How To Create Great Typographic Wallpaper In Photoshop
Daniels MekšsThis tutorial will lead teach you how to create really interesting and unique typographic wallpaper in few easy steps. Really even beginner will be able to recreate this effect, add their own style and thought in it, I am sure you will enjoy and learn a lot from this tutorial! You will learn how to create good looking background, add lightning effects and work with fonts, sizes, colors to make just necessary places stand out! Let’s get started!
Step 1 – Creating background
First open blank document with size 1920×1200 pixels. Fill the background with color #242424. Duplicate the background layer and name it Film grain. Then go to Filter – Artistic – Film Grain. Apply settings shown below.
Set layers opacity to 50%. So far your wallpaper should look like this.
Step 2 – Lightning
Create a new layer and name it Lightning. Then select Radial Gradient Tool with black and white color.
Draw the gradient as shown below.
Set layer to Overlay and opacity to 55%. You should have something like this.
Step 3 – Adding Brushes
Download Adys grunge brushes, create new layer and brush around little bit. Set layers opacity to 15%. Download Concrete texture, place it in your document and set it to Overlay and opacity to 10%.
Step 4 – Creating Main Text
Download BEBAS font, create a new layer and type your text. I chose 350 pt size with smooth mode. Color really doesn’t matter. Name layer PEACE.
Step 5 – Add Background Text – Important Step
Lower your text opacity to around 15%. Create a new group (Layer – New – Group) and name it Words. Create new type layers in this group and start typing. Try to use different fonts and sizes. Try to avoid large spaces between words. Fonts I used:
- Arial
- Cambria
- Candara
- Impact
- Tahoma
- Times New Roman
- Verdana
- And little bit more default fonts
- Some free fonts from dafont, Colaborate, Extravaganzza
Step 6 – Creating effect
When you’re done duplicate your words group (Layer – Duplicate Group) and merge it (Ctrl+E). Make invisible your unmerged words group. Find your large text layer (in my case it’s PEACE), hold CTRL (Command on mac) and click on layers thumbnail. That should load it’s selection.
Then click on your merged words layer and press Ctrl+J. If you make invisible your merged words layer (and unmerged words group is still invisible) you should get something like this.
Step 7 – Create Background Text Effect
Make merged words layer visible again and apply following layer style.
Set layers opacity to 30%.
Then duplicate merged words layer and place it under merged words layer. Then go to Filter – Blur – Motion Blur and apply following settings.
Set layers opacity to 15%.
Add text under your title if you want.
Step 8 – Final touches
Locate your PEACE text layer and lower its opacity to 4%.
Create new layer, go to Image – Apply Image, then go to Filter – Render – Lightning Effects and apply following settings.
Set layers opacity to 30% and we’re done. I also added gradient map to one of the letter layers. Here’s final result. Click to enlarge.
Download wallpaper (various sizes):
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Miles
Posted 96 days ago 57Hey this is going to sound stupid. But when i try the third step my gradient is too big for the piece. When i try the linear it looks alot similar to the example but still way to big.
Help!
Tech-Magneta - Freelance Website Designing
Posted 107 days ago 56Really nice.
Very nice effect. Just got an image idea in my mind, when saw this tutorial.
Thank you very much.
Chang
Posted 132 days ago 54Your technique was used on the cover of a rap album! Look up DJ Khaled-Victory. Great tutorial.
http://planetill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/dj-khaled-victory.jpg
alex
Posted 145 days ago 52Very good manual…. and very easy. I like it. Thanks
Nikia
Posted 158 days ago 51Thank you so much for this! I used this to create a Coming Soon page for a site.
Jamie
Posted 180 days ago 47I don’t understand this bit:
“When you’re done duplicate your words group (Layer – Duplicate Group) and merge it (Ctrl+E). Make invisible your unmerged words group. Find your large text layer (in my case it’s PEACE), hold CTRL (Command on mac) and click on layers thumbnail. That should load it’s selection.”
When I click Ctrl and then the large text layer I don’t get the selection around it.
YoChi
Posted 176 days ago 48me too :(
I can’t do the other steps :((
Please help me !
Rean John Uehara
Posted 176 days ago 49Ah, I’m no expert, but if you’ll notice the very little thumbnail beside the layer, that’s what you’d have to click. CTRL+ click on the little thumbnail of the layer, it should select the whole selection of the image of that layer.
