Introduction

Assignment

Type is on of the most important ingredients in design; just about every discipline uses type in some way. In this exercise we will explore some creative ways to use type in Adobe Photoshop.

Procedure

1. Open Photoshop and create a new document. Under Preset, choose U.S. Paper. Save this document as yourName_typeEx.psd
2. Create type with an outline and drop shadow:
   1. Type your name using a serif font like Times. Make it 72 pts in size.
   2. Choose a medium-value color for your text (like red or green).
   3. Select the type layer with the Move tool.
   4. In the layer palette, click the effects button and choose stroke.
   5. The Layer Style palette should open. Change the stroke color to something lighter than the text color.
   6. Change the stroke weight to 5px. Make sure you choose outside for the position.
   7. Click on the Drop Shadow option and add a shadow to the text. Choose a distance of 12 pixels, spread of 12 pixels, and size of 5 pixels. Change the color of the shadow to something that looks good with your type color.
   8. Click OK.
3. Create type with an pattern and gradient overlays:
   1. Type your name using a bold, blocky font like Impact. Make it 72 pts in size.
   2. Select the type layer with the Move tool.
   3. In the layer palette, click the effects button and choose pattern.
   4. Select a pattern from the pull-down menu. Try to find something without a lot of color, mostly texture, like satin or metal landscape). Adjust the scale to whatever looks good.
   5. Now select the gradient overlay option.
   6. Click on the gradient bar and choose a color gradient (not black & white). Adjust the angle to your liking.
   7. Change the blending mode to Color or Overlay (you can try the others too). The gradient & pattern should combine.
   8. Click OK.
4. Create an example of warped type:
   1. Type your name using a bold, blocky font like Impact. As before, make it 72 pts.
   2. Choose Layer > Rasterize > Type to convert the text into rasters (pixels).
   3. Command-click on the type layer; the area occupied by the text should become selected.
   4. Grab the gradient tool. Choose a colorful gradient from the oprions bar and drag across the text to fill it with a gradient.
   5. Choose Select > Modify > Expand and expand the selection by 1 pixel.
   6. Choose Edit > Transform > Warp. In the options bar atop the screen, you can choose from several warp presets (arc, arch, bulge, flag, etc), or choose custom and adjust the warp mesh by dragging on the mesh points and handles. Warp your text in some way.
   7. Press Return to set your warp effect.
   8. Deselect (command-D).
5. Place an image in your type:
   1. Type your name again, using Impact or similar blocky font.
   2. Open a photo and drag it into the exercise page. Scale it so that it's a little bigger than the size of your name in the previous methods. Place it directly above the text so that the name is hidden. Make sure that the photo layer is also directly above the text layer in the layers panel.
   3. In the layers panel, option-click on the line between the two layers to create a clipping group. The image should be masked by the text below.
   4. Move the image around inside the text until you think it looks good.
   5. Select both text and image layer (shift-click on both). Press the link button to link them together.
   6. Select the type layer and press on the effects button; choose inner shadow. Set the distance to about 10 pixels and the size to around 5 pixels.
   7. Click OK.
6. Create screened-back type:
   1. Open a photo and drag it into the exercise page. Scale it so that it's a little bigger than the size of your name in the previous methods. Hint: a photo with darker values and colors will work best.
   2. Type your name on top of the photo using a bold, blocky font like Impact. As before, make it 72 pts.
   3. Choose Layer > Rasterize > Type to convert the text into rasters (pixels).
   4. Command-click on the type layer; the area occupied by the text should become selected.
   5. Delete the text layer (but don't deselect!).
   6. Select the photo layer. The selection should still be active.
   7. In the layers panel, create an adjustment layer for levels. The selection will disappear, but don't panic; a mask has been created on the adjustment layer.
   8. In the levels dialog box, move the middle input slider (gamma) to the left. You can also move the white (highlight) input slider to the left; this will lighten the text some.
   9. Slide the black (shadows) output slider to the right; this will create even more contrast. Don't move it so far that you can't see the image through the text.
7. Save and give me a copy of the PSD (or TIFF)

Specifications:

• Size: Standard letter sized (8½ x 11 inches, 300ppi, vertical)
• Due Date: Week
• Deliverables: Flattened TIFF or PSD file (turn-in via jump drive).

Grading rubric