Simple Abstract Text Effect

This is a very simple 3-step way to create a really nice abstract text effect, using a couple of Filters and Layer Styles.

The Final Result:

Notes:

* the software used in this tutorial is Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended
* the size of the final result image is 1024 * 768
* you might want to check the Basix Page to see some useful topics on dealing with Photoshop basics, such as loading palettes and some shortcuts.

Step 1:

- Set the Foreground color to #002741 and the Background color to #040022. Pick the Gradient Tool, choose the Foreground to Background gradient, and click the Radial Gradient icon in the Options Bar. Then create a radial gradient from the center of the document to one of the corners.

- Create the text using the color #ffffff (White). The font used is Dan, and the Size is 220 pt. If your text is long, you might need to adjust the Leading value to decrease the spaces between the lines.

- Press the Ctrl key and click the text layer's thumbnail (icon) to create a selection.

- Set the Foreground color to #00f6ff and the Background color to #201948. Create a new layer on top of the text layer and call it "Texture", then make the text layer invisible by clicking the eye icon next to it.

Step 2:

In this step, we will apply a couple of Filters to create the abstract texture.

- First, go to Filter -> Render -> Clouds. Then go to Select -> Deselect, or press Ctrl + D to get rid of the selection.

- Next, go to Filter -> Render -> Fibers. Set the Variance to 10 and the Strength to 2.

- You can change the Zoom value (from the drop down menu or using the - icon) to make sure that you like the color distribution, if not, you can click the Randomize button until you like the result. Then click OK.

- You should get something like this.

- Finally, go to Filter -> Artistic -> Palette Knife. Change the Stroke Size to 25, the Stroke Detail to 3, and the Softness to 0.

- And we're done with the texture.

Step 3:

In this step, we will apply some Layer Styles to add a bit of depth to the text, so that it doesn't look flat. So double click the "Texture" layer to apply the following effects:

- Drop Shadow: Just use the default values.

- Bevel and Emboss: Change the Depth to 800, the Size to 1, the Gloss Contour to Shallow Slope - Valleys and check the Anti-aliased box, and change the Highlight Mode to Vivid Light.

- Contour: Just check the Anti-aliased box.

- That's it! You can use different shades of colors if you like as well.

Hope you enjoyed this super easy tutorial.