Christmas is a holiday of love and family. It is the time of year when people come together to celebrate, when they realize that some things are more important than others. So why don’t you impress the people who are important to you with some unique Christmas cards or beautiful personal desktop wallpaper?
In this post, we present 60 beautiful Christmas Photoshop tutorials. You’ll learn how to design Christmas trees, snow globes, snowflakes, Christmas candles, Christmas balls and much more. Some designers go even further, taking the time to draw Christmas illustrations or replace old icons with festive ones. Often, designers will draw Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and friends or create a Christmas theme for their website layout.
Further Reading on SmashingMag:
- 43 Festive Christmas Wallpapers
- Free Smashing Christmas Icon Set
- Freebie: Christmas Icon Set
- Freebie: Festive Christmas Icon Pack
Christmas Wallpapers
Make a Sketchy Wallpaper for this Christmas
Create a sketchy wallpaper for Christmas. Learn watercoloring, pencil sketching and some simple lighting effects in Photoshop.
Create a Snowy Landscape in Photoshop
Design a snowy landscape from desert photography and photos of sand. A technical challenge to learn the powerful possibilities of Photoshop.
Create a Winter-Themed Holiday Card in Photoshop
How to use various techniques to create a winter-themed holiday wallpaper in Photoshop. Utilize Photoshop filters and transformations to create a fantastic winter illustration.
Celebrate your favorite holiday with this Christmas landscape. Learn how to turn a summer photo into a night time winter scene.
Beautiful Xmas Wallpaper in Cinema 4D and Photoshop
Create a 3D text in Cinema 4D and then play with it using the Photoshop 3D capabilities. Use basic filters and the brush tool, to design a beautiful Christmas Wallpaper.
Magic Christmas and 3D Moon shape
Learn how to design a fairy winter photo manipulation with the crescent above the clouds, shiny icicles and a glow effect.
Create a Christmas night landscape
A Christmas night landscape photo manipulation. Use different manipulating techniques, create light and work with groups.
Christmas Night with flying Santa
Seven different images were used to create a christmas night with Santa. Take a look at the funny and fairy twisted trees.
Christmas Balls with Photoshop
How to create elegant Christmas postcard with ornamented ball
Create an elegant Christmas background with ornamented ball using simple tools like Ellipse Tool, Brush Tool and also Layer Styles.
Christmas glass balls drawing lesson
Use the Gradient Tool, Pen Tool and layer Styles to design a background. Paint some snowflakes and a Christmas glass ball.
How to Create Christmas Ornaments in Photoshop
In this tutorial you will create a Christmas ornament ball using some brushes, a texture and standard Photoshop filters.
How to Create Christmas and New Year Greeting Card with Shiny Red Balls. Use simple techniques like Ellipse Tool, Brush Tool and Layer Styles.
Christmas ball and Green Ribbon
How to create a Greeting Card with a glowing Christmas ball and a Green Ribbon. Use Brush Tool and Layer Styles to get the effect.
Holy Text
This tutorial will show you a easy way to create a glossy candy cane text effect using many Layer Styles.
Create A Christmas Tree Photoshop Text Effect
Create this text effect using a Christmas tree branch brush and lots of decorations like glitter stars and a cute silver bow.
Create a Knitted Argyle Text Effect
Use Filter Forge to help create a knitted argyle text effect in Photoshop that you can use in your holiday illustrations.
Create a 3D Ice Text Effect With Modo and Photoshop
How to create a 3D ice text effect using Modo to sculpt the 3D models and Photoshop for texturing and post-production.
80s Christmas Artwork in Photoshop
Design a image using basic filters and effects to create a nice vinage effect. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the 80s.
A Photoshop Tutorial with some Adobe Illustrator help. How to use vector-drawing tools and how to refine your vector work by finishing it off in Photoshop.
Ice Snowflakes Text Effect In Photoshop
Learn how to create an icy snowflake text effect in Photoshop using some simple Photoshop techniques.
Xmas Tree Typography in Photoshop
Design a Christmas tree using the word XMAS. Add some light effects, red christmas balls, text and a logo.
Christmas Snow Photoshop Text Effect
A winter season inspired text effect. Really a amazing snow globe style.
White Christmas Winter Landscape Photoshop Tutorial
Create a beautiful winter landscape for Christmas holiday and for the New Year. Adding a bunch of winter festive elements and symbols.
Gingerbread Cookies Text Effect
How to make a delicious gingerbread cookies inspired text effect, using layer styles, some filters, and a couple of other simple elements.
Santa Hat Knitted Christmas Text Effect
Create an interesting Santa hat knitted text effect In Photoshop using some basic knowledge about brushes and work path.
Design a sweet candy cane text. Create a pattern and use it with the text and a Clipping Mask.
Candy Christmas Glass Ball Photoshop Text Tutorial
Create a candy glass text effect perfect for creative Christmas typography. Fill the glass letters with sweets.
Christmas Cards
Create an Adorable Christmas Card in Photoshop
How to create a Christmas card using digital illustration and digital painting techniques and how to draw the card’s main character and typography.
Create a Novel Pop-Up Holiday Card
How to produce a memorable holiday card. Step-by-step through the entire process of transforming your concept to a functional piece of cardboard.
Design a cool Christmas wallpaper from scratch. Use Gradients, Layer Styles and the Ellipse Tool.
Christmas And New Year Greeting Card
Create unique looking Christmas cards, backgrounds, header images, wallpapers in just a few simple steps.
