How to Create an Ice Text Effect with Photoshop

Final Image Preview

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Introduction

To make this image look more interesting I added some snow falling down and some dropping down from the letters. The first thing to do before opening Photoshop is to install a few Brush sets. If you don't know how to, follow this very good guide which tells you how to install extra presets in your Adobe Photoshop.
As mentioned, this effect is made from scratch, but I used two useful sets of tree Brushes: this one and this one (the set n°17 from the top) from this list. Thank you very much to pixelgratis and Velavan. For the text we'll use a special font called Berlin Sans FB in Bold version.
This tutorial is easy, made with basic techniques, can be done with Adobe Photoshop CS2 or superior and you don't need a pen tablet, a mouse is good enough. OK, now let's get working!

Step 1

Create a document of the size you want, staying near to 1600 pixels by 1200 pixels, 300 dpi resolution (if you are going to print it) or 72 dpi if you're going to publish it on the Web. We can use 72 dpi to keep our document tidy and work faster. Set the Foreground color to black #000000 and then press Alt + Delete to fill the "Background" layer with a black color. Our "Background" layer become black with a touch!
Now choose #ff0000 as our Foreground color and type some text with the Horizontal Type Tool (T) using the settings shown below and the font we previously downloaded. We're using a red color just to create some contrast with the black background and the white effects that will come next.

Step 2

Now double-click on the Layer thumbnail (or go to Layer > Layer Style > Stroke...) and choose #ff0000 for the color and set the Stroke at 15 pixels. This way we're making the text more rounded and fatty to avoid rough edges.

Step 3

Create a New Layer by clicking Command + Shift + N, then pick the Brush Tool (B), right-click with your mouse and finally load the new sets of Brushes by clicking on the little black arrow (look below). After choosing Load Brushes... browse to your Presets folder and then to the Brushes folder to load the Brushes. Load all the three sets we previously downloaded, as we're going to need some variety to create the ice effect.

Step 4

Before beginning the work with Brushes, let's see how to modify the Angle of the Brush selected because it's essential for the next steps. Press F5 to open the Brushes Window: using the Angle option you can rotate the Brush you're using. Allow the Smoothing option for a softer Brush.

Step 5

Now click near the red area of the letters, everything which happens outside of that area is not important, and we can erase it later. Use your creativity to make something which should look like cracks in the ice - you have a lot of Brushes available to work with.

Step 6

The Angle and Size settings allow you to set and rotate the Brushes; uncheck the Spacing box to have more control when you're painting the ice cracks. For every letter create a new Layer hiding the one you've already made, so it's easier to look at what's happening in the red area.

Step 7

Always give a name to layers, as it's easier to keep them organized. During the making of the ice effect it's important to use more linear Brushes to create the main shape of the letters and some bigger ones for the deeper cracks.

Step 8

Convert the "ICE" Layer (the red one) into a Smart Object (Right-click > Convert to Smart Object). Then Command-click on this Layer's thumbnail to select it completely and apply a Layer Mask to the other Layers.

Step 9

Create a New Layer, call it "extra" and with a tree brush draw some extra ice into the red letters using the settings below (F5).

Step 10

Use the Brushes near the borders to make it look more three-dimensional. Help yourself by selecting the three letters so you can paint directly where you need to.

Step 11

Now go to the Blending Options of every ice layer (the white ones) and apply the settings shown below. These features are very useful also to colorize layers. We'll use a very light blue color (#c9eaf1) in the Outer Glow options to create some halo around the letters and inside to make it look frozen.

Step 12

Using the Inner Glow option we'll create a glow effect. Apply a value around 10% of noise to make it look more crispy.

Step 13

Select the "I" letter of the "ICE" layer, then go to Select > Modify > Contract... > 25 pixels. Then click OK. Create a new layer ("Layer 1") and press Alt + Delete to fill the selected area; use full black (#000000). Then Deselect and go to Filter > Blur >> Gaussian Blur... 15 pixels. Do the same for the other letters applying always the same Blur.

Step 14

Name these black Layers with "black E, C, I" and set their Opacity to 40%. Then create a New Adjustments Layer and go to Levels. Applying the settings shown below, from here they will influence the whole image.

Step 15

Command-click on the "ICE" layer to select it and then create a new layer and call it "gradient." With a white to transparent gradient draw the bottom to the top. We're drawing some light from the bottom. Set the Opacity to 40%.

