Make a Dieselpunk Streamliner Christmas Card

Open Lopsy. In the New Document dialog, set Width to 1500 and Height to 2100, leave the background white and click Create. That's a 5 × 7 card at 300 dpi.

A single click on a ruler drops a guide.

1. Click the left ruler at 1240. This is the horizon, and the eye level of the whole picture: everything in the distance meets it.
2. Click the left ruler at 120 and 1980, and the top ruler at 100 and 1400. These mark a safe area: keep the title and the important parts of the picture inside them, because the edges get covered by a mat at the end.

Everything that runs into the distance (the train, the rails, the telegraph wires) heads for one vanishing point: 1700, 1240. That's on the horizon, just off the right edge of the canvas. Keep it in mind; you'll aim at it a lot.

1. Double-click Layer 1's name and rename it Sky.
2. Pick the Gradient tool, set the type to Linear and click Advanced… to open the Gradient Editor. Make three stops: #0A1322 at the left, #1B3150 just past the middle and #4F6A86 at the right. Click Done.
3. Drag from the top edge of the canvas straight down to the horizon guide.

Below the horizon the last colour carries on. The snow will cover it later.

1. Click Add Layer in the Layers panel and name the layer Stars.
2. Set the foreground colour to #DCE6F0.
3. Pick the Spray tool and set Size 50, Density 1, Opacity 90 and Softness 30.
4. Zigzag across the sky from the left edge to the right and back, working down in rows about 90 px apart until you're a little above the horizon.

At this size each puff leaves just one or two tiny dots, so you get a dusting of stars rather than a cloud.

Real stars disappear into the haze low in the sky.

1. With Stars selected, click Add Mask at the bottom of the Layers panel. A Mask row appears under the layer.
2. Click the mask's thumbnail to edit the mask. The blue tint shows what the mask hides.
3. Pick the Gradient tool and click Advanced…. Click the middle stop and press Delete in the editor to remove it, then set the two remaining stops to white on the left and black on the right. Click Done and drag from 750, 350 straight down to 750, 1000.
4. Click the Stars layer name to go back to editing its pixels.

1. Add a layer called Moon and set the foreground to #F2EEDF.
2. With the Elliptical Marquee, drag from 1000, 280 to 1300, 580 for a 300 px circle. Hold Cmd while you drag to keep it round.
3. Fill it and deselect.
4. Click the effects button on the Moon row (the sparkle icon) to open the effects drawer. Tick Outer Glow and set Size 120, Opacity 50 and the glow colour to #9FB3D6.

1. Add a layer called Moon texture.
2. Hold Cmd and click the Moon thumbnail. That loads the disc as a selection.
3. Choose Filter → Clouds…, set Scale to 5 and click Apply. The clouds stay inside the circle.
4. Deselect. In the effects drawer set the layer's blend mode to Multiply. Then click its opacity percentage on the row and drag it down to 12%.

Keep it subtle. A strongly mottled moon looks grey and dull.

1. Add a layer called Horizon haze.
2. With the Rectangular Marquee, drag from just off the left edge at y 1020 to just off the right edge at y 1280, so the band runs edge to edge across the horizon.
3. Choose Select → Feather…, enter 60 and apply.
4. Fill with #8FA9C2, deselect, then set the layer to Screen at 45%.

Searchlights raking the sky are a staple of 1930s premieres and expos.

1. Click the Stars row, then Add Layer, and name the new layer Searchlights. A new layer always lands just above the one you've selected, so the beams sit behind the moon.
2. With the Lasso, draw a long thin wedge: start with a narrow base about 12 px wide near the horizon at 1240, 1180, and fan out to about 150 px wide at the top edge around x 260.
3. Hold Shift and draw a second wedge from 1380, 1180 up to the top edge around x 820, ending about 120 px wide.
4. Hold Shift again for a third, from 1120, 1180 out to the left edge around y 420.

Shift adds each new shape to the selection, so all three fill together.

