disappears and only the speckle is left.
5. Click Add Layer and name it Paper Mottle. Choose Filter → Clouds… with Scale 20. Set it to Multiply at 4% for a faint unevenness, like real paper.
6. Add one more layer called Paper Fibers. Choose Filter → Fibers… and click Apply with the defaults. Set it to Soft Light at 8%. This layer stays at the very top of the Layers panel the whole time (every new group goes in below it), so the faint fibres run across every scrap of paper you add.

Torn paper shows a white core along the rip. You'll fake that with two lassos: a cream one, and a teal one just above it with a slightly different tear.

1. Click Paper Mottle, then click New Group at the bottom of the Layers panel and name it Nav. Click Add Layer (it goes inside the group) and name it Nav Tear.
2. Pick the Lasso. Start off the canvas above the top-left corner, go across above the top edge to past the top-right corner, come down to y 125, then drag back to the left along a slightly ragged line around y 120. Wiggle the pointer up and down a few pixels as you go: small, irregular steps look torn. Finish off the canvas and let go. Set the foreground to #FBF5E8, choose Edit → Fill and press Cmd+D.
3. Add a layer called Nav Paper. Draw the same shape again with the Lasso, but bring the ragged edge about 10 px higher (around y 110). Fill it with #12545A and deselect.

The cream strip peeks out unevenly below the teal, like the white core of torn card.

1. Add a layer called Logo Sun. With the Elliptical Marquee, drag a 60 × 60 circle from 80, 22 to 140, 82. Fill it with #C6D23E and deselect.
2. With Logo Sun still selected, pick the Text tool and set Archivo Black, size 40, colour #1E1B19. Click in an empty part of the page and type a music note, ♪. (Copy it from this page and paste it with Cmd+V.) Press Tab to finish. With the Move tool, drag it into the middle of the lime disc.
3. Click Logo Sun again. Set Shrikhand, size 38, colour #FBF5E8, and type Ukulele Sundays. Move it so it starts at x 156, lined up with the middle of the disc.
4. Click Logo Sun. Set Archivo Black, size 15, and type JAMS SONGBOOK LESSONS VENUES with six spaces between the words. Open the Text panel and set Letter spacing to 2. Move the links so they end at x 1118, level with the logo.
5. Add a layer called Join Button. Click once with the Rectangular Marquee (no drag) to open its size dialog, and enter 1150, 30 to 1360, 76. Fill it with #EE5E45 and deselect.
6. Open the effects drawer for Join Button. Turn on Stroke with Width 3 in #1E1B19, and Drop Shadow with Offset X 4, Offset Y 4, Blur 0, Opacity 75 and colour #1E1B19. A shadow with no blur reads as a solid block behind the button, the way a paper cut-out casts a shadow.
7. Click Join Button. Type JOIN THE CIRCLE in Archivo Black 15, #1E1B19, letter spacing 1, and centre it on the button.
8. Click the arrow on the Nav row to collapse the group.

These are the big Matisse-style leaves that sit behind the sun. Each one is a single Lasso shape: a stem, then pointed, curving lobes that alternate down both sides and lean toward the tip.

1. Click Paper Mottle and add a group called Hero Art. Inside it, add a layer called Fronds Back.
2. Draw the lime leaf with the Lasso. Start off the right edge of the page at about y 1000 and aim the leaf up and to the left, so its tip ends around 970, 670. Work up one side first, swinging out to a point and back in to the stem five times. Round the tip, then come back down the other side with the lobes set halfway between the first side's lobes. The widest lobes, about 120 px out from the stem, are in the middle of the leaf. Fill it with #C6D23E.
3. Draw a teal leaf the same way, starting off the top-right corner and hanging down to the left, with its tip near 1075, 360. Give it four lobes a side. Fill it with #12545A and deselect.

Most of each leaf will end up behind the sun. Only the lobes that stick out past it matter.

1. Add a layer called Sun.
2. With the Elliptical Marquee, drag a 600 px circle from 760, 220 to 1360, 820. Its centre is 1060, 520. Hold Cmd while you drag if you want it to stay a perfect circle. Don't use Shift: with a selection tool, Shift adds to the selection.

1. Pick the Gradient tool and set Type to Radial. Click Advanced…, click the left stop and type #F57A5C into the Hex color field, then click the right stop and make it #E2492F. Click Done.
2. Drag from about 950, 400, up and to the left of the centre, out to the bottom-right edge of the circle at about 1360, 820. The gradient only fills inside the selection, so you get a disc that looks lit from the top left.
3. Press Cmd+D.

