In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to use artboards in Adobe Photoshop to quickly create pocket cards in multiple sizes—perfect for digital scrapbooking! Learn how to set up your artboards, design efficiently across different sizes, and export your finished cards with ease.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to create and customize artboards
- Tips for designing across multiple sizes
- Best practices for exporting your pocket cards
Transcript:
Hi there! This is Marisa from DigitalScrapbook.com, and today I'm going to show you how to use multiple artboards in Photoshop.
I like to use this technique when I'm making pocket cards because you can have several canvases open at the same time. This makes it easy to use the same design and tweak it for different sizes. So, I'll show you how to get that started!
Step 1: Creating a New Canvas
Here I have Photoshop open, and I'm just going to go ahead and open a new canvas. I'm using a 4x8 inch size—this is the largest card I make, which is traveler's notebook-sized.
- Set the resolution to 300 DPI.
- Click "Create".
Step 2: Using the Artboard Tool
Now, I want to use my Artboard Tool. If you don’t see it, it’s under the Move Tool.
- Click the plus icon (+) to add a new artboard.
- Click on your canvas to convert it into an artboard.
- Add another artboard and resize it to 3x8 inches.
You can also use the plus signs to create additional artboards:
- 3x4 inches
- 4x6 inches
- 4x4 inches
Step 3: Renaming Artboards
Now, I’m renaming my artboards for easier exporting:
- Travel Notebook (4x8)
- 3x8
- 3x4
- 4x6
- 4x4
Step 4: Adding Design Elements
Now let's add some colors and shapes!
- Click on an artboard and choose a color.
- Use Ctrl + J to duplicate the design.
- Drag and adjust as needed.
- Use Ctrl + T (Transform) to resize elements.
- Hold Shift while resizing to maintain proportions.
Step 5: Exporting Your Artboards
Once everything looks good, it's time to export:
1. Go to File > Export > Artboards to Files.
2. Choose your folder.
3. Select your preferred file type (PNG is great for pocket cards!).
4. Click Run, and Photoshop will save all the artboards for you.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this tutorial helpful! I often do this in Illustrator as well, so if you're interested, I have a tutorial for that too.
If you liked this video, please like and subscribe!
Have a great day! 😊
I’ve been in PS for 20+ years and haven’t ever artboarded! Thanks for sharing this idea!
Same for me Breon! I've been doing it in Illustrator for a while and just last week I was like, I wonder if I can do this in Photoshop. It's really clutch for making pocket cards.
I like using the artboard feature in Photoshop in combination with smart objects, which speeds up the process of creating similar style elements. However, I haven't used artboards in Illustrator.
I'll have to try it for elements! I often just use the smart objects feature and keep everything on one canvas, but I could see the artboards being helpful.
Wow, how have I never used this feature before?! What a time saver this will be! Thank you for sharing.
Excellent tutorial. I’ve never gotten into art boards and after watching this I’m wondering why. Great tool. Thank you,