1. Pick the Gradient tool and open Advanced…. Set both stops to #CFE0F0. Drag the left stop's opacity to about 75% and the right stop's to 0.
2. Drag the gradient from the base of the beams at 1250, 1180 up towards 600, 200. The beams are bright at the base and fade as they climb.
3. Deselect and run Filter → Gaussian Blur… with a Radius of 8 to soften the edges.
4. Set the layer to Screen at 55%.

1. Click the Moon texture row, then click New Group and name the group Airship. Inside it, add a layer called Hull.
2. Open the Paths panel from the right-hand rail (the curved-line icon).
3. Pick the Pen tool and draw a teardrop. A click places a sharp corner; a press-and-drag pulls out handles for a smooth curve.

• Press at 945, 440 and drag straight up to 945, 396 for a round, blunt nose.
• Press at 1070, 386 and drag right to 1170, 386 for the top of the hull.
• Click once at 1350, 438 for the pointed tail.
• Press at 1070, 494 and drag left to 1000, 494 for the belly.
• Click back on the first anchor to close the path.

1. Click Path to Selection at the bottom of the Paths panel. Fill the selection with #141C2E and deselect.
2. Give Hull an Inner Glow: Size 6, Opacity 100, colour #F4ECD0. With the moon right behind it, the airship should be a dark silhouette with a thin rim of moonlight.

1. Add a layer called Fins. Lasso a small trapezoid on the top of the tail, from 1215, 412 up to 1288, 384, across to 1338, 386 and down to 1342, 428. Hold Shift and mirror it underneath: 1215, 466, 1288, 494, 1338, 492, 1342, 450. Fill with #141C2E and give it the same cream Inner Glow at size 4.
2. Add a layer called Gondola. Drag an elliptical marquee from 1010, 488 to 1090, 512 under the hull and fill it with #0F1520. Then draw a thin rectangle across it from 1026, 497 to 1074, 502 and fill it with lamplight #FFC861.
3. Add a layer called Running lights. Pick the Brush, set Size 7 and Hardness 100. Click once at the nose with #E8363A (red, port side) and once at the top fin with #4CD69A (green). Add a small Outer Glow (size 12, opacity 80, colour #FF9A80).

Because the airship parts share a group, you can transform them together.

1. Press Cmd+D so nothing is selected, then click the Airship group row.
2. Pick the Move tool. A box with handles appears around all four layers.
3. Hover just outside a corner until the cursor turns into a curved arrow, then drag to rotate the airship about 4° counter-clockwise, nose down. Press Cmd+D to commit. Cmd+D both deselects and commits a pending transform.
4. Click the group row again. Hold Cmd and drag the bottom-right corner handle inwards until the box is about four-fifths of its old size. Cmd keeps the proportions. Commit with Cmd+D.
5. With the group still selected, press Shift+Right four times (each press moves 10 px) to slide the airship 40 px to the right, so the moon frames it and only the tail pokes past its edge.

1. Collapse the Airship group (the arrow on its row), then click the Horizon haze row so the next group lands above it. Click New Group, name it City, and add a layer called Towers.
2. Set the foreground to #1E2F47.
3. With the Lasso, draw six skyscrapers side by side between x 960 and the right edge, each 80–130 px wide. Hold Shift for each tower after the first.

• Give each tower one to three setbacks: every 45 px or so up, step both sides in by 11–18 px, like a wedding cake.
• Finish each with a needle spire about 12 px wide at the base and 70 px tall.
• Vary the heights. The tallest, at x 1335 to 1455, has its top ledge at about y 760. The shortest stops near y 1010.
• Run every base down past the horizon to y 1300.

1. Fill and deselect. Add an Inner Glow (size 4, opacity 50, colour #B9CADB) for a frosting of snow on the ledges.

Only their tops will show above the train's roof, so they don't need much detail.

