Do you want your text to stand out and be noticed? Have you ever seen your text or head like a light is shining on it from somewhere? If these are the effects you want for your text or ask here how to do it using the drop shadow feature in Photoshop.
If you have a header for a special page you are working on or perhaps a sign you are creating or especially sometimes you want your words to really grab attention, putting a shadow on your words or symbols can do the trick. Here are the steps to get a nice shade on your text so it stands out without being washed out.
I’ll probably use the built-in Graphic Designer for faster ways to get to my finished project, but for our purposes here I’ll be using the menus at the top of the Photoshop screen. As you know Photoshop, you’ll find that using context menus (by right-clicking or double-clicking on a tool) or palettes for steps in creating your design can be a valuable time-saver.
Open a new document in Photoshop.
Name your document and the size you want. 8.5 x 11 will work fine.
Type tool (the first button showing a Capital “T” in it) and type in your text.
After typing in your text, highlight your text (or double-click in the layers palette.) Click on the font list above the document. (or you can use the character palette). Choose your font and font size. Once you’ve chosen your font and font size and your typographical statement looks how you want it, click the “move tool” at the top of your tool palette and then go to “circle” and click it.
Select > Layer Style > Drop shadow
Here in the Cast Shadow box dialog there are several different variations on the drop shadow. You can change the opacity, distance, size and so on. If you have the “preview” box checked, you can see the changes you make to your text. The best basic drop shadow I’ve used is usually around 45 to 50 opacity. I usually use text color variation. If you have black text, your shadow would be a lighter gray color with the opacity changed. The size is usually the same as the text, although sometimes you want a different look or attitude. It adds a lot of distance especially when you can see the words “swim”. Experiment with different variations until you see something you like.
Once you’re done with the drop shadow dialog and you’ve come up with a shade you like, take a look at the left side of the box before hitting OK. Conveniently listed are all the wash effects you can use to enhance unasterized text. If the box to the left of the layer effect is checked (such as “outer south”) then it will be applied to the text.
Compliant plates
The text is created in Photoshop using its own wash, so when you are done and want to use your image in other projects, it will save a lot of space on your hard drive (and relieve future printer pains!) if you crop your image before posting it as a tif. or save as a JPG. etc. A pop-up window will usually prompt you to do so, if you haven’t already. Just make sure you return your piece and click under >layers>flatten image.
Note: if this text is part of a larger design that requires many other layers, you may not need to smooth anything until they are finished or you want to do more with your text that would require rasterization. . (Made into a painted picture, no longer editable).
That is! Now you have a nice drop outline of your statement to grab your audience’s attention.
