Glass Text Effect For Photoshop
Prefer watching tutorials? Check out the above video from my Youtube channel.
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Growing up, Mama said, “do not to play with broken Glass unless you do so in Photoshop.” Thankfully, we all have Photoshop! So, let’s play around with some glass via Photoshop to create some text out of it.
If you’re ready to master this text effect, let’s do it.
Note:
This Photoshop tutorial includes step-by-step instructions below. However, these instructions are a bit more advanced. If you’re a Photoshop beginner, I’d recommend the Youtube video above.
Table of Contents
Note: the (above) video tutorial was created with Photoshop beginners in mind. The following step-by-step instructions are for more experienced users.
Step 1: New Document, Add Image + Text
We’ll need a canvas for our artwork, Command or Ctrl + N, to start creating your new document. For the width 1920 and the height 1080. Set the resolution to 300ppi & white for the background.
Next, add the provided image from which you can download from here. Drag and drop the image file over your Photoshop interface, and it will be included as a new Layer.
The image needs to fill the entire canvas. Since you dragged and dropped onto your canvas, the Free Transform tool is auto-activated. You’ll use this to resize larger.
Let’s resize from the center by holding down your Alt or Option key, click on a side and drag out. Once the image is a little larger than the document, hit Enter or Return. Then, rename the layer “Glass.”
I’m writing out (with the Text Tool “T”) in all caps the word BREAK. If you’d like to use the same font family, I’m using Montserrat styled with Black and a size of 80pt. Oh, and the color is white.
Let’s center our text with the alignment tools. Hit your Escape key to turn off the text tool and grab your Move Tool (V). The alignment tools can be accessed via the tool options.
But first, you’ll need to select the following two layers; Text layer + Background layer. Hold down your Command or Ctrl key and click on the Background layer to select it.
Then, locate the following icons with the label of; Align horizontal center + Align vertical center. Once aligned, click anywhere on your canvas to deselect the layers.
Step 2: Clip Image To Your Text
The goal of this step is to place our broken glass image within the text itself. First, we need to duplicate the Glass layer. Select it and duplicate with Command or Ctrl + J. Make sure to rename this layer Glass 2.
Now, move the Glass 2 layer above the text layer. Then, right-click on it and select “Rasterize Layer” and right-click again to choose “Create Clipping Mask.”
Select both the Glass 2 layer and the text layer below it. Right-click on either one and “Merge Layers.” Ok, even though we just went through a bunch of steps, nothing looks different!
Let’s fix that by grabbing our Glass 1 layer and converting it to B&W; Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue Saturation. Lower the Saturation level to -100. Also, lower the Opacity to 20%.
Step 3: Cut-Out Broken Letters Into New Layers
Now the start of cutting your letters begins! For this, you can use either the Pen Tool (P) or the Lasso Tool (L). For this written Photoshop tutorial, I’ll explain how to use the Lasso Tool. If you’d like to learn how to use the Pen tool instead, see the video above.
Grab your Lass Tool (L) and pick a section of your letter to cut out. Start on the outside and follow the cracks in the glass to go through the letter. To complete the selection drawback to where you started.
Next, you need to copy the selection and paste it back to add it as a new layer; Edit > Copy + Edit Paste. Repeat these steps 2-4 times for each letter.
Step 4: Style Your Broken Glass
To enhance the broken glass text effect, we will rotate each layer and add a drop shadow. We’ll use the Free Transform Tool (Command or Ctrl + T) to rotate and move each layer.
Click on the outside of the blue line and drag up or down to rotate. Click inside and drag to a new position. As you rotate and move, try to align the glass’s cracks with the Glass 1 layer.
Continue rotating and moving each letter that has been cut. Once you are done doing that, you can add a drop shadow. Start by grouping all the cut layers.
Click on the top layer via the Layers panel, hold down your Shift key, and click on the last cut layer. This will select all the layers. Right-click and select “Group from Layers” and name the group “Broken Text.”
To style the grouped layer, double click on it to bring up the Layer Styles window. Select “Drop Shadow” from the left panel. Here are the settings I’m using;
- Opacity @ 20%
- the Angle at 120 degrees
- Distance at 5px
- Spread 22%
- Size at 6px.
Almost done! Next, read the following section…
Now What?
Congratulations on finishing creating text out of broken glass! Now, I’d like to see your finished text design. Here’s how; join our private Facebook group to share your artwork. It’s an excellent place to share, learn, and hone your Photoshop skills.
Ready to up your Photoshop skills further? If so, check out my premium Photoshop tutorials and or my free Photoshop tutorials.
Looking for more Photoshop text tutorials? Check out this playlist that includes over 20 text effects you can master today!
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