1. Add a layer called Windows.
2. Pick the Pencil, set the size to 5 and the colour to #FFC861.
3. Click windows in loose rows on each tower, leaving most of the spots dark. A few lit windows per tower look more real than a full grid.

Converging wires are the most Cassandre-like thing in the picture.

The three wires will run from the left edge at y 200, 245 and 290 straight to the vanishing point. The poles and their crossarms line up with those lines, so picture them first.

1. Collapse City, click its row, then New Group Telegraph and a layer called Poles. Set the foreground to #0E1520.
2. Lasso six tall, thin poles, holding Shift after the first. They get shorter, thinner and closer together as they recede:

• The nearest stands at x 60, 16 px wide, with its top at about y 127.
• The others stand at about x 675, 954, 1113, 1218 and 1290, shrinking each time to only 4 px wide.
• Each pole's top sits a little above the top wire: about 110 px for the nearest, less for each one further away.
• Run each pole down past the horizon; the snowfield will cover the bottom.

1. With Shift still held, give each pole three short crossarms, one where each wire line crosses it.
2. Fill and deselect.
3. Add a layer called Pole haze, Cmd-click the Poles thumbnail and drag a linear gradient from 500, 700 to 1350, 700, fading from transparent #3A4F78 to #3A4F78 at 85% opacity. The far poles now fade into the night. Deselect.
4. Add a layer called Wires. Pick the Brush at size 3. Click just off the left edge at y 200, then hold Shift and click near the vanishing point, out in the grey area right of the canvas. Shift-click draws a straight line between the two clicks. Do the same from y 245 and y 290.

1. Collapse Telegraph, click its row, then New Group Ground and a layer called Snowfield.
2. Drag a rectangular marquee from just off the left edge at y 1236 down past the bottom-right corner.
3. Make a three-stop gradient, #7F97B8 → #4F6589 → #26365A, and drag it from the horizon straight down to the bottom edge.
4. Deselect, then run Filter → Add Noise… with Amount 6 and Mono for a fine grain in the snow.

It's darker at the bottom because the moon is behind the scene. That also leaves room for the headlight to light the snow later.

The two rails both run to the vanishing point. The near rail leaves the left edge at about y 1922 and the far rail at about y 1630.

1. Add a layer called Train shadow. Lasso the shadow the train will cast, a long thin wedge that widens under the nose: 700, 1655, out to the right edge at 1660, 1258 and down to 1660, 1282, back to 700, 1712, then under the nose through 430, 1760, 250, 1640 and 330, 1690. Fill with #0E1428, deselect, blur it with Gaussian Blur 14, and set it to Multiply at 60%.
2. Add a layer called Ties. Ties are square to the rails, so in perspective they slant up to the left, towards a second vanishing point far off the left side of the picture. Lasso nine short bars, holding Shift after the first. Each one runs from the near rail up and to the left to the far rail, overhanging both a little:

• One of the nearest runs from 305, 1800 up to about -143, 1668, off the left edge, and is about 22 px thick.
• A middle one runs from 495, 1723 to 56, 1622.
• The furthest you'll see runs from 645, 1663 to 222, 1583, only about 16 px thick.
• Space the rest so they close up and thin out towards the right, and add a couple more below the nearest one, about 70 px apart along the rail, running off the lower left.
• Fill with #2B2A2E.

1. Add a layer called Rails above the ties. Lasso two long, thin wedges that both end in a point at the vanishing point. Hold Shift for the second one.

• The near rail starts at the left edge between y 1922 and 1936.
• The far rail starts between y 1630 and 1640.
• Fill both with #C7D3DE.

1. Give Rails a Drop Shadow: Offset X 0, Offset Y 5, Blur 3, Opacity 70, colour #1E2633.

The near rail runs under the near side of the train, so the train will sit on it rather than beside it.