Christmas Card Photoshop Tutorial
A special Christmas tree. All family members were decorated and photographed. The combination is done in Adobe Photoshop.
How to create Festive Christmas card
How to create amazing Christmas card with shining decorative star, using simple shapes and gradients in Photoshop.
Beautiful Fluffy Clouds in Photoshop - Christmas Tutorial
In this tutorial you will learn how to create fluffy clouds in Photoshop.
Christmas Card Photoshop Tutorial
An unusual Christmas Card with a 3D effect. The card is based on a template.
Winter Season Photoshop Manipulation Tutorial
Learn how to create an interesting two seasons photo manipulation in Photoshop using some basic blending and editing techniques.
Vintage Christmas Greeting Card In Photoshop
Make a vintage greeting card and use a knitted fabric combined with some grunge old paper texture.
Create A Vintage Christmas Card In Photoshop
In this Photoshop tutorial you will transform a girl into a Reindeer Girl Character, add it some light and snow effects to create a vintage Christmas Card.
Painting a Santa Christmas Greeting Card with Adobe Photoshop
Learn step by step how this digital painting was created. You will get a good understanding of how to create one page illustration images with beautiful lighting.
How to Make a Typographic Christmas Card
How to use a texture on a background to make an eye-catching, typography based Christmas card.
In this tutorial, you will see how to create a cool Christmas party flyer using Adobe Photoshop.
How to create Christmas Greeting Card
A Christmas Greeting Card with decorative Snowflakes, Snow and a banner.
Merry Christmas Card – Paper Snowflakes on Green Background
Learn how to create a nice Christmas card with a great paper snowflake on green background.
Christmas Tree
Use some Gradients and the Pen tool to create this sweet christmas tree.
Design a simple illustration for Christmas
Go through easy steps and techniques to design a simple illustration for Christmas. You’ll learn how to use the brush presets and modify its properties.
Learn how to use custom shapes and Pen Tool in Photoshop to create Christmas illustration with stars in a few simple steps.
How to Create and decorate Christmas tree in Photoshop
Some tips on how to create and decorate Christmas tree with balls and stars. You will learn how to add a Layer Style, draw Christmas balls with Ellipse Tool and apply brushes.
Dancing Santa Claus and Christmas Tree
Create a blueish picture with Santa Claus and a great Christmas Tree.
How to Create Colorful Christmas Background
A Christmas Background with Christmas Tree and Glossy Balls. Learn how to add a Layer Style, draw Christmas decoration with Ellipse Tool and use Custom Shapes.
Magic Christmas Tree Photoshop Manipulation Tutorial
Create a magical forest scene with a beautiful lighted Christmas tree as focus point. Also add some reindeer as they are symbols of Christmas.
Create A Christmas Tree Floating Island In Photoshop
Learn how to create a fantasy Christmas tree floating island from this easy to follow photo manipulation tutorial.
How to Create an Isometric Pixel Art Christmas Tree in Adobe Photoshop
Let’s get a little festive with your pixel art and make a Christmas tree!
More Christmas Photoshop Stuff
Create a Festive Cocktail Using Photoshop’s 3D Capabilities
How to create a festive cocktail using Photoshop’s 3D capabilities just in time for your New Year’s celebrations.
Create a Gingerbread Cookie Scene Using Smart Objects
How to build a gingerbread cookie using copies of a single Smart Object.
Create a Seamless Pattern Tile for Christmas
How you make a seamless pattern with Christmas theme from scratch using guides and defining patterns.
How to Create a Magical Christmas Snow Globe in Photoshop
Learn how to create this Christmas scene with Photoshop. Use a variety of brushes and images in order to achieve the final result.
Create A Christmas Rubber Stamp In Photoshop
Create a customized Christmas rubber stamp or even make a Santa Claus letter.
Design a winter white Christmas image that features a beautiful snowing night sky.
Make Gorgeous and Yummy Christmas Cookies in Photoshop
Make Christmas cookies based vectors. Along the way, you will learn to use basic shape tools, pen tool, various layer styling techniques and much more.
Learn To Draw Walking Santa Using Photoshop
Learn to draw and paint using Photoshop without photo resources, look like a photoshop cartoon drawing tutorial in the eve of festive season.
Learn in this tutorial how to design a christmas star. Well… Many stars forming one big star.
Christmas Video Tutorials
Photoshop Tutorial: Christmas Lights
Add some flare to your text with a string of Christmas lights!
Christmas Card - Photoshop Design
Create a christmas card with different images and play with the colors blue and orange to create a nice contrast.
How to Create Snow in Photoshop
How is it possible to create snow from scratch? You only need a custom brush and some blurs to create your winter wonderland.
Photoshop Tutorial: Christmas Rope Lights
Simulate rope lights to write your own text, using a blend of layer styles, some hand tracing with the pen tool, and various other techniques.
How to Create an Ugly Sweater in Photoshop
Learn how to design an ‘ugly sweater’ in Adobe Photoshop using a texture, shapes, and good old non-destructive editing.
Learn how to paint a christmas rendeer. Simulate a watercolor style.
How to create a Christmas Background
How to create a background for your christmas card.
An eroded Christmas Text tutorial. Grunge style for the grinch.
How to Design a Holiday Thank You Card
Learn how to design a creative holiday thank you card in this detailed Photoshop tutorial.
How to Make Great Falling Snow
Photoshop tutorial showing how to make snow falling realistically.
This article has been updated on October 24th, 2016. (dm, sl)