Step 16

Hide the "Background" layer (which is black) and select one letter with the Rectangular Marquee Tool. Go to Edit > Copy Merged then Press Command + V. Do the same also for the other two letters and name the layers with the corresponding letter. Then you can hide all the other layers because from now on we'll work on these new ones, but keep the old ones because they can always be useful.

Step 17

Right-click on the thumbnail layers and Covert them to Smart Objects. Now Command-click on the "ICE" layer and go to Select > Modify > Contract... by 35 pixels. Apply this Selection as a Layer Mask to every letter. Don't worry if the masking is covering all three letters.

Step 18

Select the Layer Mask thumbnail and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur... 25 pixels. Do this to all the "I," "C," and "E: layers. This process is useful to create some darker areas inside.

Step 19

Below is how it should look like.

Step 20

Press Command + L on the Layer Mask to Open the Levels and reduce the darkness (value 30). This way the Layer Mask become lighter showing more of the ice inside.

Step 21

Duplicate the "I," "C," and "E" Layers, Right-click on the Layer Mask > Apply Layer Mask. Finally Merge them. Hide all the rest and create a new layer. Let's start making the snow now.

Step 22

Pick the Brush Tool (B) and choose a normal circle brush. Then apply the settings shown below in the Brush Windows (F5).

Step 23

Create a new layer and paint the snow increasing and decreasing the brush size.

Step 24

Select the "Ice" layer and press Command + T. Then click on the Warp icon and choose the Shell Upper with Bend set to 11%.

Step 25

Change the settings of the brush with these new ones. Start to paint the snow leaving some slightly darker areas.

Step 26

Paint the snow on top of the letters. We can work on one single layer now.

Step 27

After you've done this, retouch the corners and edges with the Eraser Tool (E) using a soft brush.

Step 28

Create a new layer on top and begin to paint some snow near the base of the letters using the same brush, with the same settings as before.

Step 29

Leave some little darker areas.

Step 30

Clean the edges using the Eraser Tool (E) with a soft brush.

Step 31

Create a New Layer above the snow on the letters and start painting with a black (#00000) Brush to create shadows. Let's suppose the light comes from the top.

Step 32

Make some bigger shadows where there are humps.

Step 33

Create a new layer on top and paint some shadows using the same brush. These are the shadows of the letters.

Step 34

Apply this Inner Glow to the shadows just made.

Step 35

Add some more falling snow on a new layer on top.

Step 36

Now select the snow on the top and Duplicate it by dragging the thumbnail to the New Layer Icon.

Step 37

Do the same with the letters and the snow on top of them. Merge these two layers to make the reflection. Press Command + T, then Right-click > Flip Vertical.

Step 38

With the Gradient Tool (G) draw on the Layer Mask a vertical black to transparent gradient. Hold the Shift key to keep it vertical. Then apply some Motion Blur: Angle 0° and Distance 20 pixels.

Step 39

Do the same as before for the falling snow layer: Duplicate, Flip Vertical, add a Gradient Mask, and apply a Motion Blur.

Step 40

Create a new layer behind the letters and draw a horizontal white line with a brush (always holding the Shift key). Set the Size to 15 pixels and the Hardness to 80%. Set the Opacity of the layer to 90%.

Step 41

Create a new layer behind the reflections and draw a white to transparent Gradient starting from the line drawn in the previous step. Also add 70% Gaussian Noise by going to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

Step 42

This is the actual situation: every effect on his own layer. Now Create a new layer, then go to Image > Apply Image... and click OK.

Step 43

Call this new layer "ICE IMAGE" and Duplicate it. Now we can hide all the rest, we'll be working a bit on sharpening and increasing the definition.

Step 44

Duplicate this layer again and apply a Gaussian Blur of 0,3 pixels just to smooth everything.

Step 45

Then go to Filter > Other > High Pass and apply the following settings.

Step 46

Again, create a new layer by going to Image > Apply Image... and click OK. Set it to Overlay and 30% for Opacity.

Step 47

Draw a circle on a new layer with the Elliptical Marquee Tool. Fill it with black, then Deselect with Command + D. Now go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, and set it to 25 pixels. This gives some sort of vignetting effect.

Final Result

And here's the final outcome! It could be very nice to add some Christmas decorations! Well it's not that time yet!

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Author: Gianluca

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Create a Spectacular Grass Text Effect in Photoshop

The End Effect

I like to begin tutorials by showing where we're going. So without further ado, here is the final grass-text image click to see the full 1920px x 1200px size.