1. Add a layer called Ground haze. Drag a marquee edge to edge from y 1150 to y 1350, Feather it by 50, fill with #5F7894 and set the layer to 55%. This blurs the line where the snow meets the sky.
2. Add a layer called Fir trees. On the far left, lasso six tall, narrow triangles standing on the horizon between x 22 and x 262, between 76 and 140 px tall. Fill them with #1C2A48.
3. Add a layer called Fir snow. For each tree, lasso a small triangle over its top third: start at the tree's tip and follow its two sides a third of the way down. Fill with #6F85A3.

1. Collapse Ground, click its row, then New Group Locomotive and a layer called Body.
2. Pick the Pen and trace the nose. Remember: click for a corner, press and drag for a curve.

• Click at 720, 750, where the nose meets the roof.
• Press at 430, 742 and drag left to 330, 760.
• Press at 222, 1000 and drag down to 205, 1110. This is the front of the nose.
• Press at 232, 1460 and drag down to 262, 1570.
• Press at 440, 1728 and drag right to 540, 1735.
• Click at 720, 1657 on the bottom edge.
• Click the first anchor to close the path.

1. Click Path to Selection in the Paths panel.
2. Hold Shift and lasso the long side of the train. Its top and bottom edges both aim at the vanishing point.

• Start where the nose meets the roof, at 700, 740.
• Go to the right edge at about y 1220 (draw a little past the edge, to x 1660).
• Drop down to about y 1257.
• Come back to the bottom of the nose at 700, 1666.

Shift adds the wedge to the nose, so you have the whole locomotive selected.

Make a three-stop gradient, #1E2630 → #36424F → #6C7D90. Drag it horizontally from the nose (220, 1200) to the right edge. The far end is lighter because it's further away in the haze. Then deselect.

Each of these goes on its own layer. Cmd-click the Body thumbnail first, so the gradient stays inside the train.

1. Add Nose sheen. Load the body selection and drag a radial gradient from 380, 900 out to 760, 1180, fading from #B4C6D6 at 70% to transparent. A radial gradient is centred where the drag starts. Deselect and set the layer to Screen.
2. Add Body shade. Load the body and drag a linear gradient from 600, 1100 down to 600, 1730, fading from transparent #070A10 to #070A10 at 80%. Set it to Multiply.
3. Add Nose edge. Load the body and drag from 205, 1150 to 345, 1120, fading from #05080D at 75% to transparent. Set it to Multiply. The leading edge now turns away from the light, so the nose reads as round.

1. Add a layer called Livery and Cmd-click the Body thumbnail.
2. Hold Shift+Alt and lasso around everything below the skirt line. Shift+Alt intersects, so only the part of the body inside your lasso stays selected. The line is low on the side and curves down as it wraps round the nose:

• Start just past the right edge at about y 1247.
• Pass through 1200, 1333 and 700, 1425.
• Curve on through 450, 1475 and 250, 1517 to the tip of the nose.
• Close the lasso well below the train.

1. Fill the selection with a three-stop gradient, #B23A33 → #8E2A2A → #5E1A1E, dragged from 700, 1430 down to 760, 1700. That's brighter at the top, like airbrushed enamel. Deselect.

1. Add a layer called Speed stripes.
2. Lasso three thin stripes just above the red, running parallel to the skirt line. Hold Shift after the first.

• Like everything on the side, each stripe aims at the vanishing point, so it's about 12 px thick where the nose meets the side and narrows to a point at the far end.
• Round the nose the stripes curve gently down. The top stripe passes 700, 1328 and 500, 1357 and reaches the front of the nose at about 230, 1413. The other two follow it 30 and 60 px lower.
• Make each one thinner as it wraps round the front of the nose, because you're seeing that part of it at an angle.
• Draw them a little past the front of the nose. You'll trim them next.

1. Fill with chrome #EEF3F7 and deselect.
2. To trim the stripe ends to the body, Cmd-click the Body thumbnail, choose Select → Inverse, press Delete, then deselect.
3. Add a light Drop Shadow (offset Y 2, blur 2, opacity 35, colour #0A0E14).

