Create Groovy Two Toned, Outlined Text

Create Groovy Two Toned, Outlined Text

This tutorial will teach you how to create a bold, dramatic text effect for your web site. You have probably seen this effect used in print and on television, especially for that 1960's look. Step by step instructions are given for Photoshop versions 3, 4 and 5.

Create

Two Toned Type
in Photoshop 3, Photoshop 4, or Photoshop 5

1. In Photoshop, select File/New, and create an image 120 pixels wide by 40 pixels high. Create your text using the Type tool. In this example, I've used the Eclat typeface from ImageClub. In the Type Dialog box in Photoshop 3 and Photoshop 4, set a Spacing of 1, as shown below:

In Photoshop 5, use the Type Tool to create the Type, and set the Tracking to 40 in the Type Tool dialog box as shown below. You'll need to have the text selected in order to change the tracking.

The reason for using a Spacing or Tracking setting is to give a little extra room between each letter for the outline color.

2. In Photoshop 3, you'll want to select only the text by using Control + Alt+T on Windows, or Command + Alt + T on the Mac. In Photoshop 4, you'll want to turn the transparency off for the type layer by deselecting the transparency checkbox on the layer or by using the / key.

In Photoshop 5, you'll need to Render the type layer in order to apply the outline to the type. Right mouse click on the "T" on the layer as shown below, and select Render Layer.

At this point, you will have something that looks like the image below:

3. Change your foreground color to a contrasting color. I used a yellow orange for this example. Then, select Edit/Stroke, and select a size of 2 pixels and use the Outside setting.

4. Select Mode/Indexed, or Image/Mode/Indexed in Photoshop 4 and save this as a gif file. You may want to add a drop shadow.

Remember, even though this technique is demonstrated with type, you could also use this effect on clipart, line art, or a logo.