How to Wrap a Label on a Cylinder in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop

Photoshop CS3 to CS5 software allows you to take a label image and reshape it to a cylinder shape. If you want to wrap a label on a cylinder object, such as a water bottle image, the best software to use is the Photoshop CS3 to CS5 Extended version. However, Photoshop CS5 has a new feature called the Puppet Warp Tool to make your image act like a "puppet" to adjust your image the way that you want it to be and works with adjusting labels on objects.

Launch Photoshop CS5. Go to "File" and then "New" to open a new document. Click "3D" at the top of your screen and scroll down to "New Shape From Layer," then click "Cylinder." Under the "Layers" box, open a new layer by clicking on the little icon that looks like a folded piece of paper or go to "Layer" at the top of your screen, "New" and then "Layer." Make sure the new layer is highlighted under the "Layers" box.

Go to "3D" at the top of your screen, then go to "New Shape From Layer" and then "Cylinder." The object appears. Go to "File" and then click "Open" to open the image you want to wrap around the cylinder and put it on its own layer. Drag the layer with the image above the layer with the cylinder in the "Layers" box. The image may open in another window. If so, use the drag tool to drag it into the other window with the cylinder and it should appear with a new layer above the cylinder's layer.

Click on the layer with the image. Go to "Filter," scroll down to "Distort" and then click "Spherize." A window appears. Change the mode to "Horizontal Only" and the percentage to 100. Click "OK." Press "Ctrl+T" for "Free-Transform," then drag in each side until it matches the size of the cylinder shape. Under the "Edit" tab, scroll down and click "Warp." You should see a grid on the object. Use the drop-down button for "Wrap" at the top of your screen to choose "Arch Lower" to get more perspective.

Change the top layer to "Multiply" mode for a more realistic look to blend into the cylinder shape, as it shares the same highlights and shadows of the cylinder. Go to "File" and click "Open" to open up a new object. Place the label that you shaped into a cylinder shape onto the new object that you just opened. To do this, use the "Drag Tool" to drag the image on top of the new object that you just opened.

Go to "Edit" and click the "Puppet Wrap Tool" to adjust the label on top of the new object. Make sure that the layer with the image that you just dragged onto the object is highlighted under the "Layers" box. Pin certain areas to keep them in place by clicking your mouse to place the pins in position. To reshape, click the pin to make it active to readjust the image. Save your project under "File" and you're done.