Create a cloud text in Photoshop

admin · #1 (**permalink**) 02-10-2010, 03:36 AM

Hello friends,

In this tutorial I will show you a great technique for creating a cloud text in Photoshop.

Resources:

Sky - from phatpuppy
Ice textures
Lines vector pack - this vector pack is not free; however, you can purchase it for only $7.99

Step 1

Download this image and open it in Photoshop. If you want to change the size of your image, go to Image > Image Size.

Step 2
Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast and use the settings from the following image.

Step 3
Create a new layer and name it "clouds". Hit the D key on your keyboard to set the foreground color to black and the background color to white. Then go to Filter > Render > Clouds. To increase the contrast of this filter you can use the shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + Alt/Option + F.

Step 4
Select the Lasso Tool (L) and set the Feather to 20px from the option bar. Then create a selection like the one you see in the following image. Go to Edit > Define Brush Preset to save your selection as a brush. After you finish this, you can hide the "clouds" layer.

Step 5
Select the Brush Tool (B) and open the Brushes panel by going to Window > Brushes (F5). Select your cloud brush from the list of brushes and use the settings from the following image. Then click on the 'Create new brush' button from the bottom of the Brushes panel to save your brush.

Step 6
Create a new layer and set the foreground color to white. Then select your new cloud brush, set its size to around 30px and use it to write a text. You can create more than one layer, like I did. Take a look at the following image for reference.
Right click on each of your text layers and select Convert to Smart Object. Then select these layers and hit Ctrl/Cmd + G to put them inside a group. Name the group "text".

Step 7
Now we are going to add a little bit of glow to the text. Double-click on each of your text layer to open the Layer Style window and use the settings from the following image for Outer Glow.

Step 8
Add a little bit of noise to each of your text layers by going to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Use the settings from the following image.

Step 9
Download the Lines Vector Pack and open the .AI file in Adobe Illustrator. Then use the Selection Tool (V) to select some lines and change their color to white. Then copy these lines (Ctrl/Cmd + C) and paste them into your Photoshop document as smart objects (Ctrl/Cmd + V). Use Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd + T) to change the size of your layers and rotate them. Take a look at the following image for reference. Group all these layers and name the group "vectors".

Step 10
Add a Gaussian Blur filter (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) to all your layers from the "vectors" group using the settings from the following image. Then use the Paint Bucket Tool (G) to fill the mask of each Smart Filter with black. After that select a white soft brush (B) and paint with it over some areas of the lines. This way, the Gaussian Blur filter will be visible only where you painted with white.

Step 11
Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance and use the settings from the following image. Then set the opacity of this layer to 75%.

Step 12
Download one of these textures and open it in Photoshop. Use the Move Tool (V) to move the image into your first document. Then use Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd + T) to change the size of this layer and name it "texture". Set the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light 25%.

Step 13
Create a new layer (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N). Then go to Image > Apply Image and click OK. Right-click on this layer and select Convert to Smart Object. Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and use the settings from the following image. Name this layer "gaussian blur".

Step 14
To give the image a softer look, change the blend mode of the "gaussian blur" layer to Overlay and set its opacity yo 35%.

Final Result

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.