28.03.2024

Create a Holographic, Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop

Follow along this simple tutorial for how to create a holographic foil effect in Adobe Photoshop, as well as how to apply it in inDesign to a personalized business card.

Holographic foil effects are a huge trend in graphic design right now. You can channel the look in your print designs without the need for expensive foiling.

Here we’ll look at how you can create a holographic foil effect in Photoshop quickly and easily. We’ll also show how to apply the background to a business card design in InDesign, by adding metallic detailing and stylish typography.

What You’ll Need to Create a Holographic Foil Background

For this part of the tutorial you’ll need access to Adobe Photoshop. This is a great tutorial for Photoshop beginners.

You’ll also need a range of color swatches. You can either create your own swatches in Photoshop, or download this set of ASE pastel swatches to create a holographic-style effect.

What You’ll Need to Create a Business Card

To create the business card design pictured, you’ll need access to Adobe InDesign, and to download the following images and fonts:

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Card Mockup


1. Create a Holographic Background in Photoshop

Step 1

Open up Photoshop and go to File > New.

We’re going to be using this background as part of a business card design later on, so it makes sense to set up the canvas to the same dimensions.

In this case, we’ll be setting up the cards at 3.5 by 2 inches, and adding a bleed of 0.125 in InDesign.

In Photoshop, set the Width of the canvas to 3.625 Inches (3.5 + 0.125), and the Height to 2.125 Inches. Because we’re aiming to print the cards, set the Color Mode to CMYK Color. Ensure the Background Contents is set to White, then click OK.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - New File

Step 2

You can either use the default swatches provided in the swatches panel or install this set of ASE holographic swatches.

To install the swatches in Photoshop, choose Load Swatches from the Swatches panel’s main menu. Navigate to the ASE file, and click Open.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Load Swatches

The swatches will appear at the end of the pre-existing swatches in the panel.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Pre-Existing Swatches

Step 3

Select the Brush Tool (B).

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Brush Tool

Click on the Brush Preset icon in the top Controls panel to expand a drop-down menu. With the brush type set to Soft Round, increase the Size of the brush to 300 px.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Brush Preset

Step 4

Select a light swatch, or the first swatch from the sequence of imported swatches (a pale yellow), and stroke the brush in a loose wave across the bottom-left corner of the canvas.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - First Swatch

Select the next swatch along (a pale red), and repeat, creating a similar wave above the first.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Next Swatch

Repeat for each color swatch, gradually building up the color in waves until you cover the whole canvas.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Third SwatchCreate a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Fourth SwatchCreate a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Fifth SwatchCreate a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Last Swatch

Step 5

When you’ve finished filling up the canvas with color, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Gaussian Blur

Increase the Radius to about 50 px (or higher if you think it looks better) and click OK.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Radius

Step 6

In the Layers panel, choose Hue/Saturation from the Adjustments menu at the bottom.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Layers

Set the Hue slider to about -3, Saturation to +48, and Lightness to +7.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Hue Slider

Step 7

Go to File > Save As, and save the background as a JPEG image.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Save

To find out how to incorporate the holographic background into a business card, read on for the second part of the tutorial.


2. Create a Holographic Business Card in InDesign

Step 1

In InDesign, go to File > New > Document.

With the intent set to Print, set the Width of the page to 3.5 in and Height to 2 in. Deselect Facing Pages.

Add a Bleed of 0.125 in, and click Create.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Document Presets

Step 2

Select the Rectangle Frame Tool (F) and drag across the page, extending the edges up to the bleed.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Frame Tool

Go to File > Place, choose your saved holographic background image, and Open it, allowing it to fill the whole frame.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Holographic Background

Step 3

Create a second image frame over the first using the Rectangle Frame Tool, as before.

File > Place, choosing the foil texture image.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Foil Texture

With this image frame selected, go to Object > Effects > Transparency. Set the Mode to Multiply and bring the Opacity down to 45%.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Opacity

Click on Gradient Feather in the left-hand menu, and set the Type to Radial, allowing the gradient to be more opaque towards the center of the page.

Click OK to exit the window.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Gradient Feather

Step 4

Use the Type Tool (T) to create a text frame on the center of the page. Type in the name of the person or business, and from either the top Controls panel or the Character panel (Window > Type & Tables > Character), set the Font to Acre, Size 30 pt.

From the Swatches panel set the Font Color to Paper.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Font Color

Step 5

In the Pages panel (Window > Pages) click on the Create New Page icon at the bottom of the panel. This will be the other side of your business card.

Select both image frames from Page 1 and Edit > Copy them. Scroll back down to Page 2 and Edit > Paste them.

Resize the frames to create a square shape, as pictured below.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - New Page

Step 6

Add text to Page 2 using the Type Tool, and setting the Font to Acre as before.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Type Tool

When you’re completely happy with the formatting of the text, select all the text frames, and then head up to Type > Create Outlines.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Create Outlines

Step 7

With the text vectorized you can now insert the holographic background into the text as well.

Select the first line of text and go to File > Place, choosing the holographic background image you saved earlier from Photoshop. Open it, and fill the frame proportionally.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Fill Frame

Repeat for each line of text.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Repeat

When you’re finished, select all the vectorized text and set the Fill Color to None.

Create a Holographic Foil Effect in Adobe Photoshop - Fill Color

And you’re done! All you need to do now is head up to File > Export, choosing Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format options in the Export window.

Awesome work!

Looking for more Photoshop tutorials? Don’t miss this all-encompassing guide to the Gradient Tool in Photoshop.

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