Turning Text Into Gold With Photoshop
The final result.
Let's get started!
Step
1: Create A New Photoshop Document
Let's begin from scratch by creating
a new Photoshop document for our effect. Go up to the File menu in the
Menu Bar along the top of the screen and choose New. Or, you can create
a new document from the keyboard by pressing Ctrl+N (Win) / Command+N
(Mac). Either way is fine:
Going to File > New.
This opens the New Document dialog
box. If you know the size and resolution of the document you need, go ahead and
enter in those values. For this tutorial, I'll set my Width to 1600
pixels and my Height to 800 pixels, and I'll leave the Resolution
set to its default value of 72 pixels/inch. I have my Background
Contents set to White. Click OK when you're done and your new
document will appear on the screen:
The New Document dialog box.
Step
2: Fill The New Document With Black
Let's change the background color
from white to black so our gold letters will really stand out. Go up to the Edit
menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill:
Going to Edit > Fill.
This opens the Fill dialog box. Set
the Use option at the top to Black. Down at the bottom of the
dialog box, make sure Mode is set to Normal and Opacity is
at 100%:
Setting the Use option to Black.
Click OK when you're done. Photoshop
fills the document with black:
The background has been changed to
black.
Step
3: Select The Type Tool
Select Photoshop's Type Tool from the Tools panel along the left
of the screen. You can also select the Type Tool by pressing the letter T
on your keyboard:
Selecting the Type Tool.
Step
4: Choose Your Font
With the Type Tool selected, choose
your font in the Options Bar along the top of the screen. For this tutorial,
I'll use Times New Roman Bold, but of course you can choose something
different. Don't worry about the size of the type for now since we'll resize it
ourselves later:
Choosing a font.
Step
5: Set Your Type Color To White
Next, we'll set our type color to white,
just so we can easily see it in front of the black background while we're
adding it. If it's already set to white, you can skip this step, otherwise
click on the color swatch in the Options Bar:
Clicking the type color swatch.
This opens Photoshop's Color
Picker. One way to select white in the Color Picker is by entering a value
of 255 for the R, G and B options. Click OK when
you're done to close out of it:
Choosing white by setting the R, G
and B values to 255.
Step
6: Add Your Text
With the Type Tool in hand, your
font chosen and your type color set to white, click inside the document and
enter your text. I'll type the word "GOLD". Again, don't worry if
your text is too small. We'll resize it in a moment:
Adding the text.
When you're done, click the checkmark
in the Options Bar to accept the text and exit out of text editing mode:
Clicking the checkmark to accept the
text.
Step
7: Resize The Text
Let's resize the text using
Photoshop's Free Transform command. Go up to the Edit
menu at the top of the screen and choose Free Transform. You can also
select Free Transform from the keyboard by pressing Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T
(Mac):
Going to Edit > Free Transform.
This places the Free Transform box
and handles (the little squares) around the text. To resize it, click and drag
any of the corner handles. Hold down your Shift key as you drag a
handle to constrain the original shapes of the letters so you don't distort the
look of them. To move the text into position, click and drag anywhere inside
the Free Transform box. When you're done, press Enter (Win) / Return
(Mac) on your keyboard to exit out of Free Transform mode:
Resizing and centering the text with
Free Transform.
Step
8: Duplicate The Text Layer
At the moment, we have two layers in
our document - the black-filled Background layer and a Type layer containing our
text. We need to create a copy of our Type layer. The easiest way to do that is
to click on it, and with your mouse button still held down, drag the Type layer
down onto the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel (second
icon from the right):
Dragging the Type layer onto the New
Layer icon.
Release your mouse button, and
Photoshop adds a copy of the Type layer above the original:
The Layers panel showing the copy of
the Type layer.
Step
9: Add A Gradient Overlay
With the copy of the Type layer
selected (it should be highlighted in blue), click on the Layer Styles
icon (the "fx" icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel:
Clicking the Layer Styles icon.
Choose Gradient Overlay from
the list that appears:
Selecting a Gradient Overlay layer
style.
