Design a Typographic Zine Cover in Lopsy

1. Choose File → New, set Width 1200 and Height 1600, and click Create.
2. Click the top ruler at x 60 and x 1140, and the left ruler at y 60 and y 1540. These are your margins.
3. Click Background, set the foreground colour to #ECE7DA and choose Edit → Fill.
4. Rename Layer 1 to Grain (double-click its name). Fill it with #808080, then run Filter → Add Noise… with Amount 30 and Mono.
5. Open the layer's effects drawer (the ✦ button on its row), set the blend mode to Overlay and close the drawer. Click the row's opacity and set it to 35%. Grey disappears in Overlay, so only the grain is left.

1. Click Grain, pick the Text tool and set Size to 1250 (type it, the slider stops at 500). Choose Archivo Black in the font browser and set the colour to #5A4BC0.
2. Click in the lower right of the page, type a capital E and press Tab to commit it. Rename the layer Big E.
3. With the Move tool, drag the E so its left edge sits at about x 640 and its top at about y 440. The rest of it runs off the right edge of the page.
4. In the effects drawer, set the blend mode to Multiply. That makes it behave like transparent ink when other colours go under it.

The Move tool shows handles around live text. You can turn it without rasterizing it.

1. With the Move tool and Big E selected, hover just outside the top-left corner of its box until the round rotation handle lights up.
2. Drag upward about 8° anticlockwise, so the E leans back. Its bottom edge now rises gently to the right.

Click Grain again before you set up the U. New layers land directly above the selected one, so the U ends up under the E and the E's Multiply darkens it where they cross.

1. Pick the Text tool. Set Size 1400, Archivo Black, colour #C9DC34.
2. Click near the top left of the page, type U and press Tab. Rename the layer Big U.
3. Move it so its left arm hangs about 70 px off the left edge and its top runs about 40 px past the top. Leave it on Normal so the lime stays pure.

A thin black outline that doesn't quite line up with the violet looks like a third printing plate that slipped.

1. Click Big E and choose Layer → Duplicate Layer.
2. Click Rasterize Layer (the T button at the bottom of the Layers panel) to turn the copy into pixels. Rename it E Keyline.
3. Cmd-click the copy's thumbnail to select its shape, then choose Select → Shrink… with 7.
4. Press Delete. Only a 7 px rim is left.

1. Cmd-click the keyline's thumbnail again, set the colour to #17161A and choose Edit → Fill. Press Cmd+D.
2. With the Move tool, nudge the outline about 16 px right and 12 px down with the arrow keys, so it peeks out along the bottom and right of the violet.

Where the inks cross, the violet over the lime would be a muddy olive. Instead you'll print that patch as lime with a violet halftone on top.

1. Click Big E and click Add Layer. Name it Overlap Lime.
2. Cmd-click the U's thumbnail to select the U.
3. Hold Cmd+Shift+Alt and click the E's thumbnail. That keeps only the part of the selection inside the E, which is the overlap.
4. Set the colour to #C9DC34 and choose Edit → Fill. Keep the selection.

1. Click Add Layer and name it Overprint Dots.
2. Fill it (still inside the selection) with dark grey #3C3C3C.
3. Run Filter → Halftone… with Dot Size 14 and Angle 45. The filter stays inside the selection and turns the grey into dots on transparency. Halftone sizes each dot by how dark the area is, so a dark grey gives big dots that cover about two thirds of the patch. The colour goes on next.
4. Press Cmd+D, Cmd-click the dots layer's thumbnail and fill the dots with #5A4BC0. Press Cmd+D.

A strip that bleeds off both edges is easiest to draw as a tilted rectangle with the Pen.

1. Click E Keyline and add a layer called Title Band.
2. Zoom out a little so there's grey around the page. Pick the Pen tool and click four corners of a tilted rectangle:

• the top-left corner in the grey, about 75 px past the left edge, at y 1100 or so
• the top-right corner in the grey past the right edge, about 90 px higher than the first
• the bottom-right corner straight below that, about 220 px down
• the bottom-left corner about 220 px below the first point

1. Click the first point again to close the path. You want a strip about 220 px deep, tilted about 4° anticlockwise, running off both sides of the page. The screenshot shows the shape.

1. Open the Paths panel from the right-hand rail. Click Path 1 so it's highlighted, then click the dashed-square icon under the list (Path to Selection).
2. Go back to the Layers panel, set the colour to #17161A, choose Edit → Fill and press Cmd+D.

1. Click Title Band, pick the Text tool and set Size 200, Anton, colour #C9DC34. Type UPPERCASE in clear paper and press Tab. The layer is already called UPPERCASE.
2. Open the Text panel from the right-hand rail and raise Letter spacing to about 27, until the word is roughly 1040 px wide. Go back to the Layers panel.
3. Switch to the Move tool and drag the word onto the middle of the strip.
4. Drag the top-right rotation handle about 4° anticlockwise so the letters follow the strip. Nudge it back to the centre if it drifts.

