Making Glassy Text

Making Glassy Text

This solution is very similar to the solution for “Creating a Glassy Button” in Chapter 3.

We’re going to use a combination of layer styles to give our text a glassy effect.

Solution

In the Layers palette, select your text layer and set its fill to 0%. First, we’re going to

add a drop shadow to the text. Open the Layer Style dialog box by clicking on the Add

a layer style button at the bottom-left of the Layers palette, and selecting Drop Shadow

from the menu that appears. Apply the following settings to your drop shadow (you

might need to adjust these depending on the size and type of font you use—in this

example I’ve used Arial Bold and Arial Black, both at 85pt).

The Basics 1

Blend Mode: Multiply; black (by default)

Opacity: 50% Angle: 166°

Distance: 2 pixels Size: 4 pixels

Next, click on Inner Shadow in the Layer Styles dialog box and adjust the settings for

the inner shadow as follows:

Blend Mode: Multiply; black Opacity: 65%

Distance: 4 pixels Size: 9 pixels

Almost there! Now click on Inner Glow, and use the following settings:

Blend Mode: Vivid Light Opacity: ~38%

Color: white Size: 9 pixels (increase this for thicker fonts)

Finally, click on Bevel and Emboss and adjust the settings as follows:

Style: Inner Bevel

Technique: Smooth

Depth: 90% (increase this value for thicker fonts)

Size: 9 pixels

Soften: 2 pixels

Angle (uncheck Use Global Light): 180°

Altitude: 69°

Highlight Opacity: 95% (adjust for different backgrounds—lower values work better

with darker backgrounds)

Shadow Opacity: 0%

Phew! All done. Click OK to apply the layer

styles. The example to the right shows the

final effect.

It’s well worth all that effort, in my opinion!

Working with Text