1. Add a layer called Roof sheen.
2. Pick the Pen, set Stroke to 9 in the options bar, and set the foreground to #C9D7E4.
3. Draw an open path just inside the top edge of the train:

• Click out past the right edge at about 1660, 1232.
• Click at 720, 762.
• Press at 438, 755 and drag to 345, 772.
• Press at 238, 990 and drag to 224, 1080.

1. Press Enter. The path is saved to the Paths panel and stroked onto the layer in one go.
2. Blur it with Gaussian Blur 5 and set the layer to Screen.

Streamliners often had a chrome strip down the middle of the nose. It also shows the nose's curve.

1. Add a layer called Nose crest, set Stroke to 7 and the foreground to #DCE5EE.
2. Draw it from the bottom up, so your first click is well away from the roof path:

• Press at 430, 1722 and drag to 380, 1680.
• Press at 335, 1240 and drag up to 335, 1060.
• Press at 375, 860 and drag to 405, 815.
• Click at 500, 758 on the roof.

1. Press Enter to stroke it.
2. Blur it by 2, add an Outer Glow (size 14, opacity 45, colour #B9CADB) and set the layer to 70%.

1. Click the Roof sheen row, then add a layer called Panel seams. The crest stays on top of everything you add to the train from here on.
2. Pick the Brush at size 3, Hardness 100, colour #0D1118.
3. For each seam, click just under the roof edge, then Shift-click just above the bottom edge. Vertical lines stay vertical in this kind of perspective.
4. Put the seams at x 760, 974, 1124, 1222, 1291, 1343 and 1383. They crowd together the further away they are.
5. Set the layer to Multiply at 35%.

1. Add a layer called Cab windows.
2. Lasso the windscreen on the shoulder of the nose. Its top edge curves gently from 470, 822 to 690, 810, and its bottom edge from 470, 908 to 690, 893.
3. Hold Shift and add two side windows on the flank. Their top and bottom edges should slope towards the vanishing point:

• 778, 864 – 852, 895 along the top and 778, 950 – 852, 973 along the bottom.
• 872, 903 – 940, 930 along the top and 872, 979 – 940, 1001 along the bottom.

1. Fill them with a gradient from #E08A2A through #FFCF7A to #FFE3A8, dragged from y 800 down to y 990, so the cab looks lit from below.
2. Add an Outer Glow (size 22, opacity 55, colour #FFB347) and a Stroke (width 4, colour #AEBBC8) for chrome frames.

1. Add a layer called Headlight. Drag an elliptical marquee from 292, 892 to 348, 992. It's narrower than it is tall because it sits on the curved side of the nose.
2. Fill it with a radial gradient from #FFFDF2 through #FFE6A8 to #FFC861, dragged from just above the centre outwards. Deselect.
3. Add a Stroke (width 9, colour #D7E1E9) for the bezel and a big Outer Glow (size 150, opacity 80, colour #FFC861).
4. Add a layer called Headlight halo and drag a radial gradient from the lamp's centre about 240 px down: #FFD98A at 85%, then #FFC861 at 35%, then transparent. Set it to Screen.
5. Add a layer called Livery glint, Cmd-click the Livery thumbnail and drag a radial gradient from 330, 1470 out about 270 px, from #C86A5E at 80% to transparent. Set it to Screen. That's the headlight's glow reflected in the red paint.

1. Add a layer called Wreath. Drag an elliptical marquee from 242, 1107 to 394, 1283. Then hold Alt and drag a smaller one from 278, 1147 to 358, 1243 to cut out the middle. Fill the ring with #1D4635 and deselect.
2. Pick the Brush and click the brush thumbnail at the left of the options bar to open the Brushes window.

• On the Shape tab set Size 16, Hardness 70 and Spacing 30.
• On the Dynamics tab set Scatter 70, Size Jitter 60 and Opacity Jitter 40.
• Close the window.

