LOPSY

Design a Folk Art Zine Cover

Make an alpine folk art zine cover in Lopsy with radial-symmetry sunbursts, crossed alphorns, a painted medallion, woodtype titles and halftone.

  • Intermediate
  • 60 min
  • 26 steps

Published

Alpine folk art, such as Swiss and Tyrolean Bauernmalerei painted furniture and cut-paper Scherenschnitte, runs on a few simple rules:

  • a small set of flat, earthy colours
  • shapes repeated with strict symmetry
  • hearts, tulips and edelweiss wherever there's a gap

In this tutorial you'll use those rules for a zine cover called YODEL of the Uplands. It has a dotted red border, two crossed alphorns, and a painted mountain medallion with a sunburst and a scalloped ring. A woodtype title, a swallowtail ribbon and a halftone print texture finish it off.

Along the way you'll use:

  • the Brush's Radial Symmetry, Spacing and Taper
  • lasso and elliptical marquee fills
  • Duplicate, Flip Horizontal and rotation handles
  • groups, layer effects and Google fonts
  • Copy Merged and the Halftone filter

The palette has six colours: red #B3261E, fir green #1E4D2B, ochre #D4A017, cream #F4EAD2, ink #2A1E17 and paper #EFE3C8. The sky is a slate blue, #6E8FB0.

  1. Make the paper

    Open Lopsy. In the New Document dialog, set Width to 900, Height to 1200 and Background to White, then click Create.

    Select Background. In the Color panel's hex field, set the foreground to #EFE3C8. Press G for the Paint Bucket and click the canvas. Then add a little tooth: choose Filter → Add Noise…, pick Mono and Gaussian, set Amount to 4 and click Apply.

    Double-click Layer 1 and rename it Paper Fibers, then:

    1. Set the foreground to #8A6A3E.
    2. Choose Filter → Fibers…, set Variance 20 and Strength 48, and click Apply.
    3. Open the layer's effects (the ✦ button on its row) and set Blend to Multiply.
    4. Set the row's opacity to 14%.
    A 900 by 1200 cream canvas with faint vertical paper fibres and the grid showing

  2. Cut the frame with the grid

    Choose View → Show Grid. Showing the grid switches Snap on in the options bar, and the grid is 16 px.

    Click the top ruler at 60, 450 and 840 for vertical guides, and the left ruler at 60, 700 and 1140 for horizontal ones. The 450/700 crossing is the centre of the medallion you'll paint later.

    1. Click Add Layer and name the layer Frame. Set the foreground to #B3261E.
    2. With the Rectangular Marquee (M), drag from about (20, 20) to (880, 1180). Snap pulls the edges onto the grid.
    3. Fill it with the Paint Bucket.
    4. Marquee from (52, 52) to (848, 1148) and press Delete to hollow it out.
    5. Press Cmd+D to deselect, then untick Snap. The rest of the cover uses exact positions.
    A red frame layer with a dashed inner marquee ready to delete, and blue guides at the margins and centre

  3. Add frame dots and heart corners

    Add a layer named Frame Dots and press B for the Brush. Open the brush presets. On the Shape tab, set Size 9, Hardness 100 and Spacing 355. With spacing that wide, a stroke lays down separate dots.

    Set the foreground to cream #F4EAD2. Draw each side with a click and a Shift-click, which paints a straight dotted line:

    • top: (34, 40) to (866, 40)
    • bottom: (34, 1160) to (866, 1160)
    • left: (34, 72) to (34, 1128)
    • right: (866, 72) to (866, 1128)

    Finish the corners with small hearts. Draw a 20 px heart with the Lasso (L) on each corner square and fill it cream.

    The red frame with a row of cream dots along each side and small cream hearts in the four corners

  4. Draw an alphorn

    Add a layer named Alphorn L. Build the horn lying flat across the middle, and rotate it later.

    1. Body: with the Lasso, trace a long taper. Start at (62, 739), go to (772, 732), flare out to (838, 711), come down to (838, 779), back to (772, 758) and (62, 751), then release. Fill it with #8A5A2B.
    2. Mouthpiece: marquee a 16 × 16 square at (46, 737) and fill it with ink #2A1E17.
    3. Bell rim: with the Elliptical Marquee, drag a 16 × 72 oval at (830, 709) and fill it with #6B4320.
    4. Bands: every 60 px from x 110 to 710, marquee a 10 px-wide strip from y 700 to 790 and bucket-click the horn inside it with red #B3261E. Then add a 3 px cream strip 13 px to the right of each red band.

    Because the bucket only floods the horn's brown pixels, each band wraps the horn neatly without spilling onto the paper.

    A long horizontal wooden alphorn with a flared bell on the right and red and cream bands every 60 pixels

  5. Duplicate and flip the second horn

    Give the horn an outline first so that both copies get it. Open Alphorn L's effects, tick Stroke, and set Width 2, position outside, colour ink.

    Click Duplicate Layer and rename the copy Alphorn R. If the copy lands offset, use the Move tool (V) and the arrow keys to put it exactly on top of the original.

    Marquee from (46, 700) to (851, 790) around the horn. Press V and click Flip Horizontal in the options bar. The bell now points left.

    Press Cmd+D.

    Two identical alphorns stacked, the top copy flipped so its bell points left, with the marquee still active

  6. Rotate the horns into an X

    Select Alphorn L and marquee the same (46, 700) to (851, 790) box. With the Move tool, drag the top-right rotation handle (the circle just outside the corner) clockwise. Hold Cmd so it snaps in 15° steps, and stop at 45°, with the bell pointing to the lower right. Press Cmd+D to commit.

    Alphorn L mid-rotation with the transform box and rotation handles tilted 45 degrees clockwise

  7. Cross the second horn

    Select Alphorn R, marquee the same box, and rotate it 45° counter-clockwise so its bell points to the lower left. Press Cmd+D.

    The two horns now cross at the centre guide. The medallion will cover the crossing, leaving the mouthpieces and bells showing like an emblem.

    Two alphorns crossing in an X through the centre of the frame, bells at the lower left and lower right

  8. Paint the sky disc and sunburst

    Select Alphorn R and add a layer named Sky Disc. Drag an Elliptical Marquee of 528 × 528 at (186, 436) and fill it with #6E8FB0.

    Add a layer named Sun, marquee a 104 × 104 circle at (398, 488), and fill it with ochre #D4A017.

    Next, add a layer named Sun Rays and select the Brush. In the brush presets, set Spacing back to 10 and Size to 11. Then:

    1. Click Radial Symmetry in the options bar and set Segments to 16.
    2. Cmd-click the sun's centre at (450, 540) to move the symmetry centre there.
    3. Drag straight up from (450, 476) to (450, 436). Sixteen rays appear at once.
    4. For the short rays in between, set Size to 6 and drag from (463, 475) to (466, 458).
    5. Click Radial Symmetry again to turn it off.
    A slate blue disc over the horns with an ochre sun near the top and sixteen long and sixteen short rays drawn with radial symmetry

  9. Build the mountains and hills

    Folk painting likes mirror symmetry, so keep every shape balanced around the 450 guide. Add one layer per shape, lasso it, and fill it:

    • Far Peaks #3B5A6E: a zigzag through (170, 820), (240, 700), (290, 750), (350, 640), (420, 720), (450, 690), then the mirror image out to (730, 820). Close it along the bottom at y 980.
    • Hero Peak fir green #1E4D2B: a triangle (296, 910), (450, 560), (604, 910).
    • Snowcap cream: (450, 560), (496, 664), (474, 648), (450, 674), (426, 648), (404, 664).
    • Back Hill #4B7A3C: a band with a wavy, scalloped top around y 862 (about 88 px per wave), closed at the bottom.
    • Front Hill #2F6135: the same wave around y 922, offset by half a wave.
    Symmetric slate peaks, a large fir-green centre peak with a cream zigzag snowcap, and two scalloped green hill bands

  10. Add the chalet and fir trees

    Select Front Hill and add a layer named Chalet:

    • body: a 64 × 46 rectangle at (418, 872) in #8A5A2B
    • roof: a red triangle (404, 878), (450, 836), (496, 878)
    • windows: two cream 12 px squares at (426, 882) and (462, 882), and a round 12 px window at (444, 850)
    • door: an ink 14 × 20 rectangle at (443, 898)

    Add a Fir Trees layer. Each tree is two stacked lasso triangles in #163B21 plus a short ink trunk. Put two trees at x 372 and 528 (base at y 916) and two smaller ones at x 312 and 588 (base at y 934).

    A small brown chalet with a red roof at the foot of the peak, flanked by four dark fir trees

  11. Clip the landscape to the disc

    The peaks and hills overhang the disc. To trim them:

    1. Drag the 528 × 528 elliptical marquee at (186, 436) again.
    2. Choose Select → Inverse.
    3. Click each of Fir Trees, Chalet, Front Hill, Back Hill, Far Peaks and Sun Rays in turn, pressing Delete after each one. The selection stays put while you switch layers.
    4. Press Cmd+D.
    The elliptical disc selection inverted, with marching ants around both the disc and the canvas edge, before deleting the overhang

  12. Add scallops, ring and dots

    Select Fir Trees and add a layer named Scallops. With the Brush at Size 22 in ochre, turn on Radial Symmetry with 32 segments. Cmd-click the medallion centre (450, 700), then click once at (450, 438). Thirty-two half-hidden dabs make a scalloped inner edge.

