Snowy Festive Text Effect

This tutorial will show you how to use a couple of layer styles, different brush settings, and some simple tricks to create a snowy text effect, with dazzling tinsels and shiny stars.

The Final Result

Tutorial Details

• Software Used : Photoshop
• Version : CS6 Extended
• Time : 0:45 – 1:45

Resources

• Rounded Informal font.
• Rough Cloth pattern by Bartosz Kaszubowski.
• White Texture pattern by Dmitry.
• Stucco pattern by Bartosz Kaszubowski.
• Glitter 12 – Starfeild by acheronnights.

Step 1

Create a new 1152 x 864 px document. Set the Foreground color to #5b5b5b and the Background color to #343434. Pick the Gradient Tool, choose the Foreground to Background gradient fill, and click the Radial Gradient icon.

Then, click and drag from the center of the document to one of the corners to create the background gradient, and duplicate the Background layer.

Double click the Background copy layer to apply a Pattern Overlay effect:

– Pattern Overlay

• Blend Mode : Color Burn
• Pattern : Rough Cloth

This will add subtle texturing to the background.

Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon down the Layers panel and choose Hue/Saturation.

Check the Colorize box, and change the Hue value to 270. Using an adjustment layer enables you to go back and change the values anytime you need to.

Step 2

Create the text using the font Rounded Informal, the font Size 300 pt, and the color #e0e0e0. Then, change the Kerning to Optical, and the Tracking value to 30.

You can read more about Kerning and Tracking here.

Duplicate the text layer so that you have the original one, and a copy.

Step 3

Double click the copy text layer to apply the following Layer Style:

– Bevel and Emboss

• Depth : 215
• Size : 35
• Gloss Contour : Gaussian
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode : Vivid Light
• Shadow Mode – Color : #c4c4c4

– Contour

• Contour : Half Round
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

– Texture

• Pattern : White Texture

– Inner Shadow

• Distance : 0
• Size : 10

– Color Overlay

• Color : #d8d8d8
• Blend Mode : Multiply

– Drop Shadow

• Opacity : 27%
• Distance : 9
• Size : 13

This will style the snowy text.

Step 4

With the copy text layer selected, right click it and choose Rasterize Type. Then, select the Brush Tool and open the Brush panel (window > Brush).

Choose the Soft Elliptical 11 brush tip, and modify its Settings as below.

Brush Tip Shape

Shape Dynamics

Scattering

Color Dynamics

At the bottom of the Brush panel, click the Create new brush icon, and type in a name for the modified brush to add it to the other brushes so that you can use it later.

Step 5

Create a new layer between the two text layers and call it W Brush, then double click it to apply the following Layer Style:

– Bevel and Emboss

• Gloss Contour : Ring
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode : Vivid Light

– Contour

• Contour : Cone – Inverted
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

– Texture

• Pattern : Stucco

Duplicate the W Brush layer and rename the copy to B Brush. The W and B stand fro White and Black, which will be used as the brush tip’s Background colors next.

Step 6

Right click the original text layer and choose Create Work Path. Select the W Brush layer, set the Foreground color to #7c28ca, the Background color to #ffffff, and pick the Direct Selection Tool.

Right click the work path and choose Stroke Path. Then, choose Brush from the Tool drop down menu with the Simulate Pressure box un-checked.

This will stroke the path with the purple and white layer of the tinsel stroke.

Change the Background color to Black, select the B Brush layer, then stroke the path just like you did in the previous step. This will create the purple and black layer of the tinsel, but some of the white will still show through, creating an illusion of a 3D stroke.

Step 7

Pick the Eraser Tool, then choose the Stroke Brush tip you defined in Step 4.

Change the brush Size to 5, select the copy (rasterized) text layer, then right click the path and choose Stroke Path again. This time though, choose Eraser from the Tool drop down menu. This will erase around the edges a little bit to give the illusion of the tinsel covering those edges from below.

Step 8

Pick the Move Tool, then select the original text layer. Move the text 6 px to the left and 6 px down using the Left and Down Arrow keys. This will make the text look more 3D.

Double click the original text layer to apply the following Layer Style:

– Bevel and Emboss

• Technique : Chisel Hard
• Size : 24
• Gloss Contour : Ring – Double
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode : Vivid Light
• Shadow Mode – Color : #cbc4c4

– Contour

• Contour : Cone – Asymmetrical
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

– Color Overlay

• Color : #9c9c9c
• Blend Mode : Multiply

– Drop Shadow

• Color : #4f4f4f
• Opacity : 35%
• Distance : 25

This will style the nudged part and add the drop shadow to the text.

Step 9

Pick the Pen Tool, choose the Path option in the Options bar, then create a curve over the text. Click to add points, click and drag to create curves.

Create two new layers: Rope W and Rope B right on top of the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

Using the same tinsel brush (Step 4), stroke the Rope W layer with the Purple and White colors, and the Rope B layer with the Purple and Black colors.

Right click the W Brush layer, choose Copy Layer Style, then right click each of the two new layers and choose Paste Layer Style.

Double click the Rope W layer and add a drop shadow effect by changing the Opacity to 33% and the Distance to 25.

This can be a bit tricky, so make sure to be careful with the names and order of the layers.

Create two new layers below the Rope W layer, and call them Rope 2 W Back and Rope 2 B Back. Then create two more layers on top of the Rope B layer and call them Rope 2 W Front and Rope 2 B Front.

So the order of the rope layers will be:

Rope 2 B Front
Rope 2 W Front
Rope B
Rope W
Rope 2 B Back
Rope 2 W Back

Apply the same Layer Style you copied to all of the new layers, then add the Drop Shadow to the Rope 2 W Back layer just like you did for the Rope W layer.

What you need to do next, is add the back and front tinsel parts.

The pink line represents the Back tinsel, the blue line represents the Front tinsel, and the dashed parts are actually not supposed to be visible, but they will help you understand the flow of the curve.

So using the tinsel brush, with the Purple and White colors, select the Rope 2 W Back layer, and click and drag to add the back parts.

Then, select the Rope 2 W Front layer, and create the front parts.

When done, use the Purple and Black colors to trace over those parts, making sure to select the corresponding layer (Rope 2 B Back and Rope 2 B Front).

Step 10

Pick the Polygon Tool, and in the Options bar, set the Sides to 5, click the Geometry Settings icon, check the Star option, and set the Indent Sides By: to 50%.

Create a new layer between the original text layer and the Rope 2 B Front layer, call it Stars, and change the Foreground color to #d4aa19.

Click and drag to create a small star on top of the left part of the tinsel, then click the Combine Shapes icon in the Options bar.

Keep adding more stars along the tinsel.

Double click the Stars layer to apply the following Layer Style:

– Bevel and Emboss

• Technique : Chisel Hard
• Gloss Contour : Ring
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode : Vivid Light
• Shadow Mode – Color : #704a1d

– Contour

• Check the Anti-aliased box.

– Drop Shadow

• Opacity : 50%
• Distance : 25

This will style the shiny golden stars.

Step 11

Place the Glitter 12 – Starfeild image on top of the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, and resize it as you like (Here, I’m using the small image saved directly from the link’s page, without downloading the high resolution image).

Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, and change the Hue value to 75.

Change the texture layer’s Blend Mode to Lighten.

Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it Edges. Pick a big soft round brush, set the Foreground color to Black, then start clicking around the canvas edges to create a dark frame.

You can control the shape of the frame as you’re creating it.

And that’s it. Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and found it helpful 🙂