Multi-Media Technology Assignment - The Personal Webpage

Tutorial Steps

New Image
Text Tool
Render Layer
Tolerance
Texturizer Filter
Lighting Effects Filter
Layer Effects
Drop Shadow Effect
Image Check
Bevel & Emboss
More Texturizer
Brightness & Contrast
Radial Blur Filter
Finished Product

Step 1, New Image

Assuming that you have everything listed in the Computer secion above, the first step is to make a new image in Photoshop. To do this, click to File, and click on New. Change the Width to 500 pixels and the height to 250 pixels. The next step is to change the resolution to 72 pixels per inch. Make sure that the mode is RGB color and the Contents are White.

New Window

Step 2, Text Tool

The next step is to use the Type Tool to write out some catchy text that you like. To do this, you need to click on the Text Tool button in the floating toolbar, and then click anywhere in the blank image that you made in step one. A window for typing text will pop up. You'll be able to type whatever you want, choose its size, and even its font. Once you've found a font that you like, make sure that you size it up to be pretty big. If it's too big for whatever you're doing, you can always shrink the image when it's all done.

The Text Edit Window

Step 3, Render Layer

This is the part where we really get going. What needs to be done now, is the "Rendering" of the new layer of Text that you just added to your blank image (effectivly no longer making it blank). To do that, open up the "Layers" window, right click on the "T" that's on the text layer you made, and then click on Render Layer. This will allow us to manipulate the text we just added in ways that were not previously possible.

Step 4, Tolerance

Now that we've rendered our text, let's make it look cool! In doing that, the first thing to do is to make sure that the text layer is selected and next, select all the text (and only the text). The best way to do that is to click on Select (on the window menu), and then go to "All". The implication is Select All, or something like that. Now to select all of the text and ONLY the text, you need to select your Magic Wand tool. Double click on the Magic Wand button on the floating tool bar, and then in the newly opened up Magic Wand Options (to the side) window, set the "Tolerance" to "0". Now carfully hold down the 'Alt' key on the keyboard and click once and ONLY once on the outside of the text, but still in the image. So just click in the white space, is what I'm saying. While still holding down the Alt key, proceed to click on the inside white space of any letters you have un-deselected white space like "a", "A", "e", "O" or whatever else is there that still has white space. When you're done, the text and ONLY the text should be selected.

The Tollerence set to 0

Step 5, Texturizer Filter

Now that we have our text selected, it's time to get to the fun part. It's time to start using things under the Filter menu. The first filter we'll use will be a texture filter. To access it, click on Filter, then go to the Texture, finally clicking on "Texturizer...". This is a GREAT filter that allows you to add different textures to selections in Photoshop. Change the Texture to Sandstone, change the Scaling to 53%, make sure that Relief is set to 20, the Light Direction set to Top, and finally make sure that the Invert checkbox is NOT checked.

The Texturizer filter

Step 6, Lighting Effects Filter

The next step will require the use of another filter. It's called Lighting Effects. First, though, you need to de-select the text that you've been working with. To do so, just switch to your Select tool on the floating tool bar(not the magic wand!) and click once, anywhere that's not currently selected, on the image. Don't click and drag. Just click, and nothing should be selected anymore. To apply the Lighting Effects filter, you need to go to the Filter menu, then go to Render, then click on "Lighting Effects...". What you need to do now, is delete all of the "lights" that are on the image preview -except for one. When you've done this and have only one light remaining, select it and then look at the side menu. Under the drop down menu called 'Light Type', select "Omni". Under the Intensity slidebar, set it to about 41. Finaly under the light type color, click the color and set it to some shade of blue. The next step is to, under the preview side of the window, find the icon that looks like a light bulb. Click and drag it on to the image preview, and let go. Set it to Omni with 19 intensity, and then give it a different shade of blue. Repeat this step one more time, but with an intesity of 21, and yet another shade of blue.

The Lighting Effects Filter

Step 7, Layer Effects

If everything's been done appropriatly to this point, we should have some text with a nice blue texture to it. We want more though! The next thing that HAS to be added is a drop shadow. What's a drop shadow, you say? A drop shadow is a shadow behind the text, suggesting that the text is just floating there with a light source near by, causing a shadow. It looks good. Trust me. To add this, Adobe has put a really nice tool in Photoshop 5 for such effects. Situate your mouse pointer over the layers window, select your text layer, right click on it, and then go to "Effects...".

Effects Options

Step 8, Drop Shadow Effect

Once you do this, the effects window should automaticly pop up. In it you'll have options on how your drop shadow should look. You ought to leave them all how they are, except for the following: Opacity. This should start at 75%. You ought to change it to 50%. Distance. You ought to change this to 15. Blur. Chage this to 7.

Drop Shadow Effects

Step 9, Image Check

Just to make sure we're both thinking along the same lines, your image should look something like this (although each image will look slightly different):

Our image so far

Step 10, Bevel & Emboss

To get back to where we were going before though, while still in the Drop Shadow window, Locate the drop down menu that says "Drop Shadow", click on it, and go to "Inner Glow", and then click on the check box in that same window. Once more, go back to that same drop down menu, and select Bevel and Emboss. Click on the Apply check box. In the Style drop down menu, select Inner Bevel. Below that in the Depth field, change the value to 20. It starts out at 5. Click OK, and marvle at what has happened to your image.

Bevel and Emboss Effects

Step 11, More Texturizer

Now that we've played around with the text, we're going to work with the background. First off, you'll need to select the background layer. Then, change the forground color on the floating toolbar to black, and the background color on the toolbar to white. Now it's back to the Filter menu. Go to Render, and select Difference Clouds. The background should be flooded with clouds now. The next thing to do is to go back to the lighting effects. As we used on the text, set three blue omni lights with about the same settings as before. Click OK, and look at your image. There's one more crucial thing to do. Go back to filter, and then go to Fade Lighting Effects. It should be the second item on the list. Change it from 100% down to 30%, and click OK. Now it's time to go back to the Texturizer, under the Texture menu in Filter. Set the texture to Sandstone, the scaling to 100%, the relief to 12, the light direction to top, and be sure that Invert is NOT checked. Click OK, then immediatly go back to the filter menu and select Fade Texturizer. Set the fade amount to 12% and click OK.

The Texturizer

Step 12, Brightness & Contrast

Okay! If your image looks anything like what's below, or if you just like how it looks in general, things are going well! One of the final steps is to select the text layer in the layers menu, and to then select all the text in the same way mentioned in the beginning steps. Once all of the text is selected, go to the Image menu, click on the Adjust sub-menu, and then click on Brightness/Contrast. Change the Brightness to +61 and click OK. Your text should be a good deal brighter now. Based on how this looks on my own screen right now though, I don't think that the text stands out enough. Let's go back to the Effects for our text layer. Go to the Outer Glow effect, and click the Apply check box. Click OK, and your image should stand out very nicely, if it's at all like my own.

Our Glowing Image

Step 13, Radial Blur Filter

The last filter that we're going to apply, will be to the background. So then, let's select the background layer. Go to the Filter menu, click on the Blur sub-menu, and finally click on Radial Blur. Set the amount to 10, the Blur Method to zoom, the Quality to best, and click OK.

Radial Blur Filter

Step 14, Finished Product

Now then! That's almost it! In terms of effects and design, our image is compleate! Due to personal prefrence though, I'm going to crop my image. That doesn't need to be done to all images, or even explained. The only thing that needs to be said about cropping images with text that has a shadow, is that you always have to make sure that you don't crop the text's shadow. That being said, here's the final product: