EDIT: This tutorial has been modified from the original version. I have attempted to clarify some steps that may have created some confusion. I also reordered a couple of steps to simplify

In this tutorial, we're going to simulate the blending techniques utlized by photoshop users in many of the signatures you've seen around the web. This certainly isn't the only way, but it is the first one we'll explore.

From here on out, there will be no more blah looking text on our signatures!

We'll make an image that has beautifully blended text. Like this:



1. Open up your favorite background or signature. I'll be using one I created for a signature a few days ago.



2. Grab your favorite font (I'm using Planet Kosmos, which is a fat font)
3. Write out your desired text in white.



4. Alpha select the text layer to select the outline of the text.
5. Invert the selection (Ctrl-i), which will select everything but the text.



6. Add a drop shadow (Script FU-->Shadow-->Drop Shadow) using the following settings:
X:2 ; Y:2 ; Blur 5 ; Color Black ; Opacity 80 ; Deselect "Allow Resizing"

As you can tell in this image, the shadow has been added to the inside of the font. This was accomplished by inverting the selection in step #5. It's probably not noticeable to you right now, but a shadow was also added to the outside of the layer on the right and bottom sides. We will correct this situation later.



7. Now add another drop shadow using the following settings:
X:1 ; Y:1 ; Blur 0 ; Color White ; Opacity 80 ; Deselect "Allow Resizing"

This will add a white edge to the upper left edges of the font. This step is not absolutely necessary, but when I was playing around with the different settings, I felt it created a really nice touch! Again, as in the last step, a shadow has also been added to the outside of the layer. This too will be corrected later.



This is where I changed the order of steps....

8. Here we'll add a stroke to the text. This is how I do it:

[*]Add a new layer and move it below your text layer.
[*]Select the outline of the text by right-clicking the Text Layer in the Layer Dialog Window and choosing Alpha to Selection.
[*]Grow the selection by 1 or 2 pixels (I used a value of 1) - You can do this by going to the Select Menu and Choosing "Grow."
[*]Make the new layer active by clicking on the New Layer in the Layer Dialog Window (the selection will still be shown) and fill with black.



Your layers should now look something like this:



9. Now let's merge all the existing text layers.

[*]Make your top layer active as I've shown above.
[*]Select Layer | Merge Down
[*]Continue with Layer | Merge Down until all your text layers are made into 1 (one) layer.

10. Now add a little bevel to the main text:
Script FU-->Decor-->Add Bevel
Thickness: 5



11. Now, select the outline of the text layer (Alpha to Selection).
12. Add a drop shadow (Script FU-->Shadow-->Drop Shadow) using the following settings:
X:2 ; Y:2 ; Blur 5 ; Color Black ; Opacity 80 ; Deselect "Allow Resizing"



13. Now, select the top text layer and merge the text layers into 1 (one) layer (Layer | Merge Down)

14. Here's where we'll fix the shadows outside of the layer.

[*]Select the outline of the text layer (Alpha to Selection). This will select everything including the drop shadow. If you want to see what I'm talking about, grab your move tool (4-headed arrow) and move your text layer up and to the left. You'll see a white and a black drop shadow. We need to correct this just in case you decide you want your text in another location.
[*]Select Layer | Crop Layer. Now, move your layer again. There should be no more shadows outside of the layer.

15. Adjust the blend mode of the layer to Multiply, Burn, Overlay, Value, or whatever looks good to you. I used Value.



This is my result:



You're Done!

Looks pretty good. Doesn't it?
We'll look at some other methods later.

Show me your results. As always, if you have any questions or need clarification, post it here.

Art

on step 11 what does that mean I dont get how to do it
Thanks

Select->Selection Editor->Stroke Selection. There's probably many other ways.

NC

Yeah, NC's right, there are many ways to do it. I was rushed putting it together and didn't explain it. Sorry. I'll post what I did here and then change the tutorial so it covers the steps I used.

Here's what I did, but you can use NC's suggestion. Mine never quite looks right when I do it that way. Probably not doing the correct procedure. Anyways....

[*]On the text layer, do an Alpha to Selection
[*]Grow the selection by 1-pixel or so
[*]Add a new layer and place it below your text layer
[*]Make that new layer active and fill it with black.

That's it. The text now has a pretty black border around it.

Make sense?

Hope this helps.

Art

EDIT: Tutorial corrected above to show details of "stroked text"

I don't think I have ever used the stroke selection for real. I normally do what Art does. Grow my selection by 1 or 2 pixels then fill it with black, then shrink it by 1 or 2 and crop that part. Some time I feather the selection then crop or blur or whatever.

NC

for some reason mine came out with white outlines I am sure I missed something thanks guys for your help

cool thanks for the Tutorials :h:

BR, send me a PM and we'll talk about the trouble you're having. If the step(s) you're missing is due to something I need to clarify in the tut, I'll modify the tut accordingly. :w:

Art

Now that I got my shortcuts fixed this made it easy (THANKS FENCEPOST!!!)

Very nice! Did you want to end up with the text being white? If you want it to fully blend, try setting the text layer's blending option to Value or something else.

Yea I wanted white I thought if I used blue it wouldnt look as well :h:

try it and see. I bet it would.

Thanks once again fencepost :l:

I knew it would look good. Keep up the good work.

Is this the one you PM'd me about? You had a different one that was showing up in the PM.

Its a new one I just redid it all incase I missed something :h:

Man How Do I Pick My Font??

Double-click on the font tool and a font tool options dialog box will open up where you can select what you want.

a

It should be fat enough at defult tbh(To Be Honest)

I found (And forgot) a way where you can make one without an outline and it blends ON no matter what

Just to make sure, does the text look right? I dont know if i did it right x.x

Mesh stink at text

You look like you photoshop anyway :w: you are good text blends nice thumbs up

Nope, i use GIMP :3
though it does look like i use Photoshop, doesnt it?

Yea it does

The fonts you used are narrow so the effect may not appear to stand out as much as you wanted. That's not to say you need to use a fat font, just the narrow ones may be a little more difficult to obtain the desired results.

As far as whether it looks right or whether you're doing it right, I'd say "yes" in both cases. "My way" is not necessarily the "right" way. And, it's definitely not the only way. Your text fits the signature style you've decided to create.

What I wanted GIMP users to take away from this tutorial more than anything, is that even though we may not have the same menus, filters, or tools as Photoshop users, we can still (with some imagination) create the same great looking effects they do. I like the way many Photoshop users blend their text into their sigs and was frustrated because I couldn't do it. Well, now I can and I've learned something in the process.

That being said, you don't have to use my settings as listed above. EXPERIMENT! (This is my favorite GIMPtalk word!) Follow the tuts exactly as written the first few times so you can understand what the author is teaching, but after that step out of the box and try something different. If my tutorial says add a white inner shadow to the left, try adding a black one (or any color for that matter) to the right.

You're very talented with your signature creations! Keep up the good work. If you have any specific questions, feel free to post them or drop me a PM!

Art (fencepost)

I dont think I have the drop Shadow thing :/


EDIT: NVM it said to look in the wrong area your tut :/