How to make tiny text - PS7 for beginners
I wrote this tutorial as an introduction to 
icon_text, but I figured I might as well post it here, too.
It’s just a very, very simple tutorial for making tiny text (I also include how to prepare a base, too, because I’m anal retentive like that).
How to go from this:
...to this:
This tutorial assumes you understand the basics of Photoshop. If not, this should help you - it's a labelled screenshot of Photoshop.
Sharpen your base.
Duplicate it twice.
Set the middle layer to Screen.
Set the top layer to Soft Light. Desaturate it.
Add a new layer beneath the Soft Light layer. Fill it with a dark blue (#04011A) and set it to Exclusion.
Add a new layer above the Soft Light layer. Fill it with a flesh tone (#F3DABF) and set it to Multiply. Duplicate it and set the second duplicate to 50%.
Flatten your image. Now run the blur tool over her face quickly, on a low opacity (17%) to smooth out the graininess of her skin.
Now for the main part of this tutorial - the text! The most important thing with tiny text is to set the tracking - you want a large space between your characters. To view the Text options, go to Window--> Character:
The best result, I always find, comes from these exact settings. Times New Roman, set to Roman (not Bold). Size 2px or 3px (2px is unreadable... 3px is sometimes just about readable, so it depends what you want). A large number for the tracking - see where it says 600? That's the gap between your letters. I write 'hermione - the clever one' in #602F11 (really interesting text, I know). I reduce the opacity to 72, and end up with this:
I add a black gradient in the corner and I'm done!
This was deliberately simple, I just wanted to show, quickly, how to make tiny text, so I used a simple (but effective) way of prepping a base to show you. Hope this helps!
x-posted inicon_text and fairy_icon
icon_text, but I figured I might as well post it here, too. It’s just a very, very simple tutorial for making tiny text (I also include how to prepare a base, too, because I’m anal retentive like that).
How to go from this:
...to this:
This tutorial assumes you understand the basics of Photoshop. If not, this should help you - it's a labelled screenshot of Photoshop.
Sharpen your base.
Duplicate it twice.
Set the middle layer to Screen.
Set the top layer to Soft Light. Desaturate it.
Add a new layer beneath the Soft Light layer. Fill it with a dark blue (#04011A) and set it to Exclusion.
Add a new layer above the Soft Light layer. Fill it with a flesh tone (#F3DABF) and set it to Multiply. Duplicate it and set the second duplicate to 50%.
Flatten your image. Now run the blur tool over her face quickly, on a low opacity (17%) to smooth out the graininess of her skin.
Now for the main part of this tutorial - the text! The most important thing with tiny text is to set the tracking - you want a large space between your characters. To view the Text options, go to Window--> Character:
The best result, I always find, comes from these exact settings. Times New Roman, set to Roman (not Bold). Size 2px or 3px (2px is unreadable... 3px is sometimes just about readable, so it depends what you want). A large number for the tracking - see where it says 600? That's the gap between your letters. I write 'hermione - the clever one' in #602F11 (really interesting text, I know). I reduce the opacity to 72, and end up with this:
I add a black gradient in the corner and I'm done!
This was deliberately simple, I just wanted to show, quickly, how to make tiny text, so I used a simple (but effective) way of prepping a base to show you. Hope this helps!
x-posted in
icon_text and fairy_icon