Step
10: Edit The Gradient
This opens Photoshop's Layer Style
dialog box set to the Gradient Overlay options in the middle column. By
default, Photoshop uses a black-to-white gradient. We need to edit the
gradient, replacing the black and white with colors that look more
"golden". To do that, click on the gradient preview bar:
Clicking the gradient preview bar.
This opens the Gradient Editor.
Double-click on the black color stop below the left side of the
gradient:
Double-clicking the black color stop
in the Gradient Editor.
This once again opens the Color
Picker. I've sampled the colors I'm going to use from a photo of a gold
coin, so if you want to follow along with these same colors, set the R
value in the Color Picker to 247, the G value to 238, and
the B value to 173. Click OK when you're done to close out of the
Color Picker:
Replacing the black in the gradient
with R:247, G:238, B:173.
Back in the Gradient Editor, double-click
on the white color stop below the right side of the gradient:
Double-clicking the white color stop
in the Gradient Editor.
When the Color Picker re-appears,
set the R value to 193, the G value to 172 and the B
value to 81. Click OK when you're done:
Replacing the white in the gradient
with R:193, G:172, B:81.
Step
11: Save The Gradient As A Preset
We're going to need this same gradient
again a bit later, so let's save it. In the Gradient Editor, enter a name for
your custom gradient just below the Presets thumbnails. I'll name mine
"Gold". Then, click the New button to save the gradient:
Saving the custom gradient as a
preset.
A new thumbnail for the gradient
will appear up in the Presets area, allowing us to quickly reselect the
gradient anytime we need it:
Photoshop adds a thumbnail for our
new gradient preset.
Click OK to close out of the
Gradient Editor, but leave the Layer Style dialog box open. Your type should
now look like this:
The text after editing and applying
the gradient.
Step
12: Change The Gradient Style To "Reflected"
In the Layer Style dialog box,
change the Style of the gradient from Linear (the default setting) to Reflected:
Changing the Style option to
Reflected.
This will move the darker gold color
to both the top and bottom of the text, leaving the lighter color passing
through the middle:
The effect with the gradient Style
set to Reflected.
Step
13: Select The Bevel And Emboss Layer Style
Click directly on the words Bevel
& Emboss at the top of the list of styles along the left of the Layer
Style dialog box. If you simply click in its checkbox to select it, you'll turn
the style on but you won't have access to any of its options. We need the
options, and for that, we need to click directly on the style's name:
Clicking on the Bevel & Emboss
name.
Step
14: Change The Technique To "Chisel Hard"
The middle column of the Layer Style
dialog box will change to the Bevel and Emboss options. Change the Technique
from Smooth to Chisel Hard:
Changing the Technique to Chisel
Hard.
Step
15: Change The Gloss Contour To "Ring Double"
Then, down in the Shading section,
click on the small arrow to the right of the Gloss Contour
thumbnail (don't click on the thumbnail itself, click the arrow beside it) and
select the Ring - Double contour by double-clicking on its
thumbnail (third one from the left, bottom row):
Clicking the Gloss Contour arrow and
double-clicking on the Ring - Double thumbnail.
Step
16: Turn On Anti-Aliasing
Directly beside Gloss Contour is the
Anti-aliased option. Click inside its checkbox to select it. This will
smooth out any jagged edges that might become visible:
Turning on anti-aliasing.
Here's the effect so far:
The text after applying Bevel and
Emboss.
Step
17: Increase The Size To Fill In The Letters
Increase the Size of the
Bevel and Emboss to close up the open space inside the letters. The easiest way
to do this is to click inside the Size value box to make it active, then press
the Up arrow on your keyboard repeatedly. As you do, you'll see the
letters filling in from the outer edges in towards the centers. The actual Size
value you need will depend on the size of the document you're using. For me, a
value of 46 pixels does the job:
Increasing the Size value.
And now the letters are nicely
filled in, making them look more solid:
The effect after increasing the Size
value.
