Metallic Text

   

I am recreating this effect that I demonstrate in my PSP 4 tutorial, even though I don't think the Hot Wax Coating effect works as well in Version 5 as it did in Version 4. The following is the best I have come up with in recreating the effect in Version 5:

  1. Create a new white image. Don't work on a layer, you have to work on the base layer defaulting to "Background".
  2. Use a wide text (this text is Brooklyn).
  3. For the gold text set foreground color to r:165, g:124, b:3 and background color to white, for the silver text, set foreground to a very dark gray.
  4. Place text.
  5. With text still selected Select|Modify|Feather.
  6. Set feather to "1" and click OK.
  7. With text still selected hit the "delete" key.
  8. For the gold text, change foreground color to r:253, g:228, b:153, for the silver, change to a light gray.
  9. With text still selected, choose Image|Other|Hot Wax Coating.
  10. Sharpen (Image|Sharpen) or Sharpen More.
  11. Promote your selection to a layer (Selections|Promote to Layer).
  12. Save your selection to an Alpha Channel (Selections|Save to Alpha Channel), deselect text.
  13. Click on the first layer and flood fill with your background color choice.
  14. If you want to add a drop shadow (recommended since it enhances the metallic effect), add a new layer.
  15. On the new layer load selection (Selections|Load from Alpha Channel).
  16. Apply a drop shadow with opacity at 100%. Deselect and adjust the opacity slider for the shadow.

You can create any color of metallic text by starting with a very dark version of a color, then applying a hot wax coating of a light version of the color. This same technique works with dingbat fonts. The following were created using the Metallic Text technique:

More Metallic

The header graphic and the horizontal line on this page were created using this technique.

  1. Open a new white graphic in 16 million colors.
  2. Set your foreground color to light gray.
  3. Place your text or dingbat font, floating checked. Be sure you do these steps on the background layer and not on a transparent layer or it won't work.
  4. Invert your selection.
  5. Apply the Chisel Effect 25, transparent selected (Image|Effects|Chisel).
  6. Invert your selection again.
  7. Adjust the brightness by 25% (Colors|Adjust|Brightness & Contrast).
  8. Set white to foreground color and apply hot wax coating (Image|Other|Hot Wax Coating).
  9. Adjust the brightness again by 25% again.
  10. You now have a dark silver.
  11. Choose Selections|Save to Alpha Channel.
  12. Choose Selections|Promote to Layer.
  13. Duplicate this layer.
  14. For gold, choose the duplicate layer. Choose Colors|Adjust|Red/Green/Blue and set to 75% Red, 38% Green and 0% Blue.
  15. For the silver color, choose the silver layer and adjust the brightness and contrast again by 10-20%.
  16. To colorize the graphic, add a new layer above the silver layer. Load your selection from the alpha channel and flood fill with a color. Adjust the Opacity Layer until you get the color you want. Or, just play with the Red|Green|Blue color adjustment until you get the color you want.
  17. Play with the Colors|Adjust|Gamma Correction sliders to get a more intense metallic color.
  18. Flood fill the background layer with a background color.
  19. Save your graphic as a PSP file. You still have the original dark silver layer you can duplicate again and try a new color.

Beveled Filled Text

You can create a beveled effect on a fill layer as follows:

  1. Fill a graphic with your background pattern.
  2. Add two new layers, call then Bevel 1 and Bevel 2.
  3. Click on the the Bevel 1 layer and place your text, floating unchecked.
  4. Save your text selection to an Alpha Channel (Selections|Save to Alpha Channel)
  5. Choose Image|Effects|Cutout and set Offset: -3,-3, Color: Black and Blur: 5-7. Leave opacity at 100%. Click OK.
  6. Click on the Bevel 2 layer and choose cutout again and set Offset: 3,3, Color: White (or a very light version of the text color) and leave everything else the same. Click OK.
  7. Now, play with the opacity slider on both bevel layers until you get the effect you want.
  8. Add a new layer and a drop shadow if desired.
  9. Save as a "psp" file preserving the layers. That way, if you decide to change your pattern background, all you need to do is to fill the background layer and your text will be ready to go.

Cutout Text

  1. Create a text graphic with a background, fill and text layer (or use your template).
  2. Add a new layer and call it "Cutout".
  3. Add another layer and call it "Shadow".
  4. For a filled text cutout, place your text in the color of your choice. Save your selection to the Alpha Channel.
  5. Click on the Cutout layer and add a cutout effect: shadow color black, offset 3,3, opacity 100% and blur of 5-6.
  6. Click on the Shadow layer and add a drop shadow: shadow color white, offset 1,1, blur 1, opacity 100%.
  7. Now play with the opacity sliders on the cutout and shadow layers until you get the effect you want. And, if the color of the text is a little too dark, play with that opacity slider also.

