Create A Scrapbook Alphabet
Create A Scrapbook Alphabet
Create A Scrapbook Alphabet
In this Photoshop Text Effect you'll learn to create a simple Scrapbook style text effect that can be used as a stand alone word treatment or converted to individual reusable .png files with a transparent background. Posted In Text Effects | Comments 14
Introduction
In this Photoshop Text Effect youll learn to create cool Scrapbook style text that can be used as a stand alone word treatment or converted to individual reusable .png files with a transparent background. READ THIS: If you havent already done the Text In Stitches tutorial and you want to add the stitches to your lettering like you see in the preview, I strongly recommend you take a spin through that lesson first. Be sure to download and install the Stitches brush set thats included in that lesson so youve got it and are ready to go.
from the Alphabet layer and that a new layer below the Alphabet layer is created from the Stroke. (*note: Incase you were wondering: I use the Stroke-to-Layer method rather than creating a selection of the text and then using Select > Expand because it produces substantially smoother edges than an expanded selection.)
choose Copy, then switch back to your Photoshop document, make sure the Border layer is selected and choose Edit > Paste from the Main Menu (or just use the keyboard shortcut Command-V (PC: Ctrl-V)) to paste the image into your document. A new layer will automatically be created above the Border layer. Now simply Command-Click (PC: Right-Click) on the new texture layer which Ill call Parchment Texture and choose Create Clipping Mask. This will use the Border layer as a mask for the Parchment Texture layer as shown below.
Add the following Drop Shadow and Bevel & Emboss Layer Styles and click OK.
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In much the same fashion well now add some texture to the Alphabet layer. Since were working in the scrapbook text effect genre, lets go back to the internet and find ourselves a nice piece of fabric that we can use for the main letter texture. Doing a Google search for vintage
fabric returns some great results. I find that for the best results a piece of fabric with quite a good pattern variation works best so each letter doesnt come out looking exactly the same. Just like in Step 6, were going to choose our texture swatch, copy it to the clipboard and then with the Alphabet layer selected in the Layers palette, go ahead and Paste the swatch into the file and create a Clipping Mask to the Alphabet layer. (*note: depending on the size of your fabric swatch, you may have to add multiple copies of your fabric to the stage and move them around to get them in the right place for each letter. Use Edit > Free Transform to rotate, size and reposition your fabric as needed.)
speed and that youve already downloaded and installed the Stitches brush set that Ill be using here. The first thing were going to need to get our stitches going is a Path for the stitches to follow. To do this, lets first load the Alphabet layer as a selection. While holding the Command (PC: Ctrl) key, click on the layer thumbnail for the Alphabet layer in the Layers palette. This will load the alphabet as a selection.
The reason scrapbookers love .PNG files so much is that the .PNG file format allows for a transparent background but unlike the .GIF file format which theoretically also allows for transparency, a .PNG file is cleaner, allows for a greater number of colors and allows for partial transparency (like gradual shadows) that .GIF does not. So the first step to creating our set of .PNG letters is to hide our Background layer. In the Layers palette, simply click on the little eye icon to the left of the layer thumbnail to temporarily hide the layer. You should now see the classic Photoshop checkerboard behind your letters indicating that there is no background behind them.
Conclusion
Along with a simple and easy text effect, its a snap to create a library of .PNG letters, numbers and symbols that can be used in scrapbooking and graphic design projects. Thanks for following along. I hope you learned a little something new along the way.