1. Click Rasterize Layer, then Layer → Duplicate Layer.
2. Click the lower UPPERCASE layer, Cmd-click its thumbnail and fill it with #E8357F. Press Cmd+D.
3. Nudge it down 1 px with Down.
4. Draw a Rectangular Marquee just around the pink word. With the Move tool, drag its top-right rotation handle about 1° further anticlockwise.
5. Press Cmd+D to drop it.

Zoom in on the title. Because the pink copy turned a little more than the lime, it sits low on the left and high on the right. A plain offset would look like a drop shadow. The changing gap looks like a plate that slipped on the press.

1. Click UPPERCASE copy (the lime one) and choose Layer → Merge Down. The lime merges onto the pink.
2. Choose Merge Down again to fold the title into Title Band.

The joke is that the zine's own title breaks its rule.

1. Click Title Band and pick the Text tool. Set Size 190, DM Serif Display, colour #17161A, and check the Text panel's letter spacing is back to 0.
2. Type etiquette in clear paper and press Tab.
3. Move it so it starts on the left margin guide, with a little clear paper between the strip and the dot on the i. The tail of the q should stay above the bottom guide.

1. With etiquette selected, click New Group and rename it Proof Marks. Click Add Layer (it goes inside the group) and name it Marks.
2. Pick the Brush, Size 6, colour #E8357F.
3. Draw one loose loop around the first e, starting at the top and overlapping where you began, the way you'd circle something with a pen.

Three lines under a letter is the proofreader's mark for "make this a capital".

1. Drop the brush Size to 4.
2. Under the e, click and Shift-click three short, slightly uneven lines about 8 px apart. They don't need to match.

1. Click Marks, pick the Text tool and set Size 96, Reenie Beanie, colour #E8357F. Type caps! in clear paper and press Tab. It lands inside the Proof Marks group.
2. With the Move tool, move it to the right of etiquette, with its right edge on the x 1140 guide.
3. Drag its top-right rotation handle about 7° anticlockwise.

1. Click Marks. With the Brush at Size 4, click and Shift-click three short strokes just left of caps!. That's the margin version of the triple underline.
2. Raise the brush to Size 5 and draw one smooth arc from the top of the circle, up over etiquette (below the strip) and down to the three strokes.

Because the marks live in a group, you can reposition them all at once. Click the Proof Marks group row and drag on the canvas with the Move tool: the circle, lines, leader and note travel together. Put them back over the e when you're done (or press Cmd+Z).

1. Click Title Band and pick the Text tool: Size 20, Space Mono, colour #17161A, Regular, letter spacing 0.
2. Type the list, pressing Enter after each line:

• 04 The Shift Key
• 11 CAPS LOCK & Crime
• 19 Quiet Small Caps
• 27 Letters (ALL CAPS)
• 31 Shouting

1. Press Tab, rename the layer Contents, then set Line height to 1.8 in the Text panel.
2. Move it into the U's counter, centred between the two arms, with its top at about y 182.
3. Click Title Band again and type INSIDE at the same size and colour, with line height back at 1.4. Set the Font weight to Bold and Letter spacing to 6. Line its left edge up with the list, a little above it.

1. Click Contents, then click Add Layer and name it Edits. It sits above the list.
2. With the Pencil at Size 2 in #17161A, click and Shift-click a rule under INSIDE, as wide as the list.
3. Switch to the Brush, Size 3, pink, and draw a slightly wobbly line through 31 Shouting.
4. Click Edits, then type speaking up in Reenie Beanie at size 44, pink, Regular, letter spacing 0. Rename it Correction. Put it just under the struck line and, with the Move tool, tilt it about 4° anticlockwise.

1. Click Title Band and type A ZINE OF TYPOGRAPHIC MANNERS / ON SHOUTING POLITELY / AUTUMN 2026 / $3 in Space Mono, size 18, colour #17161A.
2. Set it to Bold with Letter spacing 4. It should now run almost margin to margin. Centre it across the page with its top at about y 76.
3. Click Title Band again and type 07 in Anton at size 215, colour #17161A, letter spacing 0. Move its right edge onto the x 1140 guide, top at about y 128. Leave clear lime-free paper between it and the U's right arm.

1. Click Title Band and type PHOTOCOPIED WITH PERMISSION / PLEASE DO NOT SHOUT in Space Mono size 16, colour #17161A, Bold, Letter spacing 3. Rename it Spine.
2. Switch to the Move tool. Hold Cmd and drag a rotation handle anticlockwise. Cmd snaps the angle to 15° steps, so stop at exactly 90°. The text now reads from bottom to top.
3. Move it into the left margin, about 20 px from the edge, starting a little below the top staple position (around y 420) and ending well clear of the strip.

1. Click Correction (the speaking up text), click New Group and rename it Stamp. Click Add Layer and name it Rings.
2. Set the colour to #E8357F. Pick the Elliptical Marquee and, with nothing selected, click once on the canvas without dragging. In the dialog that opens, enter From 292, 430 and To 528, 666 and click Select. That's a 236 px circle centred on x 410, y 548. Fill it, choose Select → Shrink… 9 and press Delete.
3. Press Cmd+D and make a second circle the same way from 336, 474 to 484, 622. Fill it, Shrink 4 and press Delete. Press Cmd+D.