    Add a Ring layer. Fill a 564 × 564 elliptical marquee at (168, 418) with red, then marquee the 528 disc at (186, 436) and press Delete. This leaves a clean 18 px ring.

    Add Ring Dots, set the brush to Size 6 in cream, and keep 32 radial segments centred on (450, 700). Click once at (477, 429). That point is rotated half a step from the scallops, so the dots sit between them. Turn radial symmetry off.

    The medallion with ochre scallops around the inside edge, a red ring and cream dots evenly spaced around the ring

  13. Turn the front hill into a golden field

    The dark firs disappear against the dark front hill. Open Front Hill's effects, tick Color Overlay and set the colour to #C99A2E. The hill turns into a harvest field. Because it's an effect rather than a repaint, you can still change the colour later.

    The front hill band recoloured ochre gold with a Color Overlay effect, making the dark fir trees stand out

  14. Group the horns and the medallion

    Select Ring Dots and add a layer named Ribbon Tails. It sits above everything you'll group, so new work lands on top.

    Click Ring Dots, Shift-click Sky Disc, and click Group Layers. Name the group Medallion. Do the same with Alphorn R and Alphorn L and name that group Alphorns. Collapse both groups to keep the panel short. You can now select a whole group and move it as one piece.

    The Layers panel with collapsed Medallion and Alphorns groups and an empty Ribbon Tails layer above them

  15. Draw the swallowtail ribbon

    On Ribbon Tails, lasso the left tail with #7A1712: (120, 1048), (204, 1048), (204, 1112), (120, 1112), with the notch point at (146, 1080). Draw its mirror image on the right, from x 780 to 696. Add two small fold triangles in #4A0E0A where the band meets the tails, at (172–204, 1096–1112) and (696–728, 1096–1112).

    Add a layer named Ribbon Band. Fill a 556 × 64 rectangle at (172, 1032) with red, then add two 2 px cream rules at y 1040 and 1086, from x 186 to 714.

    Finally, open the band's effects, tick Drop Shadow, and set Offset X 4, Offset Y 5, Blur 4, colour ink and Opacity about 40.

    A wide red ribbon across the bottom with dark red forked tails, thin cream rules and a soft drop shadow, overlapping the horn bells

  16. Set the issue line

    With Ribbon Band still selected, press T for the Text tool:

    1. Open the Font browser, search Special Elite and click it. Set Size to 30 and the foreground to cream.
    2. Click an empty spot near the bottom of the canvas, type ZINE No. 7 - HERBST 2026, and press Tab to commit.
    3. With the Move tool, drag the text onto the ribbon so it's centred at (450, 1064).
    ZINE No. 7 - HERBST 2026 set in cream Special Elite and centred on the ribbon

  17. Add the tagline

    Click Ribbon Band again so the new type doesn't restyle the issue line. Keep Special Elite, but set Size to 17 and the foreground to ink.

    Copy LIEDER · WANDERWEGE · GESCHICHTEN to your clipboard. Click an empty spot and paste it with Cmd+V. The middle dots are easiest to paste rather than type. Press Tab, then move the tagline to centre it at (450, 1009).

    A small ink tagline Lieder, Wanderwege, Geschichten between the medallion and the ribbon

  18. Set the woodtype title

    Select Ribbon Band. In the Text tool, pick Rye, a Western woodtype face that suits folk posters. Set Size to 190 and the foreground to red.

    Wait a moment for the font to download, then click at about (110, 80), type YODEL and press Tab. Nudge it with the Move tool until it's centred on the 450 guide.

    The word YODEL set huge in red Rye across the top of the cover

  19. Give the title a cream outline and ink shadow

    Open YODEL's effects:

    • Stroke: Width 3, outside, cream.
    • Drop Shadow: Offset X and Offset Y 5, Blur 0, colour ink, Opacity 75.

    The hard, unblurred shadow gives the title the slightly raised look of printed woodtype.

    The Layer Effects drawer for YODEL with Stroke and Drop Shadow enabled, the title outlined in cream with a hard ink shadow

  20. Add the subtitle and ornaments

    Select Ribbon Band and set type again: Berkshire Swash, Size 64, fir green. Type of the Uplands, commit, and centre it at (450, 334).