1. Add a layer called Sun Dots. Cmd-click the Sun thumbnail to load the disc as a selection. Fill it with #B83A26 and deselect.
2. Choose Filter → Halftone… with Dot Size 9, Density 0.7 and Angle 30, and click Apply. The solid disc turns into dots.
3. Set Sun Dots to Multiply at 40%. It looks like a second print colour laid over the paper.
4. Click Add Mask at the bottom of the Layers panel, then click the mask thumbnail on the row to edit the mask. The canvas shows a blue tint while you work on a mask.
5. Pick the Gradient tool, set Type to Linear, and make a black-to-white gradient in Advanced… (#000000 on the left stop, #FFFFFF on the right). Drag from the top left of the sun, about 860, 300, to about 1180, 680. The dots fade away on the lit side and stay strong at the bottom right.

Click the layer thumbnail (not the mask) when you're done, so later fills go on pixels.

Add a layer called Fronds Front above Sun Dots. Lasso a smaller leaf with four lobes a side, starting at about 690, 1000 and pointing up and to the right toward the sun's lower-left edge. Fill it with #F3B1A4 and deselect.

1. Click Sun Dots, then click New Group and name it Palm Print. Inside it, add a layer called Palm Paper. Leave it empty for now.
2. Drag the palm tree JPEG from your computer onto the canvas. It lands in the top-left corner at its full size, already selected, with the Move tool active. Rename the new layer Palm Photo.

Hold Cmd and drag the bottom-right corner handle up and to the left until the photo is about 432 × 553 px. Holding Cmd keeps the proportions. Press Cmd+D to finish the transform.

1. Choose Filter → Desaturate.
2. Choose Filter → Brightness/Contrast… with Contrast 55 and Brightness 4. The trunks get darker while the sky stays light, which gives the halftone something to work with.
3. Choose Filter → Halftone… with Dot Size 5, Density 1.2 and Angle 45. The white areas between the dots become transparent.
4. Open the effects drawer and turn on Color Overlay in #12545A. Every dot is now teal ink.
5. With the Move tool, drag the photo so it's centred at about 990, 585, over the left half of the sun.

1. With the Lasso, draw a ragged rectangle about 16 px inside the photo's edges. Bring the bottom edge up about 60 px from the bottom so you lose the busy, dark beach at the bottom of the shot.
2. Choose Select → Inverse and press Delete. Press Cmd+D.

1. Click Palm Paper. Lasso a ragged rectangle just a few pixels outside the photo's torn edge, fill it with #FBF5E8 and deselect. The uneven cream margin makes the print look like it was torn out of a book.
2. Give Palm Paper a Drop Shadow: Offset X 6, Offset Y 9, Blur 16, Opacity 30, colour #3B2A1C. A soft, warm shadow lifts the paper off the page without looking digital.

1. Click the Palm Print group row and pick the Move tool. A transform box appears around both layers.
2. Hover just outside the top-right corner until the pointer turns into a crosshair, then drag a short way to the left to turn the print about 6° counter-clockwise. Press Cmd+D.

Turning the group keeps the photo and its paper backing together.

1. Click Fronds Front and add a group called Uke. Inside it, add a layer called Uke Edge and leave it empty.
2. Drag the ukulele photo onto the canvas and rename its layer Ukulele. Press Cmd+D.
3. Pick the Magic Wand, set Tolerance to 28 and click the white backdrop near the corner. The white backdrop all round the ukulele is selected in one click.
4. Press Delete, then Cmd+D.

1. With the Rectangular Marquee, select the whole photo area (the top-left 559 × 1119 px), then switch to the Move tool so the transform handles appear.
2. Hold Cmd and drag the bottom-right handle in until the ukulele is about 380 × 761 px, 68% of its size. Press Cmd+D.
3. With the Move tool, drag the ukulele across so it's centred at about 1150, 600, over the right side of the sun.

Move it before you rotate it. If you rotate it up in the corner, its tilted body would hang off the canvas.

Marquee around the ukulele and switch to the Move tool. Hover just outside the top-right corner of the box until the pointer becomes a crosshair, then drag to turn it about 20° clockwise. Its headstock leans out over the top of the sun. Press Cmd+D.

