Photoshop is a very powerful tool for creating, editing and processing images. The number of graphic design techniques and options it presents are so vast that it would takes people significant time to understand the concepts and become masters in using this very advanced software. Using Photoshop, you can create your graphic designer title text. Some of the most popular techniques and styles of text that are used in Photoshop are 3D typographic effects, flaming meteor effect on text, smooth glass type and the ‘Bee Movie’ text effect.
Designing 3D photographic effects has become easier with Photoshop Extended version. Through clever use of Photoshop’s masking tools and layers, you can design characters that weave in and out of each other. You can modify the characters’ faces by applying effects such as patterns, gradients and lines. It is better to start by producing each letter separately in a 3D program and then import them into a Photoshop document. Keep each letter in its own layer, and then arrange them around each other, in whatever way looks good to you. If you mask parts of individual letters, you can create letters that appear to be both behind other letters while having parts in front of them at the same time. You can then add other graphic design effects such as lighting and shadows.
Using the flaming meteor effect, you can enhance the textual effects by having the text appear to fall from the sky in an inferno. The typical steps involved in this procedure are as follows. First you create photoshop document filled with dark grey color. Then you must create a new layer and create a selection in the shape of the desired letter. Then you need to create another layer on top of it but with a different background color. Now using Adobe Illustrator, you can create text and place it over the layer. Then you can add effects such as blurring, a smoke trail and then over all these add a layer that gives the blazing effect. You must choose appropriate colors such as yellow to color the blazing letters
If you create photoshop smooth glass type headings, these will give you letters that are nice looking with a translucent effect. As a first step, you create photoshop background for the text. You can utilize some readily available effects and modify the same. Next, you must type out the desired letters on this background. Finally, you must add the “Drop Shadow” style to the layer and set the opacity. Through these simple and quick steps, you will have created some cool looking transparent letters.
For designing a ‘Bee Movie Effect’, the first step is to prepare the background filled with black color. After that, you must add a light gradient effect to a new layer created on top of the background. To the background layer, you can add a ‘bee movie’ screenshot. To the upper layer, add effects such as black to white linear gradient with multiply effect. Then create the base text. To the text add other effects such as drop shadow, inner shadow, inner glow, bevel and emboss, gradient overlay etc. Thus you will end up with some nice looking letters that you can use in a variety of contexts.
The styles discussed here form only a very small subset of the powerful textual effects you can create using Photoshop. In fact, your own imagination is the only limitation, when you create Photoshop styled text. Look out for the illustrated version coming up on the Northern View.