    Add a layer named Ornaments:

    • two red lasso hearts about 38 px wide at (206, 338) and (694, 338)
    • two 3 px ochre rules, 120 px long, at (300, 390) and (480, 390)
    • a tiny ochre heart between the rules at (450, 392)
    of the Uplands in green Berkshire Swash under the title, flanked by red hearts, with a thin ochre rule and tiny ochre heart below

  21. Grow a vine in the margin

    Add a layer named Vine L. In the brush presets, set Size 5, Spacing 10 and Taper 0. Paint a gently wavy fir-green stem up the left margin, from (108, 960) to (108, 580).

    For the leaves, lasso small almond shapes, about 36 px long and tilted upwards, and fill them with #4B7A3C. Alternate sides at y 920, 870, 760, 700 and 640.

    A thin green stem winding up the left margin with five almond-shaped leaves alternating left and right

  22. Add the tulip, heart and edelweiss

    • Tulip: lasso a three-petal tulip on top of the stem, through (90, 590), (82, 556), (97, 568), (108, 538), (119, 568), (134, 556), (126, 590), (108, 600). Choose Edit → Fill with red. Add a small ochre flame in the middle the same way.
    • Heart: lasso a small heart on the stem at (115, 815) and Edit → Fill it red.
    • Berries: click a few ochre dots (Size 8) beside the leaves.

    For the edelweiss, set the brush Taper to 80 so each stroke ends in a point. Turn on Radial Symmetry with 9 segments and Cmd-click (108, 488) to centre it there. Then paint three layers of petals, each with a single short outward drag:

    1. green #4B7A3C bracts at Size 12
    2. cream petals at Size 14
    3. white highlights at Size 8

    Turn radial symmetry off and set Taper back to 0. Finish with a cluster of tiny ochre and brown dots in the centre.

    The vine topped with a red folk tulip with an ochre flame, a red heart on the stem, ochre berries and a star-shaped edelweiss with green bracts

  23. Mirror the vine

    Duplicate Vine L and rename the copy Vine R. Marquee from (52, 420) to (848, 1020). This box is centred on the 450 guide, so a flip mirrors the vine exactly into the right margin.

    Press V, click Flip Horizontal, click the status bar, and press Cmd+D.

    A wide marquee centred on the 450 guide around the left vine, ready for Flip Horizontal

  24. Fake a slight misregistration

    Screen prints and risographs never line up perfectly. To fake that:

    1. Duplicate Frame and rename the copy Frame Misprint.
    2. With the Move tool (and Snap off), press the right arrow 3 times and the down arrow 2 times.
    3. Set the copy's blend mode to Multiply and its opacity to 30%.

    You get a faint darker edge, like a second plate that slipped.

    The corner of the frame showing a faint red ghost of the border offset a few pixels, like a slipped print plate

  25. Add a halftone print texture

    Select the top layer in the stack, then:

    1. Choose Select → All, then Edit → Copy Merged, then Edit → Paste. This puts a flattened copy of the whole cover on a new layer.
    2. Rename the layer Halftone Print and press Cmd+D.
    3. Choose Filter → Halftone…, set Dot Size 5, Density 1, Angle 15 and Softness 1, and click Apply.
    4. Set the layer to Multiply at 12%.

    The dots are only just visible, but they make every flat colour look printed on paper.

    The Halftone filter dialog over a pasted copy of the whole cover, with Dot Size 5, Density 1, Angle 15 and Softness 1

  26. Export the cover

    Turn off View → Show Grid and View → Show Guides to check the design without them. Then choose File → Quick Export PNG for the image, and File → Save Project to keep every layer, group and effect editable for the next issue.

    To keep going, swap the subtitle for another region or season, change the ribbon text, or recolour the Front Hill overlay for a winter or spring cover.

    The finished Yodel of the Uplands folk art zine cover in Lopsy with the grid and guides hidden
Lopsy showing the finished deep blue poster, with a huge black deep headline, a red sounding line dropping into eccentric blue circles, a red probe with sonar rings and blue knocked out of the circles in paper colour

Design a Swiss Style Exhibition Poster

Build a Swiss International Style exhibition poster in Lopsy with a strict grid, giant grotesk type, eccentric circles, halftone shading and a rotated caption.

  • Intermediate
  • 50 min
Lopsy showing the finished Industrial Insomnia zine cover, with a clock-faced eye in a red sun above a factory skyline, a black gear, vertical red INDUSTRIAL type and cream INSOMNIA on a black diagonal band

Design a Constructivist Zine Cover in Lopsy

Make a constructivist zine cover in Lopsy with a clock-eyed kino-eye, a rotated gear, a factory skyline, misregistered diagonal type and halftone texture.

  • Intermediate
  • 60 min