To create the same graphic without the color fill, just turn off the text layer and you will have a cutout graphic that looks like the following:

Outlined Text

Outlined text is a cinch in PSP 5. You don't have to work in layers to do this, but layers will give you a lot more flexibility in trying out different effects. To create text with a different colored outline:

  1. Create a new text graphic file.
  2. Place your text and save to an alpha channel.
  3. Fill text with outline color.
  4. Contract text (Selections|Modify|Contract) by 1-2.
  5. Fill the contracted text with fill color.
  6. You can then add special effects (drop shadow, etc).

This is a simple outline of a dark color in the background with the inner text filled with a linear gradient.

This is the same text with the PSP beveling technique applied (see above) and a drop shadow.

Embossed Text

To create embossed text:

  1. Create a new text graphic.
  2. Add a new layer and flood fill the new layer with white.
  3. Set the foreground color to light gray and place your text, floating checked.
  4. Save your text selection to an Alpha Channel (Selections|Save to Alpha Channel).
  5. Deselect text and emboss (Image|Other|Emboss).
  6. For a softer embossed effect, apply a Gaussian Blur at .5 to this layer.
  7. Load your selection from the Alpha Channel (Selections|Load from Alpha Channel).
  8. Expand your selection by 1 (Selections|Modify|Expand), or experiment with no expanding the selection.
  9. Invert your selection (Selections|Invert)
  10. Hit the Delete key.
  11. Invert your selection again.
  12. Contract your selection by 2-3 (Selections|Modify|Contract), depending on whether or not you expanded the selection on the emboss.
  13. Flood fill the inverted selection with your text color or pattern.
  14. Flood fill background layer with your background color.
  15. Save as a PSP file or choose File|Save a Copy As and save as a gif or jpg.


Neon Text

Neon text is fun to create in Layers because you can actually watch the neon process "grow". This helps you to better judge the process. Following are two methods to create neon text:

To create this glow effect:

  1. Create a new image 16 million colors.
  2. Fill background with a very dark solid color (don't use a pattern).
  3. Add a new layer.
  4. Place your text, floating unchecked, and fill with the dark background color. Turn off this layer.
  5. Save your selection to an Alpha Channel (Selections|Save to Alpha Channel).
  6. Set the foreground color to the color you want the "glow" to be (choose a light, bright color).
  7. Click on the bottom layer. Fill text with glow color. Deselect.
  8. Apply a Gaussian Blur (Image|Blur) set to 2-3 (it should look pretty fuzzy).
  9. Turn back on the top layer with the filled text.
  10. Apply the "Dilate" filter several times (Image|Other|Dilate). The number of times you apply this filter will depend on how much "glow" you want. Since you have the text turned on, you will see the glow grow around the text.
If you don't like your first try, just fill your background layer with your dark color, load the selection and fill with "glow" color, and try again.

To create this glow effect:

  1. Create a new image 16 million colors.
  2. Fill background with a very dark solid color (don't use a pattern).
  3. Add two new layers.
  4. Click on the top layer, place your text, floating unchecked, and fill with the dark background color.
  5. Save your selection to an Alpha Channel (Selections|Save to Alpha Channel).
  6. Click on the middle layer.
  7. Feather your selection by 5.
  8. Set foreground color to your glow color and flood fill until you get the glow effect you like.

Again, as above if you don't like your first try, clear the neon glow layer (Edit|Clear), load your text selection, feather and try again.

Perspective Shadow Text

Adding a perspective shadow to text or an image really causes the graphic to pop off the page and can be quite effective. To create this effect:

  1. Create a new image 16 million colors.
  2. Add a new layer.
  3. Place text or graphic with floating unchecked.
  4. Save your selection to an Alpha Channel.
  5. Fill the selection with black or very dark gray.
  6. Click on the Deformation Tool on the toolbar.
  7. While holding down the "Ctrl" key, grab the center handle on top of the graphic and pull it in the direction you want your shadow to go.
  8. Double click on the graphic and apply the deformation.
  9. Drop your selection (Ctrl D).
  10. Apply a Gaussian Blur set to at least 2.
  11. Add a new layer and load your selection.
  12. Flood fill with a text color, apply a filter if you want. Mine has a Blade Pro filter applied.
  13. Adjust the opacity slider on the shadow layer until you get the effect you want.
  14. Flood fill background with your background page color and save as a transparent gif.

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