How To Create a Gold Text Effect in Photoshop
Tutorial Details
- Program: Adobe Photoshop
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Completion Time: 30 Minutes
Download Source Files
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
Layer styles are one of Photoshop’s most powerful and fun features. You can create all sorts of plastic, glass, water, ice, or metal styles. In this tutorial we will show you how to create a nice gold text effect using this powerful tool. Once you are done, you’ll be able to save this style and apply it wherever you like. Let’s get started!
Editor’s note: This tutorial was originally published in January of 2008.
Step 1
Create a new document, apply a Layer Style on the background layer. Add a Gradient Overlay from black to a dark brown (#443501).
Step 2
Create a new Layer and apply Filter>Texture>Texturizer. Make sure that the foreground color is white and the background is black. After that, change the Blend Mode to Multiply.
Step 3
Add some text. I used Times New Roman, and for the “A” I used the “V” letter and flipped it vertically and horizontally.
Step 4
Now we start creating our gold layer style. We’ll set up the Gradient Overlay first, as shown below.
Step 5
Now we’ll add a Stroke. For the Fill Type use Gradient. The position of the gradient will vary for different typefaces, so experiment and see what looks good.
Step 6
Add Bevel and Emboss, as shown below.
Step 7
Finally, add some Shadow, again following the specs below.
Conclusion
This a very nice example of how powerful Layer Styles are in Photoshop. Sometimes just changing some values can create a totally different effect. For this tutorial I created gold, but if you change the gradient color to variations of grey you will have silver instead of gold.
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this is a terrible tutorial. it doesnt expain wich colors to pick, how to pick them, or much else.
Hello Frankie,
The tutorial was for those you have some knowledge of Photoshop interface and how to use the tools mentioned in the Tutorial. Yes it would help adding the color RGB in the tutorial, i agree with you. What i did was print screened that specific peace that shows the color gradient and then in Photoshop i used the eyedrop tool. About the way the gradient was organized..i sort of went with the flow..but it would help showing the location % of the gradient and stroke gradient.
Thanks anyways..i liked the result!!
Thomas
hey thanks a lot for your great tutorial
So.. I’m guessing the Hex # are for premium members only too from now on?
Nice tutorial, thank you
Wasn’t this tutorial published originally few years ago?
Agrees with Marijan. This is definitely a re-visit!
nice – I have no issues with picking my own colors. Thanks :)
thanks!!! really nice tutorial.
This is a excellent tutorial on text effect in photoshop which i was looking for
Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s impossible to add filter to a new layer….
Sweet! Can’t wait to give this a try.
he..he..he… nice brouu!
very nice tutorial
THANK YOU! IT DID REALLY WORKS!
I like the end result and agree that the hex colors should have been provided. A realistic effect relies heavily upon what colors and positions you select. A work around would be to pull the screen shot off the page, open it up in Photoshop and sample (as best you can) the colors. It’s not ideal but should be close to what was used.
Although I do have a premium account and can download the file, I sincerely hope that the colors were not omitted because it was a free tut. That wouldn’t be cool.
its a really good
Nice tutorial!
Also works really nice in chrome or steel (adding some scratched texture with trans. or overlay).
I used this tut to make a steel typo, rasterized it and deleted parts to have a second layer beneath show the “inside life” of the typo – Worked like a charm!
Cheers,
K1
I agree with Frankie: this is a TERRIBLE tutorial. There is so little explained, a waste of time!!!!
Awsome, absolutelly pro!!
Regarding colors: why don’t you just pick up colors using the eyedropper tool from this site. I did it, and it works perfectly.
Check this out:
1. Restore the photoshop window (you have to have this tutorial visible under the ps window)
2. Open color picker (anywhere you need, using gradient overlay or any other function when you have to pick up colr)
3. Using the eyedropper click left mouse button over your workspace, and then, still holding LMB you can pick up any color from your screen. Not only from photoshop – from your browser, from your desktop, just “unclick” (sorry for my english ;)) LMB over the color you need.
NOTICE: If everything is correct the eyedropper coursor should’t disapper (turn into yours standard windows arrow) when you are picking up color outside from ps window.
I don’t know if this tip works on MAC, but in windows – for sure. However – this is very useful knowledge not only for this tut.
Thanks Thomas
The difficulty is a lie. It may be ‘easy’ for him, but for me I didn’t even know how to do anything.
This really didn’t help me at all. Since I usually use GIMP I am unsure of Photoshop tools and how they work, even though I have Photoshop, this did not explain how I do certain things and while I was following the instructions, I it looked nothing like what you were showing me, most likely because I didn’t understand half of it.
Excellent tutorial.
Contrary to those who whine and whinge, I found this very helpful. If you don’t know how to get colours from a screen shot, do a Google search for a colour picker. Clever people find answers to problems instead of complaining.