1. Cmd-click the Ukulele thumbnail to select its outline.
2. Choose Select → Grow…, enter 10 and click Apply.
3. Click Uke Edge, fill it with #FBF5E8 and deselect. Because Uke Edge sits under the ukulele, you only see a 10 px cream rim.
4. Give Uke Edge a Drop Shadow with Offset X 10, Offset Y 14, Blur 18, Opacity 35 and colour #3B2A1C. The ukulele is now a sticker sitting on top of the collage.

1. Click the Ukulele layer and add a layer called Tape (it goes at the top of the Uke group).
2. Lasso a strip about 150 × 42 px with roughly straight long sides and ragged short ends, tilted about 40° so it runs from lower left to upper right. Place its centre about 30 px in from the print's top-left corner, so it covers the corner and holds it down. Fill it with #E9D79A and deselect.
3. Set Tape to 85% opacity so the print shows through a little. Add a Drop Shadow of Offset X 1, Offset Y 2, Blur 3, Opacity 22 in #3B2A1C, just enough to lift the tape's edge.
4. Cmd-click the Tape thumbnail, press Cmd+C then Cmd+V. The copy pastes in place on a new layer. Rename it Tape 2.
5. The paste selects the copy and switches to the Move tool for you. Drag from just outside its top-right corner to turn it about 80° clockwise. Press Cmd+D, then drag it up onto the ukulele's headstock at about 1170, 296.
6. Set Tape 2 to 85% and give it the same small shadow.

1. Collapse Hero Art. Click it and add a group called Hero Copy. Inside it, add a layer called Kicker Tape.
2. With Kicker Tape selected, type A FREE COMMUNITY UKULELE JAM in Archivo Black, size 15, colour #1E1B19, letter spacing 3. Move it so it starts at x 98 and sits centred on y 216.
3. Click Kicker Tape. Lasso a strip from x 80 to about 18 px past the end of the text, from y 194 to y 238, with ragged left and right ends. Fill it with #C6D23E and deselect.

1. Click Kicker Tape. Type Strum along, in Shrikhand, colour #1E1B19, letter spacing 0. Start at size 96, then lower the Size until the line fits between the x 80 guide and about x 620. That's about 78 px. Move it so its left edge is on the x 80 guide and the top of the capital S is at y 268.
2. Add a layer called Headline Band directly above the headline text.
3. With Headline Band selected, type every Sunday. in Shrikhand at the same size, in #FBF5E8. Move it so it starts at x 102, with enough room under the g in "along" for the teal strip to fit between the two lines.
4. Click Headline Band. Lasso a teal strip that leaves about 22 px around the words on the left and right and about 20 px above and below. Give it ragged ends and tilt it a degree or so, as if it were glued down by hand. Fill it with #12545A and deselect.
5. Give Headline Band a Drop Shadow: Offset X 4, Offset Y 6, Blur 10, Opacity 25, colour #3B2A1C.

1. Click Headline Band. Pick Courier Prime, size 22, colour #1E1B19, and make sure Letter spacing is 0. Letter spacing carries over from the last text you set. Type these four lines, pressing Enter between them:

Free, friendly ukulele jams in parks, pubs and libraries all over town. No experience needed. Bring a uke, or borrow one of ours.

In the Text panel, set Line height to 1.5. Move the text to x 80, about 64 px below the teal strip.

1. Add a layer called CTA Button. Lasso a 350 × 66 px rectangle at x 80, about 48 px under the paragraph, with ragged short ends. Fill it with #EE5E45, deselect, and give it the same Stroke (3, #1E1B19) and solid Drop Shadow as the nav button, but with both offsets at 6.
2. Click CTA Button. Type FIND A JAM NEAR YOU → in Archivo Black 18, #FBF5E8, letter spacing 1 (paste the arrow), and centre it on the button.
3. Add a layer called Link Underline above the button text. Type or browse the songbook in Caveat Brush, size 29, colour #12545A. Place it 36 px to the right of the button, level with the button's middle.
4. Click Link Underline. Set the foreground to #12545A, pick the Brush at Size 4, set Hardness to 90 in the brush settings, and drag a loose, slightly wavy line under the link from one end to the other.

Websites love a row of numbers. It also fills the space under the buttons.