Step
18: Increase The Depth To Enhance The Lighting Effect
Next, increase the Depth
value by dragging its slider towards the right. This will enhance the lighting
and add more contrast to the reflection in the letters. I'll set my Depth value
to around 170%:
Increasing the Depth value.
And now our gold letter effect is
really starting to take shape:
The effect after increasing the
Depth value.
Step
19: Turn On "Contour"
Click inside the checkbox for the Contour
style directly below the Bevel & Emboss style on the left of the
Layer Style dialog box. There's no need to change any options for the Contour
style. We simply need to turn it on, and for that, all we need to do is click
inside its checkbox:
Turning on the Contour sub-style for
Bevel and Emboss.
The Contour style enhances the
lighting effect even further:
The effect after turning on the
Contour style.
Step
20: Add An Inner Glow
We have one last effect to apply
before we exit out of the Layer Style dialog box. Click directly on the words Inner
Glow in the list of layer styles along the left:
Clicking on the words "Inner
Glow".
The options for the Inner Glow will
appear in the middle column of the Layer Style dialog box. First, change the Blend
Mode of the Inner Glow from Screen to Multiply, then lower the Opacity
to 50%. Change the color of the glow by clicking on the color swatch
directly below the word "Noise". When the Color Picker appears,
select an orange color by setting the R value to 232, G to
128 and B to 31 (I sampled this color from a photo of a
gold brick), then click OK to close out of the Color Picker. Finally, increase
the glow Size to around 75 px, although you may need to experiment with
this value depending on the size of your document. The goal with the Size value
is to make sure the glow completely covers the thickness of the letters:
Setting the Inner Glow options.
When you're done, click OK to close
out of the Layer Style dialog box. Your effect should now look similar to this:
The gold letter effect after
applying the Inner Glow.
Step
21: Select The Original Type Layer
Click on the original Type layer in
the Layers panel to select it and make it active:
Selecting the original Type layer.
Step
22: Add A Stroke
Click once again on the Layer
Styles icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:
Clicking the Layer Styles icon.
Choose Stroke from the list:
Selecting a Stroke layer style.
Photoshop will re-open the Layer
Style dialog box, this time set to the Stroke options in the middle column.
First, change the Fill Type from Color to Gradient and change the
Style from Linear to Reflected. Then, increase the Size of
the stroke at the top to around 8 px (make sure Position is set
to Outside):
The Stroke options.
Step
23: Choose The Custom Gradient Preset
Back in Step 11, we saved our custom
gold gradient as a preset. Let's quickly set our stroke to those same colors by
selecting the preset. Click on the small arrow to the right of the
gradient preview bar:
Clicking the arrow beside the
gradient bar.
This will pop open the Gradient
Preset picker. Double-click on the thumbnail for the gold custom
gradient. It should be the last thumbnail in the list:
Double-clicking on the custom gold
gradient.
And now the stroke is set to the
same colors as the text itself:
The effect after applying the gold
gradient to the stroke.
Step
24: Apply Bevel And Emboss To The Stroke
Click directly on the words Bevel
& Emboss at the top of the list of styles on the left. This time,
rather than applying it to the text, we'll apply it to the stroke:
Clicking on Bevel & Emboss.
Change the Style of the Bevel
and Emboss from Inner Bevel to Stroke Emboss so that the effect is
applied to the stroke itself. Then, just as we did before, change Technique
to Chisel Hard, and set the Size to around 8 px (same size
as the stroke). Also as we did before, click on the small arrow beside
the Gloss Contour thumbnail and double-click on the Ring -
Double contour to select it. Finally, select Anti-aliased to smooth
out any jagged edges:
The Bevel and Emboss options for the
stroke.
Turn on the Contour style
directly below Bevel & Emboss by clicking inside its checkbox:
Selecting Contour for the stroke.
Here's the effect after applying
Bevel and Emboss (and Contour) to the stroke:
The stroke now shares the same
lighting and reflection effects as the type.
Step
25: Apply An Outer Glow
There's just one layer style
remaining. Let's add a faint glow to the text, as if light was reflecting off
the gold letters. Click directly on the words Outer Glow on the left of
the Layer Style dialog box to turn on the Outer Glow style and bring up its
options:
Selecting Outer Glow.