If you believe this is an old tutorial so what? It may be old to you, but it’s new to anyone who just founded it. Try writing your own tutorials and contribute, rather than whine and post comments that don’t help anyone.
And … If you didn’t read the title shame on you. This is a Photshop tutorial, if you use GIMP you will need to learn Photoshop, which is beyond the scope of this tutorial.
Thanks again Fabio!
Paul
As has already been said, the end result has a very rich look to it.
As for how to get to the final stage, God only knows.
Thanks alot !!
It was totally useful =) !
FABULOUS!!!
Like Natanela, i found it impossible to add a filter to a new layer! so could not go any further than step 1.
It looks to be a great tut & i really want to know how to do this, but as a beginner (& this states it is for beginners), i found it impossible to go any further.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. The end result looks great :)
Cheers
Disco.
Step 2 is optional.
It took me about 5 mins to replicate it. Pretty awesome gradient mix. By the time you get to the drop shadow, the text really pops out.
super
Great tutorial simple nice effect
Paul.
I must come to the defense of “D”
Clever people in my opinion don’t belittle the less fortunate.
As far as writing tutorials and contributing, I have done that since 1994.
That’s why I feel I can reply to your post. Incase you were wondering what concern it was of mine.
I have been a Paint Shop Pro Tutorial writer since version 5 and we are now on version X3.
I have helped a lot of people over the years learn how to use PSP and create things using the program,
and it wasn’t by making them feel inadequate. No matter how stupid YOU may think a question is to someone
learning something new, that question is very relevant to them or they wouldn’t have asked. Where would you
be today if your parents, teachers, bosses felt you weren’t clever enough and gave up on you? I don’t know.
Maybe You can GOOGLE your way through life.
And SHAME on you asking this individual didn’t they read the title.
Yes I read the title as well. What has the title got to do with someone wanting to learn something new.
They have to start someone where. I am a fluent psp user.
I can use the program in my sleep and teach it in my sleep as well.
That has nothing to do with why I came here either. I want to learn something new, something I don’t know,
so that maybe I can help “D” and others like him/her, so that they don’t have to deal with the likes of people like you.
That is what is wrong with the world today. We love to drag each other down, but we never want to pick her other up.
Try being humble. I apologize to everyone else for venting on this board, but Paul’s comment just irked me to the bone.
That was so mean and you will have to answer for it someday. Sebastian Thank you for helping.
This is an awesome tutorial. Thanxs to the contributor.
I think the end result is beautiful and am grateful for the tutorial. I, though, am just like one or two of the other commenters. I can’t get past step two because I can’t “Create a new Layer and apply Filter>Texture>Texturizer”. Could someone shed some light on this? I’m fairly new to photoshop but have an important project to complete. Thanks!
Awfull tutorial you dont even give us the color codes -.-
hey its very helpful and so easy to use thnx.
Great tutorial – thank you so much…
I’m like Merissa, though – and when I tried step 2 – it said it couldn’t execute because nothing was there.
Did you texturize the background?
I’ve skipped that step altogether and it still looks great…
thank you again…
PS:
I can’t believe the flaming on this awesome tutorial… how sad…
I consider myself VERY fortunate that I do have CS5 & totally understand those who don’t & rely on free graphics programs. I don’t believe they should be disrespected in any way – if anything – why doesn’t someone contact them to let them know the comparable tools to use???
When I first started out in graphic design, I used bunches of free programs until I could afford to purchase them myself.
Stop being such elitists and show some compassion, people…
Second thing…
this is a different type of tutorial – it made me think… I LOVE IT!
So what if we had to choose our own color palettes & figure out the gradient patterns ourselves…
I learned while doing it, and saved those for future use!
Come on, people – embrace those who make us think for ourselves!!!
THIS IS COOL
Hey folks,
I do think this is an awesome tutorial, even if it may miss direct references to the hex codes used during the Gradient overlay (Step 4) and Stroke (Step 5) sections…
Details as follows:
Gradient Overlay section:
0% – #3a2c0f
60% – #ffecb3
96% – #e9dca7
97% – #120700
98% – #d0c15c
Stroke section:
0% – #f0e6c2
8% – #1d120c
15% – #8b7c3b
20% – #1b1000
80% – #100400
85% – #927d3c
95% – #180d00
100% – #f2e1b5
Once you’ve got these values down, they make for useful reference for any future gold style gradients you may wish to employ! You can ascertain these colours by using the chrome Eye Dropper extension for Google Chrome.
Excellent tutorial! Thanks!
Hey thanks for this tutorial, I’m real pleased with the results. Very good job explaining the details…got this one done in no time at all.
…I must admit I was a bit frustrated at first with not being shown the colors for the gradients but what I did was “Print Screen” and then copy into Photoshop, zoom in and get the colors with the eye dropper! May not be spot on but close enough to work with! Just thought I share that for what it’s worth!
Cheers!