Delightful Girl With Puppy

A digital paper design example using one of the vintage Christmas illustrations of a girl holding a puppy in a snowy landscape.

I love breathing new life into vintage illustrations. In order to get a natural blend with a new background, I create a plain white background version and a cut-out version file from the original. When those 2 files are combined with the landscape version layer set to multiply and the cut-out version to normal, the result blends beautifully with the new background.

The background is made from a lightly painted, rough watercolor paper scan (future release) along with a watercolor texture from the collection Autumn Rain. I used a grunge brush from the Watery Impressions Photoshop Brushes in a layer mask to lighten the middle of the texture. The illustration is from Girls With Puppies No. 2.

Here's a peek at my layers:

 I hope this inspires you in your own designs - have a great holiday season!