50 Stunning Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials - Smashing

Photoshops text and layer tools can be used to create some really awesome effects. Weve put together a list of 60 of the best tutorials we could find to help you stay up to date on the latest trends and techniques. Youll find some really cool grunge and glass styles (plus a few surprises!) and learn how some of the best designers create their unique effects.

Courtesy: LemonDesign¹

Instead of listing 100 plus tutorials that youll bookmark never to come back, weve decided to take you through the basics of typography, hopefully inspiring and then teaching you. Typography is an art just like any other. You have to feel the form, admire the curves and connect with the flow.

You may want to take a look at the following related posts:

Introduction to Typography

Typography is the art of arranging type, designing type, and modifying type glyphs. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, line spacing (leading), adjustment of space between groups of letters (tracking) and adjustment of space between pairs of letters (kerning).

Here are some resources to give you further insight:

The Wisest Mind Has Something Yet to Learn

And we, too, never stop being inspired, learning and creating:

How to Choose the Right Type

Guess if you can, choose if you dare. Typeface can make or break your design. Let the type speak for itself: its dimensions, curves, strength and space should define your purpose.

Resources to Live by

Finding quality fonts can be overwhelming because there are literally millions out there and finding the right one is a painful process. Here are a few resources I use to find a font for a project I am working on.

Here Come the Tutorials

Now that you understand the importance of typography, lets move on to the awesome Photoshop tutorials we were talking about. The above resources on type were pretty general, whereas these tutorials deal mainly with text effects that you could use in posters, magazines or whatever you wish. The basics of typography apply to most of the work you will do with the tutorials below.

Go Crazy with 3D

3D texture²⁵
Create amazing 3D-textured text with Illustrator and Photoshop in this in-depth tutorial.

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Create a spectacular flaming meteor effect on text²⁷
Take typography one step further by having text falling from the sky in a burning inferno. Yes, this is the text-on-fire tutorial to end all text-on-fire tutorials. It uses a little Illustrator for the text and a lot of Photoshop to burn up the screen!

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Funky 3D-style letters²⁹
A straightforward guide to creating funky 3D-style letters.

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How to create high-quality metal 3D text in Photoshop³¹
This tutorial shows you how to create 3D text and give it a high-quality metal look using only Photoshop.

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Light and shade³³
In this tutorial we are going to take some very basic principles of light and shade to make a rather impressive-looking text effect.

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Create Destructive Black and White Lettering with a Dramatic Splash Effect³⁵
Learn how to make some expressive lettering, which includes thoughts connected with a central word. Youll turn standard text into a stunning, destructive illustration, and give it a final unique look.

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Chunky 3D letters³⁷
Create big chunky 3D letters with this colorful tutorial!

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Stunning 3D effects in 30 minutes³⁹
Together, with a pinch of this and a dash of that, well figure out how to create this cool effect in just 30 minutes.

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How to Quickly Create a Stylish Retro Text Effect⁴¹
Learn how to create a quite cool retro text effect. You will learn how to use the Perspective tool to create depth and how designers can use default gradients in unusual ways.

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3D text with a touch of grunge⁴³
A pretty detailed tutorial that shows you how to create grungy 3D text.

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Design soft stylized 3D type⁴⁵
Learn the basics of creating polished 3D type using Illustrator and Photoshop.

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Create a 3D flowery text effect⁴⁷

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Create a dream-like design with 3D typograph⁴⁹
This detailed tutorial shows you how to create a 3D typography-based design. All the elements revolve around the theme of dreaming.

