How to Make "Text"ured Text

Hey Everyone!

It's LordKieron here with another PhotoShop Instructable. This one is how to make your text have texture, as in the example above. This technique can also be used in the Custom Thumbnail Instructable that I have.

This technique is also quite simple. It did take longer and more experimentation to get the effect I wanted, but I think it turned out great!

In the example above, the background has a wave texture, and the text has a cyberspace texture beneath that, which combines for an interesting contrast.

You will need:

1. A Background (plain color, gradient or texture)

2. A "Text"ure, the texture that will be applied to your font

3. A font, from dafont.com or other

4. Photoshop, Pixlr, Gimp, Paint.net, etc.

There are 2 ways to do this step.

1. Create a new image with a preset/specific dimensions. This is better for applications where you need a specific size or resolution, e.g. YouTube. The first picture shows an example of a standard YouTube Thumbnail preset. If you do this, you will have to manually import your background texture.

2. Directly open the texture. This is shown in the 2nd picture. Then you need to unlock the background so it is editable. You only need to unlock it if you plan on editing the base texture. To unlock it, just double-click on the lock symbol, as shown in the 3rd and 4th pictures

Now you have to find a texture that you want your text to have. I am using a Metallic Texture so that this example is not completely similar to the example on the introduction step.

1. Import the texture

2. When you have positioned and resized the texture to your liking, right-click and place it.

3. Make sure your "text"ure is underneath your background layer (See bottom left picture)

4. The picture on the bottom right is a simple way to check if the "text"ure is positioned right. Lower the Opacity(bottom right of the screen) then set it back to 100% when you are satisfied.

When you have positioned and resized the texture to your liking, right-click and place it. Then, rearrange the layers so that the "text"ure is underneath your background texture. This is shown in the 2nd picture (bottom left).

The picture on the bottom right is just a simple way to check that your positioning is correct. Temporarily lower the opacity, then restore it back to 100% when you are satisfied.

This is the most complicated step of this Instructable... and it's not that hard.

1. Select the original layer by clicking on it on the layer sidebar

2. Right-click the text tool and select Horizontal Type Mask Tool

3. Click on the screen to bring up a text editor (First Picture). Type whatever you want, then hold Control (Command on Mac) to move and resize your text so it is over the "text"ure. NOTE: For best results, use 60 pt font or higher so that the texture shows well.

4. When you are done positioning the text, click on the background layer. (2nd Picture)

5. Hold Alt (Option on Mac) and click the "New Layer Mask" button on the bottom right of the screen.(3rd Picture)

IMPORTANT: to view the bottom left and bottom right pictures fully, you need to click on them.

First, select the original texture by clicking on the layer. Then, right-click the Text tool, and select the Horizontal Type Mask Tool. Then click on the screen to bring up a text editor, which is the first picture. Type whatever you want, then hold Control (Command on Mac) to move the text mask and to resize it.

When it is in the right place, click the original texture layer, and your image should look something like the 2nd picture (bottom left). Then, hold Alt (Option on Mac) and click the "New Layer Mask" button at the bottom right of the screen. This is shown in the 3rd picture (bottom right)

Your Image should look something like... This! ^

Notice the textures inside the letters. The "text"ure I picked is not very noticeable, but it adds a nice subtle effect.

Any textures will work as long as they are not watermarked or copyrighted. Also, you do not have to make the background a texture. If you wish, it can be just a solid color or gradient.

I hope you learned something from this Instructable, and if you did, I would appreciate it a lot if you hit that vote button up on the right. :)

Thanks for reading, See ya next time!