Part 1—The Background

This tutorial is made up of three parts—the background, the text itself, and some final extra effects. So first of all we're going to make a background. To do this we create a new document in Photoshop. I made mine 1920 x 1200 because I want this image to sit on my laptop background.
We start by drawing a Radial Gradient with the Gradient Tool (G) going from a light yellow-green (#adbf41) to a mid-range green (#328a26). I wonder if I've ever written a tutorial that doesn't start with a radial gradient. :-)

Step 2

Now for this image we want to create a really textured background, faintly resembling paper. So the first thing we need is ... a paper texture!
Happily you can grab some really awesome grungy paper textures from Bittbox and they are nice and large too, which is good because this is a huge canvas.
So I can't remember which texture I used first, but grab one, desaturate it (Ctrl+Shift+U) and stretch it over the top to fit the canvas.

Step 3

Now we set the layer to Overlay and 70% Opacity to blend the texture with our nice green background.

Step 4

Now to get a really distressed look, I then copied this layer, spun it around 180' and set it to 20%. Then I brought in a few more layers of paper texture (using different textures, mostly from Bittbox) and set them all to faint overlays, one on top of the other.
This was partly for the extra distress, but also because I realised that the textures looked a bit grainy and not small and sharp. So by combining extra textures and then fading it all back, I can get a nicer, sharper overall look.
Anyhow as you can see in the screenshot there are six layers here. Don't forget if you are a Plus member you can download the PSD file for this tutorial and take a look in there yourself!

Step 5

Now I duplicated the original background gradient, placed the duplicate layer above all the textures and set it to 40% Opacity—this tones back the texture so it's not quite so grungy!

Step 6

Now we create a new layer over the top and using a large, soft, black brush, add some black to the edges. It's worth toning back the opacity to about 30% and Overlay. You can then duplicate the layer and run a heavy Gaussian Blur over it (set to about 32px). That way the edges really soften out.

Step 7

OK, we now have a nice background!

Part 2—Grass Text!

OK, we are now ready to make some grass text. To do that, we're going to need some nice pretty grass to cut. After a lot of searching, I finally found this lovely photo on Flickr of grass.
So download the image at full-size and copy it on to your canvas.

Step 9

Next we need some type. So select a font you want to cut out with. I chose Swiss 924BT, which is fat and condensed type. I thought it looked nice and grand. And I've written the text "EARTH". That's because I'm making five of these wallpapers—earth, water, fire, air, spirit ... it's like that cartoon I used to watch as a kid, Captain Planet!
Anyways, so just set your text out in white and set it to Overlay and like 50% Opacity. This layer won't actually show in the end, it's just a guide layer.

Step 10

OK, so here's the text on top of the grass we got earlier.
Now a bit of planning! To make text out of grass, it's not going to be enough just to stencil out the grass. Rather we need it to look all rough, with bits of grass sticking out the edges. To do that, we're going to use the letter shapes as a rough guide and then trace roughly around them and periodically jut out to trace around blades of grass.
I'll warn you now, it's very tiresome!

Step 11

OK, so here we are tracing. You should use the Pen Tool (P) and frankly, if you're not handy with it before you start, you will be by the end!
Notice how in the parts where my path juts out, it sort of follows individual blades of grass. That way when you have the final cut-out they will look like pieces of grass sticking out.

Step 12

When you've finished your path, it's best to save it in the Paths Palette. You can do this by switching to that palette and then clicking the little down arrow and choosing Save Path. That way if you need the path again later, you can grab it.
Anyhow, double-click the path to get the selection and go back to your grass layer. Duplicate the grass layer so you still have more grass for the other letters, then invert your selection (Ctrl+Shift+I) and cut away the excess grass. In the screenshot I've faded back the duplicate grass layer so you can see the cut out "E" part.

Step 13

OK, so here we have our "E" on the final bakcground. As you can see, it looks only slightly better than if we'd just used the letter to stencil out the grass without bothering to trace. But that's OK, what it needs is a bit more depth. After all, if that letter was really sitting there, we should see some shadow and sides to it.

Step 14

First of all though, we'll add some layer styling to give it a bit more of a three dimensional look. The styles are shown below.

Layer Style

Here's the first set of layer styles...

Step 15

Now duplicate that layer, then clear the layer style off the duplicate, so we can add some more styles. This time add the styles shown below...

