Today, I am going to show you how to create a cool gold text wallpaper effect in Photoshop. You can use what you learn here to create a cool wallpaper or even a great desktop background. We will be using layer styles such as gradient overlays, pattern overlays and drop shadows. We will also be using a layer mask.
Here is the final image that you will be creating:
Step 1
Create a new Photoshop document that is 1400px by 800px. Fill this layer with the colour #353430. To do this, go to Edit -> Fill -> Colour.. and enter the colour value #353430.
Create a new layer. Fill this layer with the colour #959595 using the same steps as above. Decrease this layers Opacity to 40%.
Go to Layer -> Layer Style -> Pattern Overlay. Use the default values and select a pattern that you would like to use in the background. For this tutorial, I loaded the 'Pattern 2' patterns that come with Photoshop CS4 and I selected the 'Stucco' pattern. You can do the same or you can choose any other pattern that you would like to fill the background of your design.
Here is what your background should look like now:
Step 2
We now want to add a layer mask to this second layer that we have created. There are two ways to do this. One way is by selecting the layer mask icon from the bottom of your layers palette. The other way is by going to Layer -> Layer Mask -> Reveal All. Once you have your layer mask, set your foreground colour to black and select the Brush tool. Select a large (200px) soft brush and brush a little black around the edges.
You should have something like this:
Next, make a copy of this layer. Set the layers Fill to 0%. Open the Layer Styles window for this layer and click on Gradient Overlay. Set the gradient overlay values to those pictured below:
Step 3
Select the Text Tool and add your text. Below are the values that I used for my text. You may have to adjust these values depending on what text you want to write and what font you use.
Step 4
We are now going to add some effects to your text. To do this, go to Layer -> Layer Styles -> Drop Shadow. Set your values to those shown below:
Still in your layer styles window, go to Gradient Overlay. Set your values to those shown below. The values that I used for my gold gradient were f6f1cf, f3e7cf, e5cfa3 and cab283 respectively. That's it! You're done.
