In this tutorial, we’ll be using layer styles to make a plastic
gel-type style that you can easily apply to text and shapes. You can
download the PSD file from the link at the bottom of the tutorial to
just copy+paste the styles.
Step 1:
BACKGROUND LAYER
We
start as always with a background gradient. I’ve used a Radial Gradient
with two shades of the exact same brown that this site uses. The exact
color codes are:
Foreground color – #2f2520
Background color – #1e1916
Step 2:
Now
in a nice delectable green, we write a word. I’ve written ‘Jelly’ and
used the font "Gill Sans Ultra Bold." Bolder fonts are good for this
sort of effect because there is more room to actually do stuff with the
styles.
Step 3:
So
now we right-click on the layer and choose Blending Options to start
adding styles. First we add a drop shadow to lift the letters off the
background and then an inner shadow. Later on when we add highlights,
this shadow will contrast nicely with them.
Step 4:
To
create the highlights, we use Bevel and Emboss. The default settings
for bevel and emboss suck, so don’t use those. I’ve moved some things
around and if you download the sample PSD, you’ll see what I mean. The
highlights need to be shades of green to make it look like light is
bouncing around inside the letters.
Step 5:
Next
we add a Gradient Overlay and a Stroke. The gradient gives a bit of
light and dark to the letters and the stroke helps seal it off at the
edges.
Step 6:
Now
the neat thing about this style is you can just change the coloring on
each set of blending options and you have a new color for the style.
Here I’ve written a second word and applied the style there too but this
time with red settings.
Step 7:
To finish it off, create a new layer above and then hold down Ctrl and click on the layer to select it.
Step 8:
Then go to Select > Modify > Contract and use a value of 4 pixels to shrink the selection.
Step 9:
Now
we need a gradient that goes from white to transparency which you can
choose by switching to the gradient tool and using the little thumbnail
thing up at the top left (shown in the image)
Step 10:
Using that gradient, draw a gradient in the selection from white to transparency.
Step 11:
Then
make an elliptical selection using the selection tool and hit delete as
shown. This will make the highlight you just drew suddenly stop and
consequently look very plasticky.
Step 12:
And that’s it! I’ve repeated the same highlight steps on the word ‘Style’ as well.
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