The Photoshop Guru's Handbook - The Guru Studio: Session 8b

Xtreme Textures

Alright then, let's begin...

To begin with:
Create a new document - 420 x 220 pixels
Resolution = 72
Mode = RGB
Background = Transparent

Step 1
Just your average fill...
Start off by checking to see that your foreground colour is Black.
Using the Type Tool, create some text.
If you can, try to use a fat font so that the texture pattern will be more visible within the text area.

Note:
Depending on the font you use, a good size for your text here may vary. Try a font size around 100-130 to start with. If you plan on using more than one word here then your font size will more than likely need to be smaller than 100.

Once you've got your text created, name this layer "shadow".
Then Duplicate this layer and name the duplicate "Texture 1".

Adding some texture to our Text:
Now we need to open up the texture we created in last month's Session. It should be called "Coloured Tiles".
Don't open your .psd file of this texture though, open the Gif or Jpg that you saved it as.
In case you didn't save it last month, or you didn't do Session 8 at all, here below is the texture pattern that we created.
Aren't I a nice guy? {;?)>

<<< "Coloured Tiles"

Once you've opened up this texture pattern into Photoshop, go up to the select menu and choose Select / All.
Open the Edit menu and choose DEFINE PATTERN.
Now that the texture has been "defined", it is sitting in Photoshop's memory buffer waiting to be used.

You can now close the "Coloured Tiles" document.

Step 2
Fill 'er up please!
Make sure your "Texture 1" layer is active (chosen) from the layers palette; if not, just click on the layer's name area to do so.
Open the Edit menu and choose FILL.
In the FILL window open the CONTENTS pop down menu and choose PATTERN.
Look to the bottom left of this window and you will also see a small "Preserve Transparency" check box. Click in there to turn that on.
This will ensure that only your text gets filled with the texture pattern, and not the entire layer.

Leave the other default settings as they are and click the OK button to apply the fill.

Ok that's it! We're done!
How does it look? Pretty cool huh!
Psych!!! Just kidding... {:?)>

You should now see your text filled with the Coloured Tiles texture pattern. Right?
If so, good. Continue on.
If not, not so good. Go back and review the previous steps. You've missed something.

Here's what my text looked like
after I filled it with the texture pattern.

to the Top

Ok, we've completed most of the work now.
Next we'll finish it up with some very simple steps, which mainly involve duplication and blend mode settings.

( ( ( Click Here To Continue ) ) )