How to stylize text in Photoshop CS4

One of the great things about using Photoshop is that you can create stylized text for images, graphics, and logos. The difficulty you might run into is knowing where to start when there are so many different features that you can use. The trick is exploring the different features and playing around with them; however, when you're new to Photoshop and don't know where anything is, this can be hard to do. In this tutorial, we're going to run through some of the things you can do to stylize text and show you where different options are located so you can customize text to your liking.

First, open Photoshop and click File then New. You can make your document any size you'd like, but I've chosen to make mine 1000 px wide by 500 px tall. Once you've created your document, click on the text tool in the Tools panel (it looks like a capital T). Click on the font dropdown at the top of the workspace and choose a font, then choose a font size and color. I've chosen to use Copa Sharp BTN in 72 pt black. You can drag a text box across the document at any time during this step.



Type your text in the text box. You can change your text options at any time during the process by selecting the text and changing the dropdown boxes at the top. Here, I've chosen to center align my text by clicking the middle button near the color swatch.



Click the Create Warped Text button (located on the right of the color swatch) and choose a style from the dropdown. You can play with the different styles until you find one you like; I've chosen to use the Arc style.



You might need to use the move tool at the top of the Tools panel to move or nudge the text down so it's visible on the document. Now we need to add some layer styles. Click on the fx at the bottom of the Layers panel on the right side of the workspace. Choose Blending Options from the list and explore your options once the dialogue box pops up.



The first thing I'm going to add is a drop shadow. I've changed the distance to 6 px because it was looking a little crowded before. You can leave it as it is if you're satisfied, but I wanted to do something a little different and make my text really pop. To do this, explore your contour options and try different ones; I chose to use Sawtooth 1 to give my text more definition and dimension.



Next, I decided to soften the text so I added an inner glow. I changed the color to white and the opacity to 50% to make it blend in more. Now it has a nice, smooth 'chrome' look.



At this point, if so desired, you can center the arc a little more by clicking Edit then Transform then Rotate and dragging the bounding box until you're satisfied.





Next, we're going to create a some vertical text. To do this, click on the black arrow at the corner of the text tool button and select the Vertical Type Tool. Drag a text box down and choose your font type, font size, and font color. I've chosen to use Cooper Std in 60 pt black. Type your text in the box.





Just like with our other text, we're going to add some layer styles. Navigate to the bottom of the Layers panel and click the fx, then choose Blending Options. For this text, I've chosen to use a drop shadow and left the default settings. I also added an inner glow, again leaving the default settings. Where I did some customizing was when I got to using a gradient overlay, which you can use to add a gradient to your text. I chose to use a black and white gradient (though you can change it by clicking the arrow next to the gradient), and checked the reverse checkbox. I also chose a different gradient style from the dropdown (instead of linear, I went with reflected).



Next, I clicked on bevel and emboss. I chose to use a pillow emboss from the style dropdown to give it more definition and make it easier to read. Then, I clicked on the texture subcategory and used the arrow next to the texture swatch to browse the patterns. I chose to use the denim texture, though if you don't see any you like in the preset swatches, you can append more by clicking the black arrow next to the texture swatches displayed.



There's one other way of customizing text that I'd like to look at, so create a third text box. This time, change the text color (I've made mine blue), though I've left the settings from the previous text box I created.



Along the top bar of the workspace, find where it says Filter and click on it. Then click on Filter Gallery to bring up the dialogue box where you can view changes and test filters before you apply them.



You can browse through the filter gallery and try out different filters; many of them won't show up that well because text is pretty flat. However, we can add some noise to the text by going under the texture category and choosing Grain. You can leave the default settings if you'd like, but I changed the Intensity to 66 and the Contrast to 61. I also changed the type to Soft. Once you're satisfied, click OK to apply the changes.



Finally, I decided to give the text some more definition and make it look sort of plastic, so I decided to add a layer style. Just like before, click on fx and then Blending Options. This time, click on bevel and emboss and leave the default settings.



We've only just scratched the surface of the many things you can do to customize your text in Photoshop. However, now that you've completed the tutorial, you should have a better understanding about how to navigate Photoshop and edit text to stylize it. As mentioned before, sometimes the key is to play around with your options, and once you get more familiar with it, you'll be able to choose options in a snap to make it look like the vision in your head.

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