Hello everyone this is Chris from Spoon Graphics
back with another video tutorial.
Today we're going back to the 80s to create a rad text effect based on those 80s style
chrome logos we used to see for games, movies, TV shows and more.
It's entirely possible to create a basic effect that will still work with Live text, but in
this tutorial I'm going to show how to go into more detail with permanent edits which
results in more of an individual piece of artwork that looks much more effective.
You've got to come up with some cool phrases for this type of artwork, so I'm basing this
tutorial on the word Turbo Lazer.
The overall design incorporates the classic bold chrome text effect with a hot pink script
font.
It's all done in Photoshop using a mix of layer styles and colour overlays to reproduce
the shiny metal effects and vibrant colours.
Open up Photoshop and create a new document.
I'm using a size of 2000x1300 pixels with an RGB colour mode at 72ppi.
Fill the background with black using the ALT-Backsapce shortcut, then grab the Type tool and write
out your chosen wording.
Here I'm using a free font called Axis for the word Lazer and the script font Streamliner
for the word Turbo.
Give these words a white fill so you can see them against the background, then scale and
position them into a nice layout.
In the Layers panel, right click the Lazer text element and select Convert to Shape,
then duplicate it by pressing CMD+J or dragging it onto the new layer icon.
Rename these two copies to Outline and Centre.
With the Outline layer selected, pick the Direct Selection tool from the toolbar, then
in the top header, clear out the fill and add a stroke with a random colour.
Increase the size to 10pt, then in the options drop down, change the alignment to outside.
The reason we've done this via a shape layer is because the Expand Selection and Stroke
features both add rounded corners, whereas with this method you can retain those square
edges.
Double click the Centre layer to begin editing the Layer Styles.
First add a Gradient overlay and set up a series of colour buckets using black, a mid
blue of #3557c6, white immediately followed by black so the two handles are almost touching,
then a purply-pink of #7f158f followed by white.
Set the gradient orientation to 90 degrees if it isn't already, then make any adjustments
to the gradient handles to make sure the colours flow smoothly.
Next add an Inner Glow using a mid blue of #3e4a87 at 100% opacity, and a size of around
13px.
Add a Stroke with the settings of 2px, white, Inside and Overlay.
You'll notice it's currently showing as black because of the other layer styles, to check
the Overprint option.
Then add an Outer Glow using the settings #12208a, Screen, 100px size and 50% opacity.
Move on to the Outline layer and add a Gradient Overlay.
Set up a gradient with 6 handles that alternate between a mid blue of #3346bc and and a light
blue of #b7e3fe.
Play around with the angle to find a nice spread of colour over the text.
Create a new layer, then select the Polygonal Lasso tool.
Zoom right in to the document and begin tracing around each segment of the outline, taking
it one edge at a time.
Fill this selection with a black to white gradient using the Gradient tool, then change
the blending mode of the layer to Color Burn.
Continue the process of tracing around each edge and giving it a gradient fill.
This helps add some contrast and boosts the shiny metallic effect.
It's a slightly tedious process, so here's some rad 80s music to keep you entertained.
So that's the main 80s chrome text effect just about done.
Let's move on to the Turbo word and give it a nice hot pink miami vibe.
Double click the text layer to add some layer styles and start with a Gradient Overlay running
from a light pink of #ff00fc midway down the gradient to allow for the large ascenders
of the letters, to a darker pink of #a70761.
Move the flow more towards the left.
Next add a Bevel and Emboss.
Use the settings Inner Bevel, Smooth, 100% depth, around 30px size.
Then change the highlights to 100% and alter the colours to #ffe1fb and #f409af.
Add an Inner Glow and reset the colour to white.
Change the blending mode to Color Dodge and alter the size to around 20px, then reduce
the opacity to eliminate the blown out areas to leave a subtle vibrant glow.
Finish off the layer styles with an Outer Glow using a hot pink of #ff00fc, 50px size
and around 35% opacity.
We can also add some subtle finishing touches that will help enhance the realism.
Create a new layer then set up a soft brush with a vibrant pink colour.
Dab a few spots around the word Lazer underneath where the word Turbo sits.
Hold CMD and Shift while clicking the text layer thumbnails to load their selections,
then inverse the selection with the CMD+Shift+I shortcut and delete the excess from the pink
spots layer.
Change the blending mode to Color and reduce the opacity to around 60% to tone down the
effect to leave a subtle reflection.
Other small finishing touches include adding some specular highlights in the form of mini
lens flares.
Download a stock image (the one I'm using is linked below).
Change the blending mode to Screen to render the black background transparent, then scale,
rotate and position a few duplicates around the text, placing them over the brightest
areas.
No 80s themed design would be complete without some grainy texturing.
Download my free Photocopy Grunge Textures and open one up in Photoshop.
Copy and Paste it into the document just above the background layer and scale it to size.
Alter the Levels to boost the contrast, then reduce the opacity to tone down the impact
of the background texture.
Create a new layer above the texture and use a large soft brush to dab some spots of pink
and blue behind the relevant portions of the text.
Change this layer's blending mode to Color and reduce the opacity to around 25% to leave
some subtle colour casts.
Finally, press CMD+A to Select All, then go to Edit > Copy Merged.
Paste this clipping right at the top of the layer stack, then go to Filter > Noise > Add
Noise.
Enter 2px and check the gaussian and monochromatic options to add a touch of grain to the main
artwork.
The overall result is a fantastic looking text effect that captures the vibe of those
retro style 80s chrome logos.
The mix of layer styles is what produces the basic effect, but those extra steps of manually
adding gradients, colour overlays and those finishing touches really brings the final
design to life.
So if you like the look of this artwork, or if you found the tutorial useful a thumbs
up on the video would really help spread the word.
If you're new to my video tutorials be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, or head
over to my website at spoon.graphics to find plenty of written tutorials, design inspiration
and free design resources.
Otherwise thank you very much for watching and stay tuned for more!