Hello everyone this is Chris from Spoon Graphics
back with another tutorial for Adobe Photoshop.
Today I'm going to show you how to create this lovely gold text effect.
It's made using a combination of Photoshop layer styles, plus a couple of my own secret
ingredients that really brings the effect to life with a nice shiny finish.
What really makes this gold effect look so realistic compared to some other basic gold
text effects is the layering of Photoshop's layer styles.
By applying multiple effects such as Bevel and Emboss over two layers, it enhances the
result with much more depth than could be achieved with just one layer.
To create your gold text effect in Photoshop, make a new document.
I'm using dimensions of 2000x1500px.
The gold text works best when placed on a dark background.
Find a really dark grey of #141414 and use the ALT+Backspace shortcut to fill the background
layer.
Set out your wording with the Type tool.
The effect will work with any font, or even logos, but the best results are achieved with
classic serif fonts with an elegant style.
This font is named Eloquent JF and can be activated from the Adobe Fonts library via
the link in the description.
Drag the text layer onto the new layer icon to make a duplicate.
Reduce the Fill value of this duplicate layer to zero in the Layers panel.
Double click the original text layer to apply some layer styles.
Start with a color overlay to give the text a base fill of a goldy-yellowy colour of #595000.
Copy this hex code to the clipboard with the CMD+C shortcut (or CTRL+C on Windows).
We'll use it again in a few steps.
Add a Bevel and Emboss effect next.
Change the style to Chisel Hard, then max out the Depth and Size sliders.
Adjust the Angle to the top left, around 135 degrees with an Altitude of around 20.
Change the Gloss Contour to the preset with the big dip in the middle and check the Anti-aliased
setting.
For the Highlight Modes, change both to Overlay, then reduce the highlights to 30% opacity.
Give the text an Outer Glow next.
We want the colour to match the text, but it isn't possible to use the eye-dropper to
sample the hue.
Thankfully we copied the hex code earlier, so paste it in to the colour value.
Set the size to around 120px, then reduce the opacity to 20% to give a soft and subtle
glow effect.
Add a Drop Shadow.
Increase the opacity to 100% from the default settings.
We need to change the angle, but first, deselect the Use Global Light option, otherwise it
will alter the lighting for the Bevel and Emboss effect.
Set the Drop Shadow to 90 degrees, then increase the Distance to 30px and Size to 80px.
These effects don't look very realistic yet, but it really comes to life when it's combined
with another series of layer styles on the duplicate layer.
Double click this layer and set a new Color Overlay
Use a slightly darker goldy-yellow of #4A3B00.
Set the blend mode to Soft Light.
Give this layer its own Bevel and Emboss effect.
The settings will be saved from last time, but adjust the Angle to somewhere in the upper
right.
Don't forget to first uncheck Use Global Light so it doesn't affect the original.
This particular setting is where you can experiment to find different results.
Clicking around the circular interface widget will generate different light and dark reflections.
Change the Gloss Contour setting to the preset with the two spikes, named Ring - Double,
to really boost the contrast.
To make this effect even shinier, change the mode of the highlights to Linear Light and
the shadows to Linear Burn.
Bring back up the highlights opacity to 60% and reduce the shadows to 20%.
In the Contour setting under the Bevel and Emboss effect, change this preset to the curve,
then check the Anti-Aliased option.
Add a Stroke next, using white, 1px Size, set to the Inside.
Reduce the opacity to 40% and check the Overprint option.
This adds a subtle highlight to the text edges.
The Satin effect helps to add even more shine.
Set the blend mode to Overlay, then choose white as the colour.
Max out the opacity to 100% and adjust the Distance and Size to around 100 and 70 respectively.
These are also options you can experiment with to find the best results.
Adjust the opacity back to around 50% to tone down the highlights generated by the Satin
effect.
The gold effect is looking much more realistic now with enhanced shading and reflections.
There's a couple of finishing touches that can really help to enhance the effect further.
Open up this free rainy window image from Unsplash.com.
You'll find a download link in the description.
Copy and paste this image into the main document, placed at the top of the layer stack.
Use the CMD+T shortcut for Transform to scale and position it over the text.
You could cover the entire text, or make duplicates of the image to cover portions at a time to
make the rain drops smaller.
I'm using two copies of the image and positioning the join in the gap between two letters so
it won't be noticeable.
Hold the ALT key and drap the image to quickly create duplicates.
Select all duplicate layers and use the CMD+E shortcut to merge them into one.
Set the blending mode to Soft Light so the rain drops interact with the gold effect on
layers below.
Hold the CMD key and click the thumbnail of one of the text layers to load its selection.
Add a layer mask to the rain drops layer to clip it to the outline of the text.
Reduce the opacity to around 70%, then bring out the details of the water drops with a
quick Sharpen Filter.
This addition of a rain drops layer helps to add a few extra details that give the gold
text a tactile appearance.
The hazy background of the original image also helps to boost the shading and reflections
even more.
As one last finishing touch, download a little lens flare graphic.
This particular file is from DepositPhotos.
Paste the graphic into the document and scale it right down in size.
Position it over the text along an edge, then set the blending mode to Screen to make the
black background transparent, leaving just the bright highlight.
This graphic has too much of an orange colour, so use the CMD+U shortcut to open the Hue
and Saturation adjustments.
Move the hue slider to make the star more of a yellow that matches the gold effect,
then reduce the saturation slightly.
Make duplicates of this star shape and position them across the text.
It helps to turn off the Auto Select setting for the Move tool so you can easily ALT+drag
new copies without accidentally selecting the wrong layer.
Select all the duplicate star graphics and Group them together.
The final result is a shiny gold text effect with a realistic appearance thanks to the
layers of shading and reflections added by combining several layer styles.