Xara 3D

Step 1:

Open Xara 3D for the base text. We used Xara 3D Version 6 for this Typography.

Step 2:

Select the Text Options Button (Alt+T) to type in your Text and click Ok. We used “You The Designer” as a sample text. The font used was Kyrilla Sans Serif Black from UrbanFonts.com.

Step 3:

Set the design to plain text by clicking the first X button on the lower left side of the window. To change the the text’s position, drag the text to rotate and Alt + Drag to reposition.

Step 4:

You can notice that the rotation angles are indicated on the lower right corner. For “You The Designer”, rotate and angle to 25º : – 26º : 0º

Step 5:

On the right panel, select Extrusion Options and change its Depth to 60. Choose Gloss and enter 20 as Outline Width.

Step 6:

On the Bevel Options, select Curved on the list and choose Round. Type in 35 as Bevel depth.

Step 7:

On the Shadow Options, uncheck Shadow to turn off the effect.

Step 8:

To change the highlight colors, click on the Show/Hide Lighting (Ctrl + Tab) on the upper part of the window. It’s indicated as a light bulb button.

Step 9:

The window now shows you detailed lighting using 3 arrows. Drag the arrows to change the lighting position. Double-click each arrow to change the color of the lighting. You can follow the exact color details as shown below:

Step 10:

Press Ctrl + Tab to see the preview of the text, save the project and export it as PNG. To do this, go to File > Export. Select “True color 24-bit” and save it as PNG file.

Step 11:

Do the same steps with the letters “.COM” with rotation angles -50º : -30º : 0º which you need to save in a separate file.
Open Adobe Photoshop. This is where we will enhance the design of the texts.

Adobe Photoshop

Step 12:

Create a new file in Photoshop. The document is sized to 1500 x 1300 (but you may crop the document in the future).

Step 13:

Create a Background layer.  Add a layer style and choose Gradient Overlay. Choose the gradient style Black to White and adjust the Angle to 101°.

Step 14:

For a textured background effect, duplicate the background layer and choose Filter > Render > Clouds.

Step 15:

Set its Layer Transparency to Multiply with 20% Opacity.

Step 16:

Open the PNG files exported from Xara3D. Copy and Paste them on the document.

Step 17:

Now we will be creating the letter face. There are two ways to do this 1) using Pen (trace the letters) or 2) Text tool (type the letters and just adjust them to fit the base by selecting Edit > Scale/ Skew/ Perspective.)

Step 18:

We’re now going to apply the glossy effect on the face. We need 4 Layer styles to achieve this. Select Add Layer Style and apply the following settings on each letter:
DROP SHADOW:

BEVEL AND EMBOSS:

BEVEL AND EMBOSS > CONTOUR:

GRADIENT OVERLAY:

STROKE:

This is how a letter should look like:

Step 19:

Apply the same effect to all letters. We just changed the colors for the letters “u” and “.COM” under the Gradient Overlay style.

Step 20:

If you want a mirror reflection effect below the texts, repeat the steps in Xara 3D (Steps 1 – 11) and import the PNG into the document. Just change the rotation angles so the text would look like a mirror reflection. You should come up with this result:

Step 21:

Apply Gradient Overlay to the reflection layers then select the Black to Transparent gradient. Make sure to change the angle so the gradient colors will appear diagonally.

This should be the result:

Step 22:

For the shadow and blur effect, duplicate the layers “.COM” and “YTD 3D” three times. 1 duplicated layer is for the shadow and the other 2 layers are for the motion blur effect. To avoid confusion, you can rename the layers like illustrated below.

Step 23:

On your keyboard, hold on the CTRL key and click the “YTD 3D Shadow” layer. The exact shape of the text will be highlighted.

Step 24:

Press Shift + f5 or go to Edit > Fill > and choose Black.

Step 25:

The YTD Shadow layer is then filled with Black. Move the layer using the Move Tool so it will appear like a shadow behind the text.

Step 26:

Apply Gaussian Blur on the YTD Shadow layer by choosing Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Adjust its radius to 10.

Step 27:

Set the Layer Opacity to 20%. Do the same procedure to the “.COM Shadow” layer.

Step 28:

Now we proceed to the Motion Blur effect. Select the first duplicated layer named “YTD 3D Blur 1″. Then go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Enter 10º for the Angle and 123 as Distance. Set the Layer Transparency to Soft Light with 75% Opacity.

