How to Create Suspended Text Effect


Advertisement


This tutorial explains how to create a nice colorfull suspended text effect.

Final Image Preview

How to Create Suspended Text Effect

Note: Original tutorial published on Photoshopstar.com had too many errors. Being one the most popular tutorials, tutorial was rewritten and now published.

Step 1

First create a new document, 1000×500 pixels, with a black background. Then, create your text in white. The font used is Verdana, and the size is 120pt. Choose Bold from the Font Style selection box next to the Font Family box in the Options bar.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 1

Step 2

Create a new layer on top of the Background layer and call it “Gradient”. Select the Gradient Tool, and set the Foreground color to White. Create a Foreground to Transparent gradient from top to bottom.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 2

Press the Ctrl key, and click on the text layer thumbnail (icon) to create a selection.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 3

Select the “Gradient” layer so that it is the active layer, and press Ctrl + J to copy the selection and paste it in a new layer, call the new layer “Gradient Letters”. Then, click on the eye icons next to the text and “Gradient” layers to make them invisible.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 4

Step 3

Pick the Rectangular Marquee Tool, and click the Intersect with Selection icon in the Options bar. Reselect the text (Ctrl + Click on the text layer thumbnail), then draw a rectangle around the first letter.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 5

This will make the letter S the only selected letter.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 6

Create a new layer on top of the “Gradient Letters” layer and call it “Colored Letters”, then change its Blend Mode to Screen. Fill the selection you created with the color #ff0000, then press Ctrl + D to get rid of the selection.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 7

Repeat the same process to each letter. (Ctrl + Click on the text layer thumbnail to create a selection, draw a rectangle around the letter you want to color, fill in the selection, and press Ctrl + D to get rid of the selection at the end.) The colors used here are as follows:

S – #ff0000
U – #ff7e00
S – #fffc00
P – #a2ff00
E – #06ec00
N – #00d8ff
D – #004eff
E – #7200ff
D – #f000ff

This is what you should get:

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 8

Step 4

Set the Fill value for both the “Gradient Letters” and “Colored Letters” layers to 60%, and duplicate each one of them.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 9

Select the original “Colored Letters” layer, then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, and set the Raduis to 5. Do the same thing for the original “Gradient Letters” layer.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 10

Merge all 4 layers together (select them all, then go to Layer > Merge Layers).

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 11

Step 5

Now, create a selection from the original text layer again (Ctrl + Click on the original text layer’s thumbnail), use the Rectangular Marquee Tool, and click the Intersect with Selection icon in the Options bar, then draw a rectangle around the first layer.

Once the letter is selected, press Ctrl + J to copy it and paste it in a new layer.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 12

Repeat the same process for each letter. Don’t forget to select the “Colored Letters copy” layer after you press Ctrl + J each time.

Once you’re done, you should have each letter in a separate layer. Remove the eye icon next to the “Colored Letters copy” layer to make it invisible.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 13

Step 6

Set the Foreground color to #e5ffff, and pick the Pen Tool. Make sure to clik the Paths icon in the Options bar as well.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 14

Create a new layer on top of all layers and call it Rope. Draw a path as shown below:

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 15

Choose a hard round brush and set its Size to 3 px. Then, pick the Pen Tool once again, right click on the path you’ve created, and choose Stroke Path.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 16

Use the settings below:

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 17

This should stroke the path with the brush you modified. Hit Enter to get rid of the path.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 18

Duplicate the “Rope” layer, then select the original one, and apply the Gaussian Blur Filter once again (You can press Ctrl + F to do so).

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 19

Drag the two “Rope” layer so that they are under all the letters’ layers.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 20

Step 7

Rotate and move the letters to place them on the Rope.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 21

Ctrl + Click the “Rope” layer’s thumbnail to create a selection.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 22

Pick the Eraser Tool, and select the Letters layers, one by one, to erase the outer edges so that the letter looks like its really hung on the Rope.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 23

This is how the text should look like:

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 24

Now choose a hard round brush for the Eraser Tool, set its size to 5 px, and again, select the Letters layers one by one, to erase the parts where the Rope and the Letter meet.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 25

You should end up with a result similar to this.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 26

Step 8

We’re going to make the background more colorful. So create a new layer on top of the Background layer and call it “BG Colors”. Then, select a soft round brush, and scatter some different sized spots on your canvas using different bright colors, for example #fe5a00, #ffe100, #7cff00 and #00fff5.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 27

Use the Eraser Tool with a soft round brush to erase a bit of the colors at the center (around the text).

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 28

Set the “BG Colors” layer’s Opacity to 25%. And we’re done!.

How to Create Suspended Text Effect 29

Final Image

How to Create Suspended Text Effect

Related posts

Follow Photoshop Star

If you want to receive updates from PhotoshopStar, please consider subscribing our RSS feed. You can also follow us on Twitter or on our Facebook page.

If you prefer, you can also subscribe to our monthly Newsletter.

Share this Post

29 Responses to “How to Create Suspended Text Effect”

  1. Thanks a lot,

  2. good idea.Thanks a lot.

  3. Lee Kennedy (@leepaulkennedy) Reply September 10, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    Nice tut, thanks.

  4. i am stuck at step 7
    please help someone !
    how to rotate and place the letters ?

  5. i’m getting terribly confused at step 4. the directions state that you change the Fill value to 60% on the two layers, but in the screenshot it shows that you changed the Opacity value. which one is correct? does it make a difference?

  6. Laky Klara
    Ctrl insieme con a lettere “t”

  7. guys this is a gr8 tut.. but i got stuck in the part when i make the “colored letters copy” to invisible… i cant get my previous Gaussian blur when i change it to invisible…

    can anyone please help me…

  8. IM STUCK AT STEP 3..SOMEONE?PLEASE CAN U HELP ME?THE COLOR DOESN’T APPEAR..I USED PAINT BUCKET TO APPLY THE COLOR BUT IT STAYS GRAY IN COLOR…WHAT SHOULD I DO?PLEASE HELP?

  9. Step 8, I couldn’t get it. Please, clear instruction help me.

  10. when i use the colours they dont come out as light as that, they come out all dark, how do i fix it? (step 3)

  11. and the rope is behind the writing instead of infront of it ? :|

  12. thanks for the tut but cant do the rope :/

  13. Really this tex effect technique is so effective.

  14. photoshopstar Is Best

  15. Awesome! Looks really wonderful. Amazing tutorial. Thanks.

  16. Simple and easy to follow tuts. Thanks for share.

  17. muito obrigado

  18. cool man !! and thanks for share !!!

  19. i did this and it’s awesome!

  20. please help me i cant finish this progetct i wanna make logo in this tutorial is best but i cant :( (

  21. Hey guys! I’m stuck at step 6, I don’t arrive to draw the ligne. Anyone to help me?

  22. the instructions were easy. just read carefully! and if you’re having problems with the pen tool. just search it on youtube, and you’ll find out.

    I registered here just to show my appreciation. thank you so much. Photoshop level increased!