Little things mean a lot. It’s true in many aspects of life and it’s also true when it comes to creating great graphic effects. This week’s InDesign FX tutorial, Making Peeling Stickers, is another great example of how several small details can add up to a big impact.

The effect starts out with a simple circle, which is transformed into the peeling sticker by the addition of several key details.

The first of these details is literally small: a tiny drop shadow, placed directly behind the circle to simulate a paper-thin material.

The second key detail is creating an object that makes it look like part of the circle has been peeled up and curled over. In the video, I show how to use the somewhat obscure Scissors tool to create this object. Many users may not be aware that InDesign even has a Scissors tool, but this often overlooked tool can be very handy for creating the kinds of shapes needed for cool effects.

A subtle gradient fill applied at the correct angle makes the backside piece seem curled.

Then for the ultimate finishing touch, I make the appearance of some sticky glue residue left behind where the sticker peeled off. For this, all you need is a white-filled copy of the original circle, reduced in opacity.

The point here isn’t so much the technique. It’s the idea that taking the time to think things through, and come up with that one extra key detail from real life, is what makes for a great effect. Viewers may not notice it consciously, but that’s the point. Details like the glue residue aren’t there to draw attention to themselves—they’re there to contribute to the overall effect and make it something remarkable.

For lynda.com members, I also have another new member-exclusive video this week in the lynda.com library called Tips for Text Stroke Effects. In InDesign you can stroke live text, but the only type of stroke you can apply is a single solid stroke—you can’t apply anything fancier like dashed, dotted, hashed, wavy, or striped strokes to live text. In the Tips for Text Stroke Effects video, I show how to get around this limitation and open up all kinds of possibilities for fun text stroke effects.

See you here again in two weeks with another InDesign effect!

Tags: InDesign, InDesign FX, Mike Rankin

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