Photoshop Text Shadow Tutorial

text shadow

Photoshop Text Shadow Tutorial

Today we will see how to apply shadows on the background of the text within Photoshop.First of all, get your text to the new document. Select File then New and adjust the size to your need and then press OK.

selecting and adjusting a new file
Selecting a New File

Next select the Text from tools bar and select portions of the area.  First thing first, you want to apply the shadow, in our case it is “Clipping Path Service” in your case it could be your name. For convenient write Clipping path Service and apply a font that you like. We have selected the font Tahoma.

adding a font style to the text Clipping Path Service
The Font Tahoma is selected

You can change the font color to black or any other color you choose to have at this stage. By using the move tool then select the text to move it down at the middle. In your layer panels duplicate the text layer to apply a shadow to it, to do so you need to right click and duplicate the layer. Once you do that you need to rename that layer let’s just say CPS Copy and then click on OK.

making a duplicate layer to the existing one
Duplicate the Text Layer

Now click on that layer and hold down and drag that layer below your original layer.

Rename the layer name to Clipping Path service
Rename the layer to Clipping Path Service Copy

Following that you need to right click on that copy layer and make sure it is Rasterized.

Select Rasterize Type for the copy Layer
Select Rasterize Type

Once you have done that the next thing that you want to do is transform this rasterize layer to be able to distort it. Make sure you have your copy layer selected then you need to Go to Edit> Transform> Distort

Selecting Edit-Transform and Distort
Select Distort

This will allow you to able to click on any edge of that layer which is the copy layer and you can distort that layer by moving it around or wrapping it around. Now you can have any form of shadow. Let’s Imagine you have the light coming in from the left corner.

Try dragging each point to create all types of different shadows to your project! Be Creative. Let your imagination fly. For explanatory purpose, push both the top side to a bit inside. Do not be afraid to mess with all of the different corners.

Then you come to Filter> Blur> and Gaussian Blur and increase the value of the radius by little.

Selecting Filter Blur and finally Gaussian Blur
Select Gaussian Blur

Set the radius around 3 to 4.5 as anything above or below it really does not work. So click OK.

putting value for radius
Adjusting the radius value

You already have notice the appearance of the nice shadow behind the text.

the shadow appearance gets on sight
Shadow started to get on focus

The last thing you want to do is to reduce the opacity by dragging the slider to the left to change the appearance of the shadow a bit lighter.

decreasing opacity value to lighten the shadow color
Decreasing Opacity Value
decreasing the opacity make the shadow more apparent
The Shadow gets faded

You will see a nice faded shadow effect on your text.

At this stage, or at the beginning of the tutorial you can change the color of the font. Go over to the Clipping Path Service  copy change the color of the shadow cut of the layer there and then go to the original text layer and make sure you change that to the same shade or color or else it will look a little weird. So this is how you give shadow to your text to the images that will really make a different in your project.

Related Articles: 

Using Text To Shadow Itself In Photoshop

Create a Long Shadow Text Effect in Photoshop Using Layer Styles

How to add a drop shadow to text in Photoshop

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