Colorful Stuffed Text Effect

This tutorial explains how to create a nice colorful stuffed-like text effect, using a simple pattern, and a couple of layer Layer Style. This tutorial can be adopted to look like fridge magnets.

The Final Result

Tutorial Details

• Software Used : Photoshop
• Version : CS5 Extended
• Time : 0:45 – 1:30

Resources

• Tondu font.
• Metal Texture 2 by goldberry2000.

Step 1

Create a new 1024 x 768 px document. Set the Foreground color to #cecece and the Background color to #949494. Pick the Gradient Tool, choose the Foreground to Background gradient, and click the Radial Gradient icon in the Options Bar. Then create a radial gradient from the center of the document to one of the corners.

Place the Metal Texture 2 on top of the Background, then change its layer’s Blend Mode to Color Burn, and its Opacity to 40%.

Step 2

Create the text in All Caps using the color #f4edd2. The font used is Tondu and the Size is 300 pt.

Duplicate the text layer. We will use the first text layer to create the stroke, and the second one to create the main stuffed effect.

Step 3

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

– Drop Shadow

• Color : #979797
• Distance : 38

– Bevel and Emboss

• Style : Stroke Emboss
• Depth : 755
• Size : 4
• Gloss Contour : Cone – Inverted
• Check the Anti-aliased box

– Stroke

• Color : #f4efde

Step 4

Now, we are going to create a simple pattern. So create a new 5 x 5 px document with a White background. Then, pick the Rectangular Marquee Tool and click the Add to selection icon in the Options bar.

Create 1 x 1 px squares diagonally through the document as shown below.

Fill the selection with Black, and press Ctrl/Cmd + D to get rid of the selection.

Go to Edit -> Define Pattern, and type in a name for the pattern.

Step 5

Back to the original document, double click the copy text layer to apply the following Layer Style:

– Drop Shadow

• Color : #797979
• Distance : 4
• Size : 7

– Inner Shadow

• Color : #606060
• Distance : 0
• Size : 15

– Outer Glow

• Blend Mode : Multiply
• Color : #9c9696

– Inner Glow

• Blend Mode : Multiply
• Color : #d1d1d1

Both Glow effects are used to intensify the shadow effects by changing their Blend Modes to Multiply.

– Bevel and Emboss

• Size : 25
• Shadow Mode – Color : #d1cdb8

– Texture

• Pattern : The Diagonal Lines pattern
• Depth : 5%

This will give the text the stuffed look.

Step 6

Press the Ctrl/Cmd key and click a text layer’s thumbnail to create a selection.

Next, we’ll be filling and applying different layer style values for each letter separately. So start with the first letter, create a new layer on top of all layers and rename it to whatever letter you’ll be working with, and change the new layer’s Blend Mode to Multiply.

Pick the Rectangular Marquee Tool and click the Intersect with selection icon in the Options bar. Then, draw a selection around the letter you want to work with.

The letter will be selected separately.

Fill the letter with any color you like. Here, the color used is #4ea6d0.

Step 7

Double click the letter’s fill layer (in this case, C), to apply the following Layer Style:

– Inner Shadow

• Color : Choose a color that suites the letter’s fill color, here, the color used is #74b6d4
• Opacity : 100%
• Distance : 0
• Choke : 15
• Size : 18

– Gradient Overlay

• Blend Mode : Soft Light
• Style : Radial
• Scale : 150%
• Click the Gradient box to create the gradient

For the gradient, you’ll need two colors. the color to the right is #070606 (this one will be used with all the other colors), and the color to the left is any color that goes with the letter’s fill color. You can try different colors and check the preview, then choose whatever color you like. The color used here is #9de0ff.

This will make the letter’s fill look more vivid.

Repeat the previous steps to each one of the remaining letters.

(Select the whole text (Ctrl/Cmd + click a text layer’s thumbnail), use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to isolate the letter you want to work with, create a new layer and change its Blend Mode to Multiply, fill the selection with any color you like, apply the Layer Style for the letter using suitable colors for the Inner Shadow and the color to the right in the Gradient, and you’ll get some bright colorful letters.)

Step 8

Set the Foreground color to #d7d0c0 and pick the Line Tool. Set the Weight to 7 in the Options bar, and create a line behind the text layers as shown below.

Double click the line shape layer to apply the following Layer Style:

– Drop Shadow

• Color : #979797
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle : -145
• Distance : 38

– Inner Shadow

• Color : #6a6a6
• Distance : 0

– Bevel and Emboss

• Highlight Mode : Overlay

– Contour

Use the default values.

– Texture

• Pattern : The Diagonal Lines pattern
• Depth : 50%

– Color Overlay

Choose a color that matches the letter’s color. Here, the color used is #347c9e.

This is what you should get.

Step 9

Duplicate the line shape layer, and move the copy to the right in order to place it behind the next letter.

Double click the copy layer to change the Color Overlay to a new color that matches the new letter’s color. Here, the color is set to #e57e2e.

You can change the shape’s fill if you don’t want to apply a color overlay, but using the color overlay includes the fill in the layer style, which makes copying it to other elements easier.

Do the same for the rest of the letters.

And you’re done! Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and found it useful