tutorials.html

Plastic Text

This tutorial will show you how to create a Plastic Text Effect, it's very trendish looking.

Open an image 500x300, this works good if you use the font (Yellow Submarine, size 200pt), you can minimize the actual picture later, but it looks good if you use these settings. Type a word, I'll type Plastic, and the font you can find here

Go to your Layers Palette, and Left Click on the Text Layer so it can select the text.
Create a New Layer by going to Layers >> New >> Layers, on the pop up name the layer Text.
On your Tools Palette, select the Paintbucket Tool and fill the selection with a light blue color (I used font color #6897BB).
Now on your Layers Palette, Hide the original text layer, by clicking on the Eyeball next to the original layer.
Keep your text selected and go to the channels tab, top right corner, if you don't see it go to Windows >> Channels and it will pop up.
Then the Alpha1 layer you just made there, drag it down to the "Create New Channel" tab so that it duplicates it.
With the Alpha 1 duplicate layer still selected go to
Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur >> 8 pixels
Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur >> 6 pixels
Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur >> 3 pixels
Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur >> 1 pixels
Go to Layers Palette, keep your text selected and select the layer named Text, then go to Filter >> Render >> Lighting Effects and use these settings:
Still with your Text Selected, go to Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blue >> 1 pixel.
Go to Select >> Modify >> Contract >> 1 pixel. Then hit Ctrl + Shift + I to invert the selection and hit Delete to get nice edges.
Now CTRL+D to Deselet the Text. You should have something close to this by now.
Now drag down the layer that is selected, should be your layer named Text, drag it down to the "Create A New Layer" tab like this:
Name that layer Plastic Wrap, click twice slowly on the layer so you can change the name of it.
Now go to Filter >> Artistic >> Plastic Wrap and use these settings.
Okay now duplicate this layer, drag it down to the "Create A New Layer" tab.
On the Plastic Wrap copy layer change the layer mode from Normal to Overlay (use the drop down menu to change the layer mode)
Now go back to the Plastic Wrap Layer, and add a Drop Shadow, right click on the Plastic Wrap layer and go to Blending Options, then go to Drop Shadow, then use these settings:
This is what you should have by now
If you want it even shinnier, lets keep going, Click on the Plastic Wrap Layer so it's active, then go to Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Hue/Saturation and check off where it says "Group With Previous Layer" and click OK.
In the Hue/Saturation window check the Colorize option and enter Hue: 304 and Saturation: 100, then click OK.
Now go back to the First Text Layer you made and hit CTRL+Left Click the original Text layer, so that it's selected, like this:
Now with the text still selected, go to the Tools Palette and click on the Rectangular Marquee Tool and use the arrow keys to move the selection 4 pixels to the right and 4 pixels down.
Then hit Ctrl + Shift + left click the original text layer again, this should make your text layer and the shadow layer selected. Go to Edit >> Copy Merged.
Now make a new image, same size as the original (500x300) with a white background. Edit >> Paste.
Then for the final touch to the new one you just pasted is to add a Drop Shadow, go to Layers >> Layers Style >> Blend Options and go to Drop Shadow use the default settings for the Drop Shadow.
Source: here

back