Hollow (See-Through) Text Tutorial

[d_palapuz]

TITLE: HOLLOW (SEE-THROUGH) TEXT TUTORIAL
DESCRIPTION: YOU'VE SEEN HOW TO PUT AN IMAGE IN A TEXT, SO NOW YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO MAKE A TEXT SEE-THROUGH. WITH A SINGLE LAYER STYLE AND THE FLICK OF YOUR TYPE LAYER'S FILL OPACITY, YOU CAN CREATE A COMPLETELY HOLLOW, 100% SEE-THROUGH TEXT.
DIFFICULTY: VERY QUICK AND VERY EASY
REQUIRED PROGRAMS: ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 7 AND/OR HIGHER.

INTRODUCTION: LAYER STYLES ARE GREAT FOR ADDING FINISHING TOUCHES TO YOUR DESIGNS, AND THEY CAN REALLY MAKE TEXT AND GRAPHICAL ELEMENTS STAND OUT YOUR PAGE. THEY ARE ALSO EXTREMELY FLEXIBLE AS THEY CHANGE AS YOUR LAYER CONTENT CHANGES, THEY'RE ALSO FULLY EDITABLE, ETC. SINCE THEY APPEAR ON THEIR OWN LAYER, THEY'RE NONDESTRUCTIVE, AND WHEN YOU EDIT THE CONTENT OF YOUR LAYER, THE STYLE UPDATES AUTOMATICALLY.


INSTRUCTIONS:


STEP ONE
OPEN AN IMAGE IN PHOTOSHOP. A GOOD IMAGE TO WORK ON WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT COMES FROM PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS. BECAUSE THEY'RE MOSTLY GOOD QUALITY, AND THE IMAGES THEMSELVES TELL SO MUCH. I USED AN IMAGE OF THE MANILA BAY AT NIGHT.

STEP TWO
PRESS "T" ON YOUR KEYBOARD TO GRAB THE TYPE TOOL AND START TYPING SOME TEXT. WORRY NOT ABOUT THE COLOR BECAUSE WE'LL BE FIXING IT TO MAKE IT HOLLOW LATER ON. FROM THE OPTIONS BAR AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN, UNDER THE MENUS, PICK A FONT. I USED THE FONT VIANTA AT SIZE 14 PT. IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW, I CHANGED SOME OPTIONS TO MAKE THE FONT A LITTLE WIDER AND BIGGER SO THE OUTLINE WILL LOOK BETTER.

AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS:




STEP THREE
IF YOU HADN'T NOTICED YET, ALL LAYERS BEGIN AT 100% OPACITY. SO IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A LAYER SEMI-TRANSPARENT, YOU CAN TWEAK ITS OPACITY SETTING. SAME THING APPLIES TO FILL, THOUGH IT'S GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENT EFFECT ON THE LAYER. WHEN USED WITH A SHAPE OR TYPE LAYER, LOWERING THE FILL WILL LOWER THE OPACITY OF THE COLOR INSIDE THE SHAPE OR LETTERS, BUT IT WILL NOT CHANGE THE OPACITY OF ANY LAYER STYLES YOU'VE ADDED. THAT BEING SAID, LOCATE THE FILL SETTING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LAYERS PALETTE RIGHT UNDER OPACITY, AND DRAG IT ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT, LEAVING IT AT 0%.




STEP FOUR
NOW WE ARE GOING TO ADD A STROKE TO REVEAL THE OUTSIDE OF THE TEXT. AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR LAYERS PALETTE BOX, CLICK THE F OR FX BUTTON (DEPENDING ON WHAT VERSION YOU'RE USING)AND CHOOSE STROKE. THIS IS CALLED ADD A LAYER STYLE BUTTON. ONCE YOU'RE DONE, PRESS OK. THE SETTINGS I USED ARE SHOWN BELOW. NOW IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE FONT YOU PICKED, JUST DOUBLE-CLICK THE TEXT LAYER AND PICK ANOTHER FONT AND YOUR STYLE WILL ADJUST ITSELF AUTOMATICALLY.

SO HERE'S THE FINISHED PRODUCT:




NOW, I PLAYED AROUND IT A LITTLE MORE, SO I ADDED THE WORD "PHILIPPINES" BELOW IT ON A DIFFERENT FONT
AND ALSO ADDED THE SAME EFFECT. DOESN'T IT LOOK GOOD? NOW YOU HAVE A COMPLETELY HOLLOW,
100% SEE-THROUGH TEXT. IT'S A FUN WAY TO ADD TEXT TO YOUR PHOTOS AND NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE PHOTO ITSELF.

ENJOY, PLEASE RATE, COMMENT, AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

[clintford]

very easy tut but thanks for posting

[d_palapuz]

no problem. Always glad to help!