How to make your own textures: Paper Textures
Textures are all around us, encircling us in the most subtle ways. As we walk through the streets, we see the ceramic collage of brick and mortar, the paving stones beneath your feet that turn to the crunching of loose gravel. There is something about texture that resonates with all of us on a personal level, right down to the grain. In this article, we are going to explore it, and understand it a little more, taking advantage of its magic, and push the paper textured envelope as far as we possibly can. Welcome to Freepik’s world of texture.
What is a texture in graphic design?
Graphic designers are always finding ingenious ways of communicating to their viewers. Creating an emotional response and targeting the senses is a clever way to do it. Remarkably, a smell can transport you back to your childhood or remind you of a past event. Our senses are seriously powerful, and touch works in very much the same way. So what visual texture is doing is bridging the gap between users being unreceptive to feeling their senses spring into action even while scrolling on their iPad. We also want to transport our audiences to where we want them to be. Applying an old paper texture will have the reader partially believe they are reading a real book, or a granite texture could perhaps transport you to the kitchen to make a sandwich! This sense of creating an atmosphere we are familiar with will speak with users on another level, creating an intimate experience.
The most demanded Textures
Paper, of which there are many types, are at the top of its game. With its variations of grain and ripping effects, it’s versatile and provides a warm touch when applied to your designs. They also have strong links with craft, administering playfulness. When we think of paper, we think of fresh ideas, pen to paper, wild first sketches, coffee stained effects and perhaps a personal diary. But on top of it all, its affiliation with books and knowledge in general propels its familiarity with all of us. In addition, such effects can portray a certain quality on every level, from the cheap but ethical qualities of recycled paper, to the fun aspect of coloured paper, all the way up to the bleached heavy weights used for high profile personal invitations.
You can explore an abundance of different paper textures right here!
What is textured paper used for?
Paper’s versatile extremities make it a robust element in your graphic design arsenal. The obvious function that we can talk about is the benefits it provides as a background texture. Especially now that most graphic designers are taking advantage of the digitization of just about everything, there is a demand for the look and feel of traditional paper that has been with us for thousands of years. Here are some examples of what may seek a paper textured background:
However, we don’t just use paper as a background, they’re more versatile than that! They can bring out some brilliant results when used for typography. These editable text effects are a great way to explore editing text and adding texture to already striking typography designs!
It’s fantastic to see the fun that it brings, especially when they look as if they are coming off the page. We have seen countless examples of paper-cut animations that have won over our hearts over the years, including some very famous comedy cartoons! In addition, paper texture has a romantic relationship with package designers, creating wonderful customized designs that certainly appeal to the niche product market, like bath soup and gift wrapping in particular. Let’s not forget that paper can be scrunched up, to create a very different look, making deep creases for a more aggressive tone, very different from its clean flat default setting! So how can paper texture benefit your designs? Why not give it a try and see how it affects your next creative project.
How to make our own texture
It is quite common for designers to use photographs of real paper to grasp the tone they are after, but how do you create paper textured text over a paper background in Illustrator? Let’s dive into Illustrator and give it a go!
And so that just about wraps it up! There is so much we can do with expanding our knowledge of textures. And if paper texture wasn’t enough, look out for our up-and-coming article on Paper Cut Techniques, which we are sure is going to push the envelope even further!