1. Add a layer called Stats Rule. With it selected, type 52 in Shrikhand 46, colour #D93A1C. That's darker than the button coral so it reads better as small type on cream. Move it to x 80, with its top at y 812.
2. Click Stats Rule and type SUNDAY JAMS Enter A YEAR in Archivo Black 13, #1E1B19, letter spacing 2. Put it 10 px below the number.
3. Repeat for 600+ with STRUMMERS / AND COUNTING at x 290, and 40 with LOANER UKES / TO BORROW at x 500. Click Stats Rule before each one.
4. Click Stats Rule. Set the foreground to #1E1B19, pick the Pencil at Size 2, click at 80, 786 and Shift-click at 645, 786 to draw a straight rule above the stats.

1. Collapse the open groups, click Hero Copy and add a group called Stamp. Inside it, add a layer called Stamp Rings.
2. With the Elliptical Marquee, drag a circle from 722, 788 to 878, 944 (centre 800, 866). Fill it with #EE5E45. Choose Select → Shrink…, enter 5, and press Delete. That leaves a 5 px ring. Deselect.
3. Drag a 100 px circle from 750, 816 to 850, 916, fill it, shrink it by 3 and press Delete for the inner ring. Deselect.
4. Pick the Shape tool. Set Shape to Ellipse and Output to Path. Shapes are drawn from the centre outward, so press at the stamp's centre, 800, 866, and drag to 858, 924. That makes a circle path with a radius of about 58 px, running between the two rings.

1. Click Stamp Rings. Type ALL WELCOME ★ EVERY SUNDAY ★ 2 PM ★ in Archivo Black 13, #EE5E45, letter spacing 1. Paste the stars.
2. With the new text selected, choose the circle in the Path dropdown on the Text tool's options bar, and set Align to Center. The words wrap around the ring. If the end runs into the start, lower the size or the letter spacing a little.
3. Click Stamp Rings, set Align back to Left, and type UKE Enter CLUB in Shrikhand 26, #EE5E45. The two lines share a left edge, so the longer CLUB steps out to the right a little, which suits a hand-cut rubber stamp. Move the block into the middle of the stamp.
4. Click the ✦ button on the Stamp group's row to open its drawer, and set the blend mode to Multiply. Click the group's opacity figure and set it to 85%. The ink now darkens whatever it's stamped on, like real ink.
5. Text on a path can't be turned along with the rest of a group, so bake it first. Click the ring text layer (Lopsy names it ALL WELCOME ★ …) and click Rasterize Layer at the bottom of the Layers panel. Open the Paths panel, click the circle path and click Delete Path. You don't need the path any more.
6. Click the Stamp group and, with the Move tool, drag from just outside the top-right corner to turn it about 14° counter-clockwise. Press Cmd+D.

1. Open the Hero Art and Uke groups and click Tape 2, so the note lands at the top of the Uke group. (The project file also has an empty Note Base layer here. It only marks the spot, and you can skip it.)
2. Type ♫ in Archivo Black 72, #1E1B19. Move it to about 1385, 222, on the teal leaf in the top-right corner.
3. Give it a Stroke of 6 in #FBF5E8 and a Drop Shadow with Offset X 4, Offset Y 6, Blur 8, Opacity 30 in #3B2A1C. That's the same die-cut sticker look as the ukulele.
4. With the Move tool, hover just outside the note's top-right corner until you see the crosshair, and drag to tilt it about 14° clockwise. Text stays live while you rotate it.

1. Collapse everything, click Hero Copy and add a group called Jams. Inside it, add a layer called Section Rule.
2. With Section Rule selected, type THIS MONTH'S JAMS in Archivo Black 30, #1E1B19, letter spacing 4. Move it to x 80 with its top at y 1032.
3. Click Section Rule and type see all dates → in Caveat Brush 32, #C2300F. Line its right end up with the x 1360 guide, level with the heading.
4. Click Section Rule. Set the foreground back to #1E1B19, pick the Pencil at Size 3, click at 80, 1072 and Shift-click at 1360, 1072.

