PURCHASE | COMPARE | SAMPLES | TUTORIAL

This is David Occhino from David Occhino Design and I'd like to share some cool ways to get that Basestar font to look like the example above.

So, here are the steps in Illustrator and Photoshop that will get you there. I am assuming that you know your way around both of these programs, and know how to do the following:

• use layers
• create and use masks
• use filters and levels
• use painting tools

Creating the correct 3-dimensional look for this lettering will take skill and patience. It requires the use of modifying the outlines of the font to create numerous Photoshop layers and masks. If you are new to Illustrator and Photoshop, you may find some of these steps to be a bit challenging, but if you stick with it you will learn several new tricks. If you are a Photoshop and Illustrator pro, then this will be a fun recipe to add to your repertoire.

Let's get started.

STEP 1) First, you'll need the Basestar OpenType fonts (Laser, Solid and Outline. Install the fonts and then create an Illustrator file with the dimensions you want. (In this tutorial, I used the dimensions of 586 x 180 pixels.)

Using Basestar Laser, type the text that you want to create in black. Re-size and position the text to your liking:

Bring this file into Photoshop, and name this text layer "Layer 1." Rasterize the text and make sure that the text is on its own transparent layer. Lock the pixels of the layer for now and then hide the layer.

STEP 2) Create a new layer under layer 1 and name this "Layer 2." Using a hard-edged paintbrush, paint the area under the channels of the letters. Notice the extension of the red channel on the right side of the letter "S:"

Turn off Layer 2 for now. We'll turn this back on in Step 11.

STEP 3) Back in Illustrator, change the text font to "Basestar Solid," making sure you did not move the text in any direction and set the color of the text to gray (R:200 G: 200 B: 200):

Add a gray stroke to the Basestar Solid text to make the letters heavier and larger. In this example I used a stroke of 3 pixels.

Select the text with the regular Selection Tool and then open the Effect called "3D: Extrude and Bevel." You'll use this panel to apply a 3D effect to the outlines:

• Rotate the horizontal axis about 2°.
• Set a Perspective of about 15°.
• Set an Extrude Depth to about 110 points.
• Don't apply a bevel.
• Click "OK" when all the settings are the way you want them.

You will now have this:

Bring this text layer into Photoshop, and name this text layer "Layer 3." Position it under Layer 2. Rasterize the layer and make sure that the text is on its own transparent layer. Lock the pixels of the layer.

STEP 4) Back in Illustrator, use the undo function to return your text to the point when it was "Basestar Solid" before you added the 3-point stroke. Change the font color to dark gray (R: 130 G: 130 B: 130). Then, add a dark gray stroke of 7 pixels to the Basestar Solid text to make the letters even heavier and larger.

As you did in Step 3, select the text with the regular Selection Tool and then open the Effect called "3D: Extrude and Bevel." You'll use this panel to apply a 3D effect to the outlines:

• Rotate the horizontal axis about 2°.
• Set a Perspective of about 50°.
• Set an even larger Extrude Depth of 40 points.
• Don't apply a bevel.
• Click "OK" when all the settings are the way you want them.

Bring this text layer into Photoshop, and name this text layer "Layer 4." Position it under Layer 3. Rasterize the layer and make sure that the text is on its own transparent layer. Lock the pixels of the layer.

At this point you are done using Illustrator and you can close the file and application. The rest of the magic will happen in Photoshop with the four layers you've created.

STEP 5) Back in Photoshop, create a background layer (name it "Background") and position it under Layer 4 and fill it with black.

Now, let's work on Layer 4 to make it look like the example below. Using the Polygonal Lasso, mask off the areas of the side bevel that you want to highlight (note the areas around the A, S, A and R) and then use a soft brush to lighten those areas. Then use a larger, softer brush to create the varied lighter gray areas seen below:

STEP 6) Turn on Layer 3. Using a large soft brush with a 5-10% opacity, create some very slight variations in color using browns, yellows and blue-green. Then, using the Lasso and Polygonal Lasso, darken the edges of some of the letters using a ruddy brown color. Use plenty of patience and your artistic touch:

STEP 7) Now we need to make a mask. Duplicate Layers 3 and 4 and merge these duplicates into one layer, then lock the pixels and fill the layer with black. Under this new merged layer, create another layer and fill it completely with white. Then, merge the two new layers into one to get this mask:

Open up this image that contains a scratched surface texture. Once the image is open, Select All, Copy the data, and then close the file. Paste the image into a new layer above Layer 3:

Use the mask you created to mask out the unwanted areas of the texture. Then, adjust the levels of the texture so that you have this:

Name this layer "Scratch Texture 3-4." Set the Blending Mode for this layer to Overlay and an opacity of about 21%:

STEP 8) Turn off all the layers except Layer 1. Using a large soft brush with a 5-10% opacity, create some very slight variations in color using browns, yellows and blue-green. Use plenty of patience and your artistic touch:

Add two layer effects to Layer 1: Inner Glow and Bevel and Emboss. Use these settings:

Layer 1 should look like this:

STEP 9) Using small brushes, black color and varying opacity, add scratch marks across the letters of Layer 1:

STEP 10) Let's add the same scratched texture to Layer 1 as we did with Layers 3-4. Duplicate Layer 1, turn off all the layer effects for the duplicated layer, lock the pixels and fill the layer with black. Under this new layer, create another layer and fill it completely with white. Then, merge the two new layers into one to get this mask:

Open up this image that contains a scratched surface texture. Once the image is open, Select All, Copy the data, and then close the file. Paste the image into a new layer above Layer 1:

Use the mask you created to mask out the unwanted areas of the texture:

Name this layer "Scratch Texture 1." Set the Blending Mode for this layer to Overlay and an opacity of ab our 36%:

STEP 11) Turn on Layers 2, 3 and 4:

STEP 12: Instead of a black background, you can create your own background. If you'd like to use the background I created, download it here.

OPTION: If you want the text to stand out from the background, add a Drop Shadow layer effect to Layer 4:

Click here for a larger version of this artwork.

OPTION: If you'd like to add some perspective to your text, group all of the text layers and masks (keep them in the correct order!) into a Group. Choose "Edit: Transform: Perspective" and add the amount of perspective that you desire. After you apply the perspective, you might want to use the Sharpen filter to sharpen up the image:

< back to BASESTAR

Did this tutorial help you? What other tips would you like to see on my site? Drop me a line and let me know. And, if you would like me to design something for you at some point, check out my Graphic Design Services webpage and consider hiring me to do the work for you.

Thanks!

David Occhino

david@davidocchinodesign.com