Practical application of shapes – making a YouTube thumbnail

In this project, we will use the following techniques:

• The generation and adjustment of shapes
• The generation and adjustment of the artistic text
• Using shapes as a clipping mask

I have also included the following in the downloads for this section (see the YouTube thumbnail project folder for both the V1 and V2 versions):

• The image we will be using
• A template with the elements already placed
• The completed file so you can reverse-engineer it

Setting up the project

Follow these steps to set up the project:

1. Create a 1920x1080 project at 72 DPI.
2. Generate a rectangle and stretch it to cover the entire surface – make the fill color black.
3. Generate another rectangle and rotate it (see Figure 16.13 and rotate it changing the fill to a Linear gradient using the A27C00 hex code and then fading to black).
4. Create a circle in the upper right-hand corner...