Step 29:

Next is the second duplicated layer named “YTD 3D Blur 2″. Again, go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and set the angle to 90º with 123 Distance. Change the Opacity to 40%.

Step 30:

Follow the same steps of Motion Blur to the Layers “.COM Blur 1″ and “.COM Blur 2″. Just change the Angle according to the position of the text. Here is the result:

Step 31:

We will apply a bit of separation between the text and the background. To do this, create 2 white ellipse symbols and place it behind the 3d texts. Rotate the symbols using using Free Transform (Ctrl + T).

Step 32:

Apply Gaussian Blur by selecting the 2 ellipses and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Rasterize the shape when you are asked to then set the radius to 50. Set the layer’s transparency to 40%.

Step 33:

To add finishing touches, we will add Photoshop Brushes to the background. For this typography, we used Euphoria Brushes from Brusheezy.com. Apply different strokes and opacity to achieve an abstract design.

Step 34:

We’re almost done! Let’s apply a different color theme for this document by Creating a new fill or adjustment layer located on the Layers panel. Make sure you put this layer on the top of all layers. Modify the Curve for individual channels by dragging the lines. Set its Opacity to 75%. For the Curve setting, you can follow the graph below:

Step 35:

To make the image more detailed, let’s sharpen the whole document but you need to flatten all the layers first, so make sure to save the editable file before doing so. To flatten the image, go to Layers > Flatten Image. Then to sharpen it a bit, go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. Set the amount to 145 and radius to 0.5.

That’s it! This should be our end result.

Stunning 3D Text Effect Photoshop Tutorials

If you want to learn to create stunning 3D text effects by using adobe Photoshop and looking for some professional level tutorial then you must check this post out. Here, we are presenting a collection of some stunning and useful tutorials on creating 3D text effects by using the most popular and most widely used software – Adobe Photoshop.

Typography has gained a status of art and it is now become a medium for the designers to showcase their creative skills. Photoshop is most commonly used to create stunning 3D text effects and this collection will showcase some excellent tutorials that will help you learn the skills. Here is the full list. Let us have a look at this collection. Enjoy!

3D Text Effect Photoshop Tutorials

1. 3D Layered Text Effect

An easy to follow tutorial on 3D layered text effect where you can see how artist has used actions, basic transform operations and filter to achieve this effect.

2. Add Color to 3D Text

This tutorial is about creating fantastic, vividly colored and glowing 3D text and transform a simple text into appealing 3D text.

3. 3D Text Effect With Photoshop and Maya

Photoshop is an incredibly versatile application that is often used alongside 3D applications. In this tutorial, Wojciech Pijecki will show you how to sketch out an idea for a text effect, build up the idea in Photoshop, render it in 3D using Maya, and then how to add the finishing touches again in Photoshop.

4. “Awesome” 3D Style Lettering in Photoshop

This tutorial is about creating awesome 3d style lettering by using Adobe Photoshop. You will also learn how to apply proper light and shadow on a properly drawn sketch.

5. Autumn-Themed 3D Text Effect With Photoshop CS6

With this tutorial, you will learn the use of Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended for creating an autumn themed 3D text effect.

6. “Take a Break” 3D Text Composition

This tutorial will walk you through the process of creating a 3D text in just few steps.

7. Glossy, Plastic, 3D Text in Photoshop CS5

In this tutorial, the artist has explained how you can create glossy, plastic 3d text with Photoshop CS5 Extended. Some final adjustment made to enhance the outcome.

8. Tasty 3D Typographic Illustration

This tutorial is all about creating tasty 3D typographic illustration without needing any 3D tool or software. You will only need Photoshop CS6 Extended.

9. Astonishing Nightclub Themed 3D Typography

Here, you will be taught that how you can create astonishing nightclub themed 3D typography, and in this tutorials Photoshop and Illustrator are used along with Cinema 4D.

10. Super Glossy 3D Typography

Now you can learn the process of creating super glossy 3D typography by using Illustrator and Photoshop.

11. Remarkable 3D Text

This is a step by step tutorial on creating some remarkable 3D text by using Photoshop and of course your creativity.

12. A Realistic 3D Typography

This tutorial will teach you how to create a realistic and appealing 3D typography in Photoshop. An illusion of 3D text will be created without using any special 3D program or software.

13. 3D Text Photo Manipulation

Here, you will learn some easy to follow steps on creating realistic and beautiful 3D text objects.