1. Pick the Shape tool. In the options bar set Shape to Ellipse and Output to Path.
2. Shapes grow from the centre. Press on the stamp's centre, hold Cmd to keep it a circle and drag out until the circle is 172 px across, sitting between the two rings.

1. Click Rings and type MIND YOUR CAPITALS * SPEAK UP POLITELY * (with a trailing space) in Space Mono size 17, Bold, pink. Rename it Ring Text.
2. Set Letter spacing to about 2.5, so one pass of the phrase is as long as the circle.
3. With Ring Text still active and the Text tool selected, pick the circle (Path 2) from the Path dropdown in the Text options bar, not the Path menu at the top of the window. The letters wrap around the ring. If the end overlaps the start, take a little spacing off.
4. Click Rings and type OK! in Anton size 74, pink, letter spacing 0. Centre it in the stamp.

1. Click Ring Text and click Rasterize Layer. Lopsy won't turn path text together with other layers until it's rasterized. Click the OK! layer and rasterize it too.
2. Click the Stamp group row and press Cmd+D so nothing is selected.
3. With the Move tool, drag the group's top-right rotation handle about 14° anticlockwise. Press Cmd+D to commit.

Real rubber stamps print unevenly. A mask made from clumped noise reproduces that.

1. Click Ring Text and choose Merge Down twice, so the rings, the ring text and OK! are all one Rings layer.
2. Click Add Mask, then click the mask thumbnail (Edit mask for Rings) so you're painting on the mask.
3. Fill the mask with #A6A6A6. Run Add Noise… with Amount 100, Mono and Gaussian, then Gaussian Blur… with Radius 2.
4. Run Threshold… at Level 156. The darker clumps turn black and hide the ink. If too much disappears, lower the level.
5. With the Brush at Size 16 in black, drag along a short stretch of the lower-left of the outer ring. That's a dry patch.
6. Click the layer name to leave the mask and set the layer to Multiply.

1. Click Spine and add a layer called Staples.
2. These shapes are too thin to drag at this zoom, so use the exact-corners dialog: pick the Rectangular Marquee, make sure nothing is selected and click once on the canvas. Enter From 15, 322 and To 20, 398, click Select and fill it with #5E5E64. Press Cmd+D, open the dialog again for 16, 324 to 17, 396 and fill that with #B4B4BA for the shine. Press Cmd+D.
3. Add a Drop Shadow with Offset X 1, Offset Y 1, Blur 1 and Opacity 60.
4. Drag a marquee loosely around the staple, press Cmd+C then Cmd+V. Press Cmd+D and drag the pasted copy straight down to about y 1180. Choose Merge Down so both staples share the shadow.

1. With Staples selected, add a layer called Barcode and pick the Pencil with #17161A.
2. Starting at about x 996, click at y 1474 and Shift-click straight down to y 1512. Move a few pixels right and repeat until you reach the x 1140 guide. Change the Size between 2 and 5 as you go, so the bars vary.
3. Make the first two bars and the last one longer, down to y 1518. Those are the guard bars.
4. Click Barcode and type 9 770007 202603 in Space Mono size 12, centred under the bars.

1. Click Title Band and add a layer called Toner. It sits under all the type, so the specks never land on the lettering. Fill it with #808080.
2. Run Add Noise… with Amount 100, Mono and Gaussian, then Gaussian Blur… with Radius 3. The blur clumps the noise into specks a few pixels wide.
3. Run Threshold… and drag the Level down until only a scattering of black specks is left. That was 116 for me. Noise is random, so yours may differ by a few.
4. Set the layer to Multiply at 60%. The white disappears and only the specks print.

1. With Toner selected, add a layer called Edge Shade and fill it with #17161A.
2. Zoom out until there's plenty of grey around the page. With the Elliptical Marquee, drag from about x -140, y -200 to x 1360, y 1800, so the ellipse reaches past every edge.
3. Choose Select → Feather… 60 and press Delete. (Lopsy's feather tops out around 63 px, so bigger values look the same.) Press Cmd+D and fit the page again with Cmd+0.
4. Set it to Multiply at 22%. The corners and edges go grey, the way a photocopier darkens them.

1. With Edge Shade selected, add a layer called Streak. Use the Rectangular Selection dialog again (click once with nothing selected) for From 866, 0 and To 872, 1600, a thin full-height strip, and fill it with #808080. Press Cmd+D.
2. Run Add Noise… at 100, Mono, then Motion Blur… with Angle 90 and Distance 60. Set it to Multiply at 18%. It reads as a faint drum streak running down the page.
3. With Streak selected, add a layer called Top Grain, fill it with #808080 and run Add Noise… at 24, Mono. Set it to Overlay at 40%. Now even the flat lime and violet have a bit of tooth.
4. Choose File → Save Project to keep the layers, and File → Quick Export PNG for the cover.