Cool Text Effect in Photoshop

Cool 3D Text Effect in Photoshop

In this Photoshop Tutorial, you will learn to create a Cool Text Effect. We can also say it a 3D Text Effect in Photoshop as you will learn to extrude the text. The extrusion of text will create a 3D effect. We will use the Horizontal Type Tool, Text Wrap, Transform Tool, and different Layer Styles to create a Cool Text Effect in Photoshop.

Launch Adobe Photoshop and create a new document. Then follow the below step-by-step process to create a Cool Text Effect in Photoshop:

Step 1

In this step, we will create a nice Gradient Background for the text effect. Click on Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon in the Layers Panel and then select Gradient.

In the Gradient Fill dialogue box, set the Style to Radial and then click on the Gradient Swatch to open the Gradient Editor.

In the Gradient Editor, double-click on the left Color Stop to open the Color Picker. Then set the color to R=230, G=190 and B=96.

Next, click on the Gradient slider to add a color stop at Location: 50%. Also, set the color to R=205, G=194, and B=67. Then click on the right color stop and set the color to R=210, G=229, and B=53.

Step 2

Select the Horizontal Type Tool from the Tool Panel and type the word ‘COOL’. Set the Font Style and increase the Font Size.

After typing the text, click on the Wrap Text icon in the Options Bar. A Wrap Text dialogue box will appear. In that dialogue box, set the Style to Arc. Then reduce the Blend to 8% and increase the Horizontal Distortion to 35%. Click OK to apply the Wrap Text.

Step 3

Now we will align the text at the center. Select the Move Tool from the Tool Panel. Then press & hold the Ctrl key and select the Background Layer. Now you have two selected layers in the Layers Panel; i.e.; the Text Layer and the Background Layer.

In the Options Bar, Align Vertical Centers and then click on Align Horizontal Centers. The text will get aligned at the center.

Step 4

Select the COOL text layer and click on the fx icon (Layer Style icon) in the Layers Panel. From the Layer Styles options list select Stroke.

After selecting Stroke, a Layer Style dialogue box will appear. In that dialogue box, under Structure, increase the Size to 20px. Also, set the Position to Outside. Then set the Fill Type to Color and color box to open Color Picker. In the Color Picker dialogue box, set H=241⁰, S=95%, B=75%, R=13, G=9, B=191. Click OK to apply the stroke effect.

Step 5

Now we will create a Extrude Depth Effect in the Stroke.

Press Ctrl + J to copy the text layer. Then press Ctrl + T to enable Free Transform. We will transform the text layer by moving it to 2px right side and 2px upwards. Hit the right arrow key 2 times, then the upwards arrow key 2 times. Press Enter to apply the transformation.

We will create more copies of this transformed layer to create an Extrude Depth Effect. Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T several times to duplicate the layer and apply the same transformation.

Next, we will group all the text layers except the top text layer. Then name it Stroke Extrusion group. To create a group, select the layers and click on Create a new group icon (folder icon) in the Layers Panel.

Step 6

It’s time to create a Depth Extrusion for the top text layer. But, before that, we have to clear the Stroke layer style applied to the layer. We are removing this layer style because we have created the Extrude Depth for the Stroke in the above step. Now, we want to create the Extrude Depth for the fill, and for that, we need to remove the Stroke from the text.

Select the top-most text layer and right-click to open the options menu. From the options list, select Clear Layer Style. This will remove the Stroke Layer Style from the selected top text layer.

Step 7

Next, double-click on the thumbnail (letter T written within the bounded corners) of the topmost text layer to edit the text. After that, you will notice that the Horizontal Type Tool will get selected in the Tool Panel, and you can edit your text.

We will change the Fill color of the layer. Click on the color box in the top Options Menu Bar to open the Color Picker. In the color picker dialogue box, set the color to R=83, G=0, and B=0.

Step 8

Create a copy of the top layer by pressing Ctrl + J. Then press Ctrl + T to transform the layer as done in Step 5 to create Extrude Depth Effect. Transform the layer by pressing right arrow key and upward arrow key 2 times simultaneously.

Then press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T several times to make copies of the layer and apply the same transform effect. This will create an Extrude Depth Effect for the Fill of the Text.

Step 9

Select all the text layers expect the top layer and group them. I will name this group layer as Fill Extrusion.

Now select the top layer in the Layers Panel and double-click on the thumbnail to change its fill color. To create a nice effect we will fill the top text layer with a light shade. This will also create a nice 3D extruded depth effect.

Tip: Instead of filling the layer with a solid color, you can also apply a gradient fill for your text effect.

Step 10

Now, we will apply the Inner Shadow effect to the top layer. Select the top layer and click on the fx icon in the Layers Panel. Then select the Inner Shadow from the options list. A Layer Style dialogue box will appear in the document area. In that dialogue box, under Structure, reduce the Distance and Size of the Inner Shadow, and make required alterations in the settings as shown in the below image.

Step 11

In the Stroke Extrusion Group, select the top layer. Press and hold the left-click and drag the selected layer. Place the dragged layer on the Create a new group (folder icon) and release the left-click. This will create a new group under the Stroke Extrusion Group.

Now we will apply the Inner Shadow and Color Overlay effect to the new group. Click on the fx icon and select Color Overlay. Then choose a light shade of the color filled in the stroke.

After changing the color, select Inner Shadow and apply it to the group.

Step 12

Select the Stroke Extrusion Group, and apply Drop Shadow effect to it by clicking on the fx icon in the Layers Panel.

You can stop this tutorial here because the Cool Text Effect in Photoshop is ready. But I wanted to make this text effect more cool and appealing. So I have applied the Pattern Overlay to the topmost layer in the Layers Panel. You can also apply the Pattern Overlay to Stroke Extrusion Group.

After making all the required changes and applying different layer style, the text looks like-

The text looks pretty cool. What do you think about this Cool Text effect in Photoshop?

Share your views in the comment section.

You have learned various Layer Styles while creating this Cool Text Effect in Photoshop. Share this Photoshop Tutorial with others and also, subscribe to the website to receive free online Photoshop tutorials through email