1. Paint round the ring three times in different greens. Each loop is a slightly different oval:

• #3F7D58 round the middle of the ring.
• #2A5E44 round the outer edge.
• #6FA57E round the inner edge.

The scatter breaks each stroke into clumps of needles.

1. Add a layer called Berries. With the Elliptical Marquee, drag a small 14 px circle on the ring, then hold Shift and add eight more spaced round it. Fill with #C8343A and give the layer a tiny Inner Glow (size 3, colour #FFD0C0) for a shine.
2. Add a layer called Bow. Hold Shift for each piece after the first:

• Lasso two triangular loops, each about 50 px across, meeting at the bottom of the ring around 318, 1272.
• Lasso two tails about 70 px long with notched ends, hanging down from the middle.
• Use the Elliptical Marquee for a round knot about 22 px across in the middle.
• Fill with #B22D31.

1. Give Bow a Drop Shadow (offset 2, 4, blur 4, opacity 60) and Wreath a softer one (offset 3, 6, blur 8, opacity 55), both in #0A0E14, so they sit on the paint.
2. Add a layer called Wreath snow. Cmd-click the Wreath thumbnail, pick the Spray (Size 40, Density 6, colour #F1F5F9) and spray along the top of the ring. Deselect.

The wreath faces you straight on, but the nose is turned away. Squash it to match:

1. Click the Bow row, then Shift-click the Wreath row. That selects all four wreath layers.
2. With the Move tool, a single box surrounds them. Drag the handle in the middle of the right edge to the left until the box is about 60% of its width.
3. Rotate it about 6° clockwise from just outside a corner, so it tilts with the nose.
4. Press Cmd+D to commit. All four layers are transformed together in one undo step.

1. Click the Cab windows row and add a layer called Letter belt.
2. Lasso a long dark band along the side that ends in a point towards the nose, like a chrome speed whisker:

• Start at 740, 987 and go along the top to the right edge at about y 1229.
• Come down the right edge to about y 1239, and back along the bottom to 740, 1209.
• Finish with the point at 560, 1071.

1. Fill it with #161C25 and give it a Stroke (width 3, colour #8FA3BF) for thin chrome rules.
2. Set the foreground to #D8DDE6. Pick the Text tool, set the font to Federo (an Art Deco face) and Size to 100.
3. Click in empty sky near the top left, at about 120, 180, and type QUICKSILVER COMET with two spaces between the words. Press Tab to commit. Make sure the whole line fits on the canvas.
4. Click Rasterize Layer in the Layers panel toolbar. Distort works on pixels, not live text.

The extra space keeps the two words apart once perspective squeezes the far end.

1. Drag a rectangular marquee just around the lettering.
2. Pick the Move tool and click Distort in the options bar. In Distort mode each corner handle moves on its own.
3. Drag each corner onto the belt. Grab the handle itself (the cursor changes to a diagonal arrow):

• Top-left to 775, 1039.
• Top-right to 1345, 1163.
• Bottom-right to 1345, 1212.
• Bottom-left to 775, 1167.

1. Press Cmd+D to commit. Rename the layer Lettering and add a small Drop Shadow (offset 2, 3, blur 3, opacity 70).

Distort is a true perspective warp, so the letters shrink steadily towards the vanishing point.

1. Collapse Locomotive, click its row and add a layer called Headlight beam. With the group collapsed, the new layer lands above it.
2. Lasso a cone from the lamp at 300, 940 down to well off the left edge, between about y 1700 and y 2300, and back to the lamp.
3. Fill it with a gradient of #FFE2A0 from 75% to transparent, dragged from the lamp down towards -60, 2000 (off the canvas). Deselect.
4. Blur it with Gaussian Blur 24, then set it to Screen at 75%.
5. Add a layer called Light pool. Drag an elliptical marquee from -160, 1695 (off the left edge) to 340, 1905, Feather it by 63 and fill with #F5D9A8. Deselect, blur it by 30, and set it to Screen at 45%. That's where the beam hits the snow ahead of the train.