Lower the Opacity of the glow
to 40%, then click on the color swatch directly below the word
"Noise" to change the color. When the Color Picker appears,
use the same color we chose for the Inner Glow by setting the R value to
232, G to 128 and B to 31. Click OK to close
out of the Color Picker. Finally, increase the Size of the glow to
around 60 px:
The Outer Glow options.
At this point, we're done with our
layer styles, so click OK to close out of the Layer Style dialog box. Here's
our gold text effect with all of our styles applied:
The effect is nearly complete.
Step
26: Select The Type Copy Layer
All that's left to do now is add
some sparkles, and we'll add them on their own separate layer. Click on the Type
copy layer (the top layer) in the Layers panel to select it:
Selecting the top layer.
Step
27: Add A New Blank Layer
With the top layer selected, press
and hold the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key on your keyboard and
click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:
Clicking the New Layer icon while
holding Alt (Win) / Option (Mac).
Photoshop will pop open the New
Layer dialog box, giving us a chance to name the new layer before it's
added. Name the layer "sparkles", then click OK to close out of the
dialog box:
Naming the new layer.
The new "sparkles" layer
now appears as the top layer in the Layers panel:
The new layer is added above the
others.
Step
28: Select The Brush Tool
To create the sparkles, we'll use
one of Photoshop's brushes. Select the Brush Tool from the Tools panel.
You can also select it by pressing the letter B on your keyboard:
Selecting the Brush Tool.
Step
29: Load The Assorted Brushes
With the Brush Tool selected, right-click
(Win) / Control-click (Mac) anywhere inside the document to open the Brush
Preset picker, then click on the menu icon in the top right corner:
Clicking the Brush Preset picker's
menu icon.
Choose Assorted Brushes from
the menu that appears to load these brushes into Photoshop:
Clicking the Brush Preset picker's
menu icon.
Photoshop will ask if you want to
replace the current brushes with the new brush set. Click Append to
simply add them to the existing brushes:
Adding the Assorted Brushes set in
with the current brushes.
Step
30: Choose The Crosshatch 4 Brush
Scroll down through the various
brushes in the Brush Preset picker until you get close to the bottom and look
for the Crosshatch 4 brush. If you have Tool Tips enabled in Photoshop,
the name of the brushes will appear when you hover your mouse cursor over the
thumbnails. If not, look for the one that looks like an "X" with the
number 48 under it (48 means the default size of the brush is 48 pixels). Double-click
on the Crosshatch 4 thumbnail to select it and close out of the Brush Preset
picker:
Look for the Crosshatch 4 brush
thumbnail and double-click on it to select it.
Step
31: Sample A Color From The Text To Use For The Sparkles
Press and hold the Alt (Win)
/ Option (Mac) key on your keyboard to temporarily switch from the Brush
Tool to the Eyedropper Tool and click on one of the lightest areas in
the text to sample that color. This will become the brush color and it's what
we'll use for our sparkles:
Holding Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and
sampling a color from the effect.
Step
32: Paint Random Sparkles Around The Text
Release the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac)
key on your keyboard to revert from the Eyedropper Tool back to the Brush
Tool, then click in a few random places around the text to add your
sparkles. For even more randomness, change the brush size for each click by
pressing the left or right bracket keys on your keyboard to make
the brush smaller (left bracket) or larger (right bracket). Don't add too many
sparkles, though, or you'll overdo it. A couple of larger and smaller ones is
all you really need. If you don't like the last sparkle you added, press Ctrl+Z
(Win) / Command+Z (Mac) on your keyboard to undo it, then try again:
The effect after adding some
sparkles.
If you find that your sparkles look
a bit too intense, simply lower the Opacity value in the upper right of
the Layers panel. I'll lower mine to around 60%:
Lowering the layer opacity.
And with that, we're done! Here,
after lowering the opacity of my "sparkles" layer, is the final gold
text effect:
The final result.
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