Outlining Text in PhotoShop (5.5)

1. Open the graphic to which you want to add text. In this case, we'll do File>Open>arwensleeping.jpg.

2. After adjusting the picture to 100 pixels by 100 pixels, select the Text Tool.

3. When you move your mouse cursor over the picture, you'll see a little "text symbol." Click anywhere on your picture, this should open up the text dialogue box.

4. In the dialogue box, select your font, font size, and color. I'm going to use "Ernest," 10 px, in white, as this is a nice small pixel font. Type whatever text you want in the white space (in this case, "I don't go to sleep to dream," from "Sleep to Dream" by Fiona Apple).

5. After I move the text to the bottom-left corner, I realize that part of the words don't stand out well against the background. Since PhotoShop creates text as a new layer, adding an outline is pretty easy. I go to Layer>Effects>Outer Glow.

6. The Effects Dialogue box will open up, with "Outer Glow" showing in the drop-down box. Generally, I use the following settings when creating an outline around text: I click on the color box, next to the "Mode" drop-down menu, and make that black. Then I go to the "Mode" drop-down menu and select "Hard Light." Moving down, I set the "Opacity" at 100%, the "Blur" at 2 pixels, and the "Intensity" at 200 pixels.

7. If you have the "Preview" box checked, you should see that the settings take effect immediately.

8. Click "Okay" in the Effects Dialogue box, and it should go away, leaving you with nicely outlined text. If the text isn't outlined in a way you want, try playing around with the different settings, especially the "Blur" and "Intensity" settings in "Outer Glow."

The same tutorial, with pictures is available here.