Layer Style

Here's the second set of layer styles... (Note that it's 51% Opacity so it'll blend in with the previous layer)

Step 16

So this was all just experimental, and it kinda looks OK, but obviously has a long way to go. Now we'll add some shadow. For that we'll use a technique that I demonstrated in a previous tutorial, Using Light and Shade to Bring Text to Life
The idea is to make a three dimensional look. So Ctrl-click the grass layer and then in a new layer below, fill it with black. Then press the down arrow once and the right arrow once and fill it again, then repeat over and over until you get an effect like that shown. I think that was about 15 steps of filling.

Step 17

Now we run a Filter > Blur > Motion Blur on our shadow with a 45' angle and a distance of about 30. Then set the text to a low opacity of about 50%. You should have something that looks like the screenshot below.

Step 18

Now move the shadow layer down and to the right and magic happens! All of a sudden it looks like the letter is casting a shadow. Pretty neat!

Step 19

Now I duplicated this layer three times. Each time I erased a bit of it away so that as the shadow is closer to the text it gets darker. I set these layers to Multiply.

Step 20

So this text is looking pretty cool, but for that extra bit of depth we should add some bits of grass in the background/shadow area. Rather than cutting out more grass, we can just use this current letter transformed about so that it's not obvious that we're hacking it together.
So as you can see below I created a few pieces of grass. They are just cut up bits of our main letter.

Step 21

Now by moving those pieces into the shadow areas, we can make it look like there is grass sticking out and it's a real 3D object made from grass!
Because these new grass bits are in shadow, you might want to use the Burn Tool (O) to darken them appropriately.

Step 22

So yay, one letter down ... four to go! Good thing we didn't choose a long word like erm I don't know ... laborious!

Step 23

Using the exact same technique ... here is the A;

Step 24

and the R and T ... you get the picture.

Step 25

And finally, the whole word! The only extra thing I did here was to move the letters apart a little. Each letter is in its own Layer Group which makes moving it around much easier.

Part 3—The Finish!

Now nice as it's looking, our text is a little lonely and monotonous. So in this last section we'll add a few more elements to the design. Note we don't want to overdo it, though, because I want this to be a desktop background, so space it is important (for all my icons!).
So first up, let's add some extra text. Here I've placed a nice quote about the earth and unity taken from the Baha'i faith (that's my religion!). I love quotes, because it means we get three parts to decorate—the quote, the quotation marks and the source.
The text is in a variation of Swiss which is thinner, but still condensed. Using multiple fonts from the same family (heavy, light, etc) is a good, safe bet for keeping your type looking coherent.
So here I've set the quote to Overlay and 50%, then duplicated the text and set it to Screen and 50%. Then I've added quotation marks in the same Swiss font, but made them extra large and a bright shade of green. Finally, the source of the quote is in teeny letters and centered vertically. And, of course, the whole quote has been measured out so it's exactly the length of the main "EARTH" text.

Step 27

Next we'll add a bit of a highlight to the scene. To do this, create a new layer above all the rest, and using the Gradient Tool (G), draw a gradient of white -> transparent towards the top left. Then set this layer to Soft Light and 50%. This will turn it into a nice subtle bit of lighting.

Step 28

Now we'll add two eye-catching elements to offset all the green. These will be a brilliant blue butterfly and a little red ladybug. I used the excellent everystockphoto Web site that searches a ton of free stock Web sites for you to find two awesome images to use: Ladybug | Butterfly

Step 29

Placing the images is pretty easy. First the butterfly. We just open up the image in Photoshop, use the Magic Wand Tool (W) to select all the white area, then go to Select > Modify > Expand and expand the selection by 1px to make sure we've got it all. Then press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert the selection and copy the butterfly over to our main canvas.
The ladybug I selected needs to be cut out of it's image. To do that I used the Pen Tool (P) and traced around the little guy and then just cut him out that way.

Step 30

So here are our two extras. As you can see, the lady bug looks a bit weird actually because I did a quick'n'dirty job of cutting him out. But that's OK because he's going to be tiny so you won't be able to see the details anyway.
So paste them in and then shrink them down and place them appropriately. It's best if they aren't close together, because that way they'll balance each other.
I added a drop shadow to each. With the ladybug it's a very close shadow because he's small and walking on the grass. With the butterfly, I set the distance to about 10px because he's hovering in the air and therefore the shadow lands a little ways away.

Finished!

And there we have it, one neat little composition featuring text made out of grass! (Click for the full-size version)

More Photoshop Type Coming Next Week!

As I mentioned earlier, I've planned out a series of these Photoshop type tutorials, where we'll be making text out of different things. I've put together the next two, and there's a teaser shown below. Part 2 of the series—Fire—will be up around this time next week. Until then!

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