Different effect stacks on image layers let the picture and the lettering stay independent. Per-layer image effects keep each stack on the layer you chose. Each image layer in Artfkt can carry its own effect stack. Global Stack then treats the finished poster with one global effect stack poster treatment. This example screens a geometric field, recolors the lettering on its own, and adds a light grain across both.

Use one image when one treatment is enough

The free Glitch demo stacks effects on a single image and can export that result. Its poster guide separates color edges and then shifts a few bands on one flattened graphic. The browser demo also supports separate treatments on image, text, or effect layers without a layer count limit. Use the desktop studio for saved projects and the full collection library. Artfkt runs on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 13 or later and 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PCs and includes the full collection library, catalog search, and favorites.

See the single-image glitch poster or try the free demo.

Place the field under the lettering

Download the field PNG

and

download the lettering PNG

(both 1200 × 1600). The field is an opaque plate: a circle, two bars, and a vertical strip. The lettering is pale type on a transparent background, so the field can show through.

Dark poster field with a pale circle, two horizontal bars, and a vertical strip.
Field — the lower image. Halftone Dots will affect only this layer.
Pale PLATE lettering, a short rule, and two lines of small type on a transparent background.
Lettering — the upper image. Its empty areas stay transparent.

Start a new session and add the field first. An empty canvas takes that image’s size, so the poster becomes 1200 × 1600. Add the lettering next. It appears above the field in Layers. Leave Scale (%) at 100 and Angle (°) at 0. If either image sits off to the side, choose Center on canvas.

Pale PLATE lettering sitting over an untreated circle and bars.
Both layers, before any effects. The type does not cover the shapes.

Screen only the field

Select the lower image. Search the catalog for Halftone Dots and add it to that layer. Turn Animate: Halftone Dots off, and leave playback paused at the start. Use these settings:

  • Screen size: 0.035
  • Angle: 30.00deg
  • Ink gain: 0.06
  • Ink: #1a2430
  • Paper: #efe6d4
  • Mix: 100%
Dotted circle and bars under pale, still-untreated PLATE lettering.

Stage 1 — Halftone Dots on the field. The type is still the original pale color.

The dots rebuild the circle and bars. PLATE stays pale because that type belongs to the other layer, whose stack is still empty.

Recolor only the lettering

Select the upper image. Add Duotone and turn Animate: Duotone off.

  • Shadows: #1c2430
  • Highlights: #f2c14e
  • Tonal balance: 0.42
  • Transition: 0.35
  • Mix: 100.00%
Gold PLATE lettering over the same dotted circle and bars.
Stage 2 — Duotone on the lettering. The field’s dots stay paper and ink.

The headline, the rule, and the small type shift toward gold. The screened shapes underneath do not take that color. Disable Duotone if you want the original pale type back without touching the field.

Add one finish to the whole poster

Select Global Stack. Add Film Grain and turn Animate: Film Grain off. Keep playback at the start. Film Grain follows playback time, so a later frame will not match this still.

  • Strength: 0.08
  • Grain size: 0.200%
  • Chroma: 0.05
  • Shadow weighting: 0.35
  • Seed: 37
  • Refresh rate: 24.00Hz
  • Mix: 70.00%
Gold lettering and dotted shapes with a fine grain across the whole poster.
Stage 3 — Film Grain on Global Stack, over both layer treatments.

The grain sits on the type and the screened shapes together. Disable Film Grain when you want to compare the two layer stacks without that shared finish.

Export a still

Use Export in the browser demo (Quick Export in the desktop app) and choose PNG. These examples match the source dimensions. Another size is available within the limits of the renderer on your Mac. The browser demo can export too. The desktop studio is where separate layer stacks and the rest of the catalog come together.

One expanded effect is remembered while you switch layers. That open state is not saved with the project. Browser demos support image, text, or effect layers without a layer count limit and include Glitch, Pixel, Cameras, Halftone, Drawing, Refraction, Color, Light, Collage, and Hypnosis. This recipe does not use a keyframe timeline.

For a two-ink print look on the picture, with the headline kept as editable text, see how to make a risograph poster effect. For torn and cut pictures with paper-colored shapes, see how to make a torn-paper collage. For a two-color cover and a multi-stop gradient, see how to make a duotone effect.

Read why the studio lives on the desktop, or return to the single-image glitch poster.

For a distressed photographic poster with clean, editable lettering, follow how to make a photocopy effect.

For a screen or tape treatment on the picture while keeping the headline clean, compare CRT vs VHS effects using the same cover artwork and three reproducible stacks.

For ribbed optical distortion with the same separation between picture and lettering, follow the fluted glass poster tutorial, including one-control comparisons and a downloadable source.

To add motion while keeping the headline still, follow how to make an animated poster from a still image. It animates Wave on the photograph and exports a six-second MP4 or GIF.

How this example was made

The source graphics were made for this exercise with Space Mono lettering. The treatments shown were rendered by Artfkt’s production renderer at 1200 × 1600, with each effect’s Animate switch off and playback at the start. These settings describe the pictured example. They are not permanent defaults, and rendering can vary by device.