How to Create a Linen Texture for Album Covers in Photoshop

Banti has an option for you to automatically generate covers of different types, and it’s really easy to do. Here’s a screenshot of what that looks like.

To give it a try, sign up for a free Banti Album Proofing account.

If you’d like to have a full control over the look of the texture, and maybe you’d like to add some text to them (i.e. names and dates), you may want to design your own.

Steps to create a linen texture in Adobe Photoshop

1. Create a New Photoshop Document:
   • Set the dimensions to what you need, i.e 2880×1440 pixels for a square 10 in x 10 in album, and set resolution to 300 PPI.
     
2. Set the Base Color:
   • Fill the canvas with a base color for the linen, such as bluish gray (#464850), gray (#82828d), or black (#000000).
     
3. Convert to Smart Object
   • Right-click on the Background layer and select Convert to Smart Object
     
4. Add Noise:
   • Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.
     Set the Amount to around 5-10%, Gaussian, and Monochromatic. This will give a slight grainy texture.
     
5. Apply Blur:
   • Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
   • Set the radius to 1 pixels (maybe 2) to soften the noise.
     
6. Add Texture:
   • Go to Filter > Texture > Texturizer.
   • Select the “canvas” texture.
   • Adjust the scaling (i.e. 200%) and relief (i.e. 4) to match the desired leather effect. For light, select the Top Left option.
     
7. Enhance Depth:
   • Add a new layer and fill it with gray (i.e. #707070) and set opacity to 20%.
   • Set the blending mode to Overlay.
   • Use the Dodge Tool with range set to Midtones, exposure set to 10% to add highlights. You can play with those settings to get the feel you like.
     
8. Final Touches:
   • Add a slight inner shadow effect with blend mode set to multiply, opacity 20%, distance 0, choke 0, and size 250, or adjust the color balance to enhance the richness of the linen tone.
     
9. Export
   • Save your work as a high-resolution JPG
     

Download a sample PSD file of the linen texture