Photoshop > Graphics > Text Styles

Text Styles

There are many different types of Blending Options one can apply to a set of text, but listed here are suggestions for Text Styles that will look good on most forum signatures, web banners, and even website layouts.

Before we begin looking at the Text Styles, let us first learn a few things about Styles.

Well, now that we now how to use styles, lets apply them to our text, shall we? Lets get started!

NOTE: To colour your text, put it under your Colour Balance Layer. All text results were made with the font 'Perfect Dark', 'Beast Machines', 'Dirty Headline' and 'Minion'.

NOTE 2: Most of the text listed below require a Drop Shadow to look their best. However, because the drop shadow must change with the situation used, drop shadow settings were not added for most. It is recommended that you experiment with the drop shadow in your works.

Text Style 1 (Lighted Bevel)

Blending Options:

• Inner Shadow : default (Distance 5, Size 5)
• Satin : default (Distance 11, Size 4)
• Bevel and Emboss : Depth 1%, Size 0, Contour
• Stroke : 1 px, Black Stroke, 50% Opacity

Result:

Text Style 2 (Weak Bevel)

Blending Options:

• Drop Shadow : Opacity 65%, Distance 3, Spread 2, Size 7
• Inner Shadow : Opacity 25%, Distance 2, Choke 0, Size 4
• Stroke : 1 px, Black Stroke, 70% Opacity

Result:

Text Style 3 (Soft Bevel)

Blending Options:

• Bevel and Emboss: Style Inner Bevel, Depth 100%, Size 5
• Stroke : 1 px, Black Stroke, 70% Opacity

Result:

Text Style 4 (Metal) Other metal tutorials: liza4rd.com

Blending Options:

• Inner Shadow: Distance 0, Choke 0, Size 7
• Bevel and Emboss: Style Inner Bevel, Depth 100%, Size 0
• Colour Overlay: White, Opacity 25%
• Gradient: default (Opacity 50%, Black to White)
• Stroke : 1 px, Black Stroke, 100% Opacity

Result:

Text Style 5 (Gel) Other gel tutorials: 80four, Webdogpro

Blending Options:

• Bevel and Emboss: Style Inner Bevel, Depth 100%, Size 10, Soften 5
• Colour Overlay: Light Colour of your choice [Preferably Green (#9BFF26)]
• Inner Glow: Darker Colour of your choice [Preferably Green (#076B2C)], Opacity 50%

Result:

Text Style 6 (Double Stroke)

Blending Options:

• Stroke: 7px, Position Center, Fill Type Gradient (black to white), Style Shape Burst

Note: For the gradient, set the black and white markers next to each other, like this (link opens a new window).

Result:

Text Style 7 (Cartoon)

Blending Options:

• Drop Shadow is recommended : keep it at 120 degrees, Distance close (e.g. 2)
• Inner Shadow: Opacity 50%, Distance 5, Size 5, Colour White
• Inner Glow: Colour Black, Opacity 100%, Choke 10, Size 4
• Stroke, Optional
• Note: do not use black or white as text colour

Result:

Text Style 8 (Professional)

Blending Options:

• Inner Glow: Colour Same as your text, Hard Light, Opacity 100%
• Gradient Overlay: Black to White, Opacity 40%
• Stroke: 1 px, Black Stroke, 100% Opacity

Result:

Text Style 9 (Machintosh Font!) 

Blending Options:

• Text Colour: #00AAFF
• Bevel and Emboss: Inner Bevel, Depth 300%, Size 15, Soften 5
• Shading: Angle 120 degrees, Highlight Lighten, Colour White, Opacity 100%, Shadow Linear Dodge, Opacity 40%
• Stroke: 2 px,  #0852A5 Stroke, 40 - 75% Opacity

Result:

Text Style 10 (Neon Font)

Blending Options:

• Outer Glow: Blend Mode Normal, Opacity 55%, Colour of your choice, preferably Orange/Red (#FF8400), Size 10
• Inner Glow: Gradient of your choice preferably White -- Yellow -- Orange (White always on the LEFT), Blend Mode Normal, Opacity 100%, Size of your choice
• Stroke: 1 px, Colour of your choice, Opacity 40-75%

Result:

Click here to download the above styles.

These are all the basics you might possibly need right now, and they cover most of the areas you will need text styles. If, for some weird reason, you might need one of the weird styles that Photoshop houses, you will find more styles by looking under 'Load Styles' and 'Reset Styles' (the latter resets your styles to the original PS Set- you WILL lose all your custom styles).

By the way, if you have a text style that you might wish to include in my currently short list, please feel free to e-mail me the text style in the above format, and I will not hesitate to put it up on my site, with full credits to you.

I hope this short tutorial benefited you in some way, and that it has set your creativity into action. After all, there is so much customization possible under Styles, and thanks to Adobe Photoshop, we can exploit that. However, if you would like to explore beyond the Blending Options and into Photoshop's Filters and such for type (along the way pre-empting my next tutorial), then I'll have no better sites to recommend then these:

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial; happy typing, and a good day to you!

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