1. Click Section Rule, add a group called Card 1, and inside it a layer called Card Paper.
2. Lasso a ragged rectangle from 80, 1134 to 470, 1454 (390 × 320 px). Fill it with #FBF5E8, deselect, and give it a Drop Shadow of 6 / 10, Blur 16, Opacity 28, in #3B2A1C.
3. Add a layer called Card Band. Lasso a band across the top of the card, about 60 px tall, keeping its sides just inside the card's torn edges so no coral pokes out. Give it a ragged bottom edge. Fill it with #EE5E45.
4. Add a layer called Card Icon. With the Elliptical Marquee, draw a 36 px circle near the band's right end, from 412, 1151 to 448, 1187, fill it with #C6D23E and deselect.
5. With Card Icon selected, add the text, clicking Card Icon before each new piece:

• SUN 2 NOV in Archivo Black 18, #FBF5E8, letter spacing 3, at x 106, centred on the band.
• Riverside Enter Bandstand in Shrikhand 38, #1E1B19, Line height 1.1, at x 106, with its top at y 1232.
• 2 – 5 pm · all levels Enter loaner ukes on the table in Courier Prime 18, #1E1B19, Line height 1.45, 30 px below the title.
• RSVP → in Archivo Black 16, #C2300F, letter spacing 2, near the bottom of the card with a comfortable margin under it.

1. Click the Card 1 group row and choose Layer → Duplicate Layer. The copy lands exactly on top of the original. Rename it Card 2.
2. With the Move tool, drag the copy to the right so its left edge sits at x 525, which is 445 px along. Watch X in the status bar as you drag, and finish with the arrow keys. The whole card moves as one.
3. Recolour the band: Cmd-click the Card Band copy thumbnail, click that layer, set the foreground to #12545A and choose Edit → Fill. Do the same for the icon with #F3B1A4. Deselect.
4. Retype the text. Click a raster layer in the card, pick the Text tool, click inside SUN 2 NOV on the new card, press Cmd+A and type SUN 9 NOV. Press Tab. Do the same for the title (Maple Street Enter Library) and the details (11 am – 1 pm · beginners Enter chord sheets provided).
5. Duplicate Card 2 to make Card 3 (its layers are named … copy copy), move it another 445 px right to x 970, and recolour its band to #1E1B19 and its icon to #EE5E45. Change the text to SUN 16 NOV, Lantern Night Enter on the Pier, and 6 – 9 pm · bring a light Enter sing-along set list.

Paper that's been pinned up by hand is never quite straight. Click each card group in turn and, with the Move tool, drag from just outside its top-right corner to turn it a little:

• Card 1: about 1.5° counter-clockwise
• Card 2: about 1° clockwise
• Card 3: about 1° counter-clockwise

Press Cmd+D after each one. The text inside turns with its card and stays editable.

1. Click the Card 3 group row and click Add Layer. The new layer goes inside the group, at the top. Name it Card Tape. All three strips will live together here, above every card. If you'd rather each card carried its own tape when you move it, add each strip inside its own card's group instead.
2. Lasso a 120 × 36 px strip across the top centre of the first card, half on the card and half above it, with ragged ends and a very slight tilt. Fill it with #E9D79A, deselect, and set the layer to 80%.
3. Click Card Tape, Cmd-click its thumbnail, and press Cmd+C and Cmd+V. With the Move tool, drag the copy across onto the top of the second card, a few pixels lower than the first so the strips don't look stamped out. Use the arrow keys for the last few pixels. Set it to 80%.
4. Do it once more for the third card.

1. Collapse the groups, click Jams and add a group called Footer. Inside it, add Footer Tear and Footer Paper layers, the same way as the nav.
2. On Footer Tear, Lasso from below the bottom of the page up to a ragged top edge around y 1568, and fill it with #FBF5E8. On Footer Paper, draw the same shape with its ragged edge about 8 px lower and fill it with #1E1B19.
3. Click Footer Paper before each piece of text:

• Ukulele Sundays in Shrikhand 34, #FBF5E8, at x 80, centred on y 1628
• ABOUT VOLUNTEER SONGBOOK CONTACT in Archivo Black 13, #C6D23E, letter spacing 2, centred on x 790 at the same height
• Made with glue sticks, borrowed ukes and good company. in Courier Prime 15, #FBF5E8, 14 px under the wordmark
• join the circle → in Caveat Brush 36, #EE5E45, ending at the x 1360 guide. Bright coral is fine here, because it's on black.

1. Open the Nav group, click JOIN THE CIRCLE and add a layer called Print Grain. The Nav group sits above all the others, so the grain covers everything except the nav's own text above it.
2. Fill it with #808080, choose Filter → Add Noise… with Amount 12, Mono and Gaussian, set it to Overlay at 22%.
3. Choose View → Show Guides to hide the guides and look at the page as a whole.

One shared grain makes the separate photos, papers and inks look like they were printed together. Export it with File → Quick Export PNG, and save the project with File → Save Project so you can come back and change the dates next month.