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Footnotes

1. 1 http://lemondesign.deviantart.com/art/Typography-A-73901643
2. 2 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/09/22/round-up-of-useful-adobe-photoshop-techniques-tutorials-and-tools/
3. 3 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/01/60-amazing-poster-and-advertisment-tutorials/
4. 4 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/07/50-excellent-digital-photography-photoshop-tutorials/
5. 5 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/03/photoshop-tutorials-to-improve-modeling-skills/
6. 6 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/14/30-beautiful-vintageretro-photoshop-tutorials/
7. 7 http://web.archive.org/web/20110208115407/http://www.wiu.edu/art/courses/handouts/type.htm
8. 8 http://markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/five_simple_steps_to_better_typography/
9. 9 http://ilovetypography.com/2009/01/14/inconspicuous-vertical-metrics/
10. 10 http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2008/12/10-common-typography-mistakes/
11. 11 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/11/16/web-typography-100-educational-resources-tools-and-techniques/
12. 12 http://www.designflavr.com/resources/21-Inspirational-Typography-Artworks--from-DeviantArt-i116/
13. 13 http://ilovetypography.com/2008/12/04/30-inspiring-type-treatments/
14. 14 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/25/breathtaking-typographic-posters/
15. 15 http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/typography-is-sexy-part-2/
16. 16 http://ilovetypography.com/2008/04/04/on-choosing-type/
17. 17 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/03/24/how-to-choose-a-typeface/
18. 18 http://typies.blogspot.com/2006/11/15-tips-to-choose-good-text-type.html
19. 19 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/12/14/what-font-should-i-use-five-principles-for-choosing-and-using-typefaces/
20. 20 http://www.papress.com/thinkingwithtype/index.htm
21. 21 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/tag/free-fonts/
22. 22 http://www.noupe.com/fonts/50-free-fonts-for-professional-designs.html
23. 23 http://www.nikibrown.com/designoblog/2008/12/23/fonts-the-skinny-thin-and-beautiful/
24. 24 http://ilovetypography.com/2007/10/22/so-you-want-to-create-a-font-part-1/
25. 25 http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/text-effects/3d-textured-text-effect.html
26. 26 http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/text-effects/3d-textured-text-effect.html
27. 27 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/create-a-spectacular-flaming-meteor-effect-on-text/
28. 28 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/create-a-spectacular-flaming-meteor-effect-on-text/
29. 29 http://www.adobetutorialz.com/articles/2978/1/Create-a-Spectacular-Style-Text-Effect
30. 30 http://www.adobetutorialz.com/articles/2978/1/Create-a-Spectacular-Style-Text-Effect
31. 31 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/how-to-create-high-quality-metal-3d-text-in-photoshop/
32. 32 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/how-to-create-high-quality-metal-3d-text-in-photoshop/
33. 33 http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/using-light-and-shade-to-bring-text-to-life/
34. 34 http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/using-light-and-shade-to-bring-text-to-life/
35. 35 http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/create-destructive-black-and-white-lettering-with-a-dramatic-splash-effect/
36. 36 http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/create-destructive-black-and-white-lettering-with-a-dramatic-splash-effect/
37. 37 http://naldzgraphics.com/tutorials/create-a-colorful-3d-text-in-photoshop/
38. 38 http://naldzgraphics.com/tutorials/create-a-colorful-3d-text-in-photoshop/
39. 39 http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2008/06/tutorial-how-to-create-a-stunning-3d-effect-in-photoshop/
40. 40 http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2008/06/tutorial-how-to-create-a-stunning-3d-effect-in-photoshop/
41. 41 http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/how-to-quickly-create-a-stylish-retro-text-effect/
42. 42 http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/how-to-quickly-create-a-stylish-retro-text-effect/
43. 43 http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dohoavn.net%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D22732&sl=auto&tl=en&history_state0=
44. 44 http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dohoavn.net%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D22732&sl=auto&tl=en&history_state0=
45. 45 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/design-soft-stylized-3d-type/
46. 46 http://psdtuts.com/tutorials/text-effects-tutorials/design-soft-stylized-3d-type/
47. 47 http://10steps.sg/photoshop/create-a-3d-flowery-text-effect/
48. 48 http://10steps.sg/photoshop/create-a-3d-flowery-text-effect/
49. 49 http://www.gomediazine.com/tutorials/create-dream-design-3d-typography/
50. 50 http://www.gomediazine.com/tutorials/create-dream-design-3d-typography/

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