Hii there, Diana here! Queenie requested me to host a 'simple' class/walkthrough where I will explain certain steps on how I personally 'style' my texts and what fonts I use in particular.


Very important: I use the German version of Photoshop CS6 Extended and hence, all of the settings are in German. I will try explaining all the steps as precisely as possible!!


I'm NOT working on a MAC, but I think the settings ought to be the same on there. I also don't know how other programs such as GIMP or PaintShop Pro work; This will solely be explained with Photoshop.


You will find a few examples of my work in the spoiler below. I explain how I styled the texts and what fonts I used for each of them.

Examples:

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Let's START!

How to style your text like this:



Quick Note: I would merely use this text-style for darker backgrounds, otherwise it will be really difficult to read.

STEP 01.

We want to go from this:

Before:

To this:

After:

I used this texture in the signature as well as in this tutorial. The fonts used in this signature are Jane Austen and Bodoni MT.

Step 02:

(FIRST TEXT STYLE - PINK)
Go to Layer -> Layerstyle

Now this window pops up:

Step 03: Copy the settings I used in the following sections:

TICK Inner Glow:




TICK Gradient Overlay:



TICK Pattern Overlay:


(The pattern I used has to be in your default settings so it's not a pattern I added by myself)

TICK Drop Shadow:



THAT'S IT!! You can now highlight the text (or if you prefer doing it before 'styling' it) and add any color you want.


The subtitle is styled THE SAME WAY. I just colored it blue instead of pink.

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How to style your text like this:



This is actually super easy and works best on bright backgorunds.

We want to go from this:

Before:

To this:

After:

The fonts used in this are Coneria Script Demo and JaneAusten again. The texture I used for this tutorial is this one.

Step 01:

Go to Layer -> Layerstyle

TICK Stroke

Choose OUTSIDE with Size 3 Color White



Step 02:

TICK Gradient Overlay



(I chose blue and pink as it suits the texture. My choices usually always depend on the colors of the textures, so I simply choose the pipette tool and basically 'pick' the colors from the texture itself)

Step 03:

TICK Drop Shadow



For the Drop Shadow I usually use a soft grey instead of thick black.


And that's it!!

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For the pixel font used in the header:

Font used: 04b03

Go again to Layer -> Layerstyle

TICK Stroke



Leave the Size to 1 and change from Color to Gradient. I used a simple pink-ish Gradient, but it's up to you what colors you want to use for the Gradient.

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I literally do the same with the following signatures:



Fonts used: Showcard Gothic, 04b03 and OptimusPrinceps



Fonts used: Rockwell Condensed, Channel, 04b03 and Smallest Pixel-7

The only difference with this signature, is, that I used a Pattern Overlay as well (as explained in the first tutorial).

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If you have any questions feel free to drop a message!! I hope you understood everything so far and I also hope this quick class helped!!

#ag #agclass

This was super helpful, and text is something I struggle a lot with. I'm sure this will be an amazing resource for graphic designers of all experiences. Super easy to follow, even with the language differences on screen.

Starchild wrote:

This was super helpful, and text is something I struggle a lot with. I'm sure this will be an amazing resource for graphic designers of all experiences. Super easy to follow, even with the language differences on screen.

Thank you so much!! I'm so glad it helped <3 <3 Looking forward to your new creations :3

Omggggg this is awesome! I can't wait to try it out on something and post here.

Very helpful tutorial! I've been struggling a lot with using fonts but this really helped me. Thank you again, Diana!

Nice tutorial. I myself try to avoid the "stroke" effect lately just for the fact I noticed plain text looks way more smoother and elegant. So far it's been ok though it does require some extra effort to manage to combine it with the rest of the elements without making the graphic look overly-crowded or unnatural XD Still nice to see the way you work it out  Thank you!

Brit-chan wrote:

Omggggg this is awesome! I can't wait to try it out on something and post here.

Thank you!! <3 YES! Totally looking forward to your future work!!!

CrystalBunny wrote:

Very helpful tutorial! I've been struggling a lot with using fonts but this really helped me. Thank you again, Diana!

So glad it helped, thank you so much for the kind feedback <3 <3

Serenyve wrote:

Nice tutorial. I myself try to avoid the "stroke" effect lately just for the fact I noticed plain text looks way more smoother and elegant. So far it's been ok though it does require some extra effort to manage to combine it with the rest of the elements without making the graphic look overly-crowded or unnatural XD Still nice to see the way you work it out  Thank you!

Totally agree - I think it depends somehow?? But totally with you about the point that the graphic will eventually look too croweded. My decisions with text-styling are usually based on the texture I used for the backgrund so it apparently suits the whole thing .

Diana wrote:

Totally agree - I think it depends somehow?? But totally with you about the point that the graphic will eventually look too croweded. My decisions with text-styling are usually based on the texture I used for the backgrund so it apparently suits the whole thing .

Yeah definitely the background plays a big part. Sometimes it helps adding an extra layer behind the text (just like you did with the 'goodie bag' graphic) to make it pop out more though even so sometimes I feel it just doesn't fit. Lately I've been trying to keep my siggies simpler just to have more freedom with the text so instead of having it as an extra layer I try to use it as a decorative-type of layer. It got better since text for me was always just something extra. I never took into account that I could actually use it in a different way though I must admit it takes more time to do so   to find inspiration