14. Awesome Text Made of 3D Blocks

In this tutorial, you will learn creating a 3D object from a 2D depth map texture and then creating diffuse and self-illumination textures. Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended is used in this tutorial.

15. Design Soft Stylized 3D Type

This tutorial teaches you how to get a soft styled and polished 3D text by using Illustrator and Photoshop in simple and easy steps.

16. Unique 3D Text

This tutorial is about creating 3D text in Xara 3D and then using that text in Photoshop for adding some style.

17. 3D Textured Text Effect

With this tutorial, you can create amazing and appealing 3D textured text effect with the help of Illustrator and Photoshop. Furthermore, links to different resources is also provided.

18. Colourful 3D text explosion

Follow this tutorial if you want to learn the process of creating colorful 3D text as well as some useful tricks on generating light sources, shadows and adding depth.

19. 3D Text Effect

If you are interesting in learning how to create 3D text effect in Photoshop 7, then this tutorial is for you.

20. Glowing TRON-Inspired 3D Text

This tutorial will walk you through easy and simple steps for creating glowing TRON inspired 3D text with futuristic blue glow by using Photoshop Extended

21. 3D Typography Using Google Sketchup and Photoshop

Use Adobe Photoshop in tandem with Google Sketchup to create excellent and cool 3D text. You can also use some other applications like Illustrator or Cinema 4D in place of Google Sketchup.

22. Elegant, Glassy, 3D Typography

This tutorial will teach you the process of generating classy, elegant and glassy 3D typography with the help of Photoshop and Illustrator.

23. 3D Text Scene Using Photoshop

Follow this tutorial for creating a 3D text scene by using Adobe Photoshop. Illustrator is also used in this tutorial to some extent.

24. 3D Text Effect with Abstract Brush Decoration

This intermediate level tutorial will teach you how to create an awesome and stunning 3D text effect with abstract brush decoration in Photoshop.

25. 3D Text on Fire

This tutorial is of somewhat more advanced level and some steps may be tricky, but if you are following along with other tutorial then following this tutorial should not be a problem.

26. Dream Design with 3D Typography

This tutorial is based on creating a theme based 3D design and in this tutorial, the theme is dreaming, therefore all the elements revolve around this theme.

27. Incredible Typographic Illustration

Get started with this easy to follow tutorial that will teach you how to create an incredible typographic illustration. Photoshop CS+ and Cinema 4D are used in this tutorial.

28. 3D Text Blocks in Photoshop

This tutorial used Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended to create a 3D text blocks with some cool and fun tricks.

29. Stunning, 3D, Sunset Type Illustration

In this tutorial, you will see C4D, Illustrator and Photoshop are used for creating text, adding several decorative motifs and bringing them all together.

30. Colorful 3D Text Effect

This tutorial will walk you through creating colorful 3D text effect by using Xara 3D and Photoshop.

31. Slick 3D Ice Text Effect

If you are looking for a tutorial on creating a slick 3D ice text effect then this tutorial is for you.

32. 3D Type With Repoussé In Photoshop CS5

With this tutorial, you can add angles, lighting and interest in your design by using Photoshop CS5 Extended and create a beautiful 3D Type With Repousse.

33. Fun Floral 3D Text Design

You can create a lovely floral style 3D text effect by following this tutorial and by using Photoshop and Illustrator.

34. Eye-Catching 3D Tech-Style Text Effect

Create an eye catching and appealing 3D tech style text effect by using Photoshop only.

35. Cracked 3D Stone Text Effect

This tutorial is all about creating cracked 3D stone text effect by using Adobe Photoshop as well as Cinema 4D. Here you will see how a simple 3D text is transformed into cracked stone text.

36. The Making of Climb

With this tutorial, you can learn how to create 3d text along with nice and stylish background within Photoshop.

37. 3D Skyscraper Text Effect

Here, you will see how a 3D skyscraper text effect is created in Photoshop CS5, as well as see how you can add some extra elements.

38. 3D Balloons Text Effect

Learn how to create 3D balloons text effect in Photoshop CS5 Extended without requiring any special 3D software.

39. A Beautiful 3D Text Composition

Here, Joe Moore teaches you rendering beautiful and attention grabbing 3D text in 3D Studio Max and then use it with Photoshop to create nature inspired 3D text composition.

40. Crumpled Paper Textured 3D Text Effect

Learn how to decorate 3D text with crumpled paper texture and by using Photoshop CS5.