Aim the cone low, along the track. If it lights the horizon, the trees turn into a flat grey wall.

1. Add a layer called Snow spray.
2. Lasso a band that hugs the bottom edge of the train, from about 25 px above it to 90 px below. Start at the nose around x 380 and run past the right edge. Feather it by 40.
3. Choose Filter → Smoke… with Scale 6 and Turbulence 70, then deselect.
4. Run Filter → Motion Blur… with Angle 156 (roughly the slope of the train's bottom edge) and Distance 40, so the powder streams back along the train.
5. Set the layer to Screen at 60%.

Three layers of flakes give the snowfall depth: fine and faint far away, big and soft up close. Set the foreground to #E8EEF4 and pick the Spray.

• Add a layer called Snow far. Set Size 110, Density 2, Opacity 80, Softness 60, and zigzag from edge to edge down the whole picture in rows about 175 px apart. Run Filter → Motion Blur… with Angle 115 and Distance 6.
• Add a layer called Snow mid. Set Size 170 and Density 1 (keep the same opacity and softness), zigzag in rows about 230 px apart, and blur it the same way with Distance 9.
• Add a layer called Snow near. Set Size 260, Density 1, Opacity 90, Softness 70, zigzag in rows about 300 px apart, blur with Distance 14, and set the layer to 85%.

The bigger the Spray size, the bigger the flakes, so the near layer reads as closest.

1. Add a layer called Grain and fill it with mid-grey #808080.
2. Run Filter → Add Noise… with Amount 18 and Mono.
3. Set the layer to Overlay at 40%.

Overlay makes the grey disappear and leaves only the noise. That's the fine, speckled texture of an airbrushed poster.

1. Pick the Text tool and set Align to Center in the options bar. With centred point text, the spot you click becomes the middle of the line.
2. Set the font to Syncopate, weight Bold, Size 70, and the foreground to cream #F3ECDC.
3. Click at 750, 118, just on the top margin guide and halfway across, and type SEASON'S GREETINGS. Press Tab.
4. Add a Drop Shadow: Offset Y 6, Blur 10, Opacity 80, colour #050A14.

Syncopate's very wide capitals echo the extended lettering of 1930s travel posters.

1. Add a layer called Title chrome above the title.
2. Cmd-click the title layer's thumbnail. The selection follows the letter shapes.
3. Make a four-stop gradient:

• #FFFFFF at the left.
• #C9D6E2 just before the middle.
• #8B9DB0 just after the middle.
• #F2E2C2 at the right.

1. Drag it from the top of the capitals straight down to their baseline (y 137 to y 187). The sharp light-to-dark step in the middle gives the classic chrome horizon line. Deselect.

The live text underneath keeps its drop shadow, and you can still edit it.

1. Add a layer called Mat. Drag a rectangular marquee from outside the top-left corner to outside the bottom-right one, so it covers the whole canvas.
2. Hold Alt and drag a second marquee from 40, 40 to 1460, 1990. Alt subtracts it, leaving a 40 px border with a deeper strip at the bottom for the credit.
3. Fill with #0D1A33 and deselect.
4. Add a layer called Frame line. Drag a marquee from 40, 40 to 1460, 1990, then Alt-drag one from 47, 47 to 1453, 1983 to leave a 7 px ring. Fill it with cream #F3ECDC and set the layer to 75%.

The mat cleanly crops everything that ran off the edge: wires, rails, the train and the snow.

1. With the Text tool still set to Center, choose Big Shoulders, weight Bold, Size 40, colour #E8E0CC.
2. Click at 750, 2018, in the middle of the bottom strip, and type THE QUICKSILVER COMET · CHRISTMAS EVE EXPRESS · 1938. Press Tab.
3. Choose File → Quick Export PNG to save the card, and File → Save Project to keep the layers.

The condensed caps fit the long line comfortably inside the mat, with roughly equal space above and below.