RUSSELL
Posted 162 days ago 50I don’t get it too. It is weird.
Trishia Rivas
Posted 111 days ago 55I did not understand it at first either, so what I did was create a new Group and move all my words by dragging them into the group folder (I’m sure there’s an easier way). Then I double clicked and duplicated the group and moved them around with my cursor. Hope that helped.
Amber
Posted 52 days ago 58When you figure it out let me know. I dont understand the Duplicate..and layer thumbnail step….help help
Independee
Posted 188 days ago 46Awesome! Finally, I know now how it is done. It’s pretty simple for a fantastic design, really. Thanks for sharing this!
suNNy
Posted 209 days ago 45nice.i create my own..
Nick
Posted 238 days ago 44When I press Control J it just duplicates the layer. It doesnt look like the picture. Please help
mark
Posted 141 days ago 53have you made your words layer invisible? (u can do that by pressing that eye button located left of the layer)
Eric
Posted 242 days ago 43I produced one using the word “History” and focused on U.S. history. I did it using GIMP and you can find it here:
http://ebturner.deviantart.com/art/History-Typography-Wallpaper-213201981
Taylor
Posted 256 days ago 42Heres mine. I found a few steps were hard but I worked through it.
http://youarenotyetalive.tumblr.com/post/6065478905
Jerry
Posted 275 days ago 40I’m an instructor at a local college and one of my students used the technique above to create a very beautiful piece… The piece was so spectacular that it was entered into a contest and won “best of show.” My question is, if my student used this technique to create his own design, and it looks similar to the one used in this tutorial, would that be considered a “copyright breach?”
Rean John Uehara
Posted 275 days ago 41Hi, I am not an expert when it comes to copyright, but I believe it would not an issue. Although it would be good if your student add a little tweak on it, since there are lots of tutorials that teaches people design techniques, it won’t hurt to merge two or more. Again, I don’t see any problem with it when it comes to copyright..nobody owns it anyway.
Martin
Posted 294 days ago 39Tip: To make it go fast, type alot of words first, then use the marquee tool to cut out one word at a time, then, once a word is marked press and hold CTRL/CMD and move the marked word to where you want it and continue like this with all words! :)
Farrah
Posted 405 days ago 38I am having a problem with this step. Once I press Ctrl + J and then make B and C invisible only the large text layer with no small text is showing in my letters. I am using a MAC and Photoshop CS3.
M.@.D Outsourcing
Posted 441 days ago 37this is great, thank you for sharing!
Sarah Almeida
Posted 442 days ago 36I Loved the tutorial. I tried to do but yours it’s better so far. Well, I’m a beginner, but someday I’ll do something like this. Congratulations, it’s awesome. Kisses from Brasil ;*
Rosie Curtis
Posted 455 days ago 35Heya I tried this and it went really well so thanks a lottt!
However at the end when you added text underneath what font did you use?
Prithivi
Posted 500 days ago 34GOOD ONE..!!! and thanks for providing the psd of this as well..
Halima
Posted 531 days ago 33Fantastic tutorial. You rock. Thanks a million!
Roland
Posted 615 days ago 31Like Tea, I’m stuck at the step: Then click on your merged words layer and press Ctrl+J. If you make invisible your merged words layer (and unmerged words group is still invisible) you should get something like this.
If I click Ctrl+J I get a new layer… but the next step doesn’t look like the picture.
PS: I have a MAc so instead of Ctrl I use CMD.
Daniel
Posted 576 days ago 32So you have your big text layer -A
You have group with all small text layers in it – B
You have merged duplicate of this group – C
CMD+ Click on A
Click on C
Press CTRL+J
Make invisible B and C
You should have something like in picture.
Nikita
Posted 668 days ago 30I want to write thank you in Russian :
SPASIBO
Felix
Posted 673 days ago 29This is just great! I love the effects applied on the text. I want it for my logo. Wow!
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Samir
Posted 688 days ago 28Well done, Love the tutorial and the wallpaper. One of the Best!!!!
Tueksta
Posted 692 days ago 27I tried it, worked just fine. But I tried to change font-size to 300 and use more letters, that didn’t work well, as the letters are too small to be really filled be small words, only bits and pieces flying around. Font-sizes are key to the design of this background concept.
Ernest
Posted 695 days ago 26Very nice tutorial! Easy&Cool
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