It is easy to make homemade custom posters. You do not need professional graphic artists to create something decent, or even beautiful. Any color poster printing tasks can be made at home with the right equipment. All you need is your trusty computer, a scanner, some drawing tools and your limitless imagination.
If you are reading this article, it means you are just a novice when using image editing software. That is fine. What we are trying to do is to use our own hands to create a “hard copy” of a poster and then we will enhance it digitally using simple techniques for poster printing. So the first step would be to sketch our poster.
If you are skilled, try and draw the shapes and figures that you want for the poster. If you want to have fun, why not let your kids help out as well? You will be surprised at how some drawings turn out. If you have a friend that is a little on the artsy side have her join in as well. You can have them draw separate parts of the poster if you like, or have them draw a whole poster unto themselves. Have fun, and maybe make a contest out of it. The important part here is that the shapes and lines are sharp. You do not have to color or shade it at this point though it is purely your discretion. Once you have a nice sketch, scan it into a computer.
Once you have it digitized you are ready to enhance it using an image editing software. A good technique is to color the now digitized poster using the “pain bucket” tool. It is a common enough feature in most graphics applications. Experiment with the different colors available and watch your poster come alive digitally. You would be surprised at how some drawings get enhanced as you color them with digital paint. If you have other people in your “team” try and combine your different drawings and see what you can come up with. Experiment and let your creative imagination flow. Afterwards, just put finishing touches like borders, lines and text which are simple enough to use. Great! You now have a unique homemade color poster printing.
Once you are done, simply print a hard copy from your trusty printer. If you want several copies, go to the local color photocopy machine and have it duplicated. You can even have it printed in glossy paper or even photo paper in some places. Of course you can also discuss poster prices at your local poster printing company if you have some money.
