Photoshop Graffiti Digital Style
Adobe Photoshop software puts a world of previously complex graphics at users’ fingertips with its extensive art editing and creating options. One such application available in Photoshop is creating graffiti style text that can be used in either print or online media. Creating the graffiti is simple once you familiarize yourself with the steps and is not likely to attract the attention of law enforcement officers, like the more traditional style of graffiti!
To get started on creating your graffiti, you will need to choose the font you want to use. Tag Extreme, which can be downloaded from the Internet if you don’t have it, is a popular choice, but really you can use any font you find aesthetically pleasing. Once you have chosen your font and downloaded it if need be; then open your “layers palette” and open the font from the palette. Set the type set to “rasterize type”. Now, type a word that you want to turn into graffiti style. You should set your blending ratios at this point. You will need to create a custom blend - they gradient should be solid and the smoothness should be 100%. Set the brightness of the color to the setting that best matches the picture you have of your graffiti in your head - remember you want the color to fade in and out, like you had sprayed the text with a can of spray paint.
Now, double click on your layer to select it. Open your gradient tool, and change the settings to “linear.” With this tool open, color your text with blend you have just created by starting the bottom corner and moving your cursor to the top, sweeping across the image. Once this is done, with the layer still selected, create a new layer and give it a name you can easily find later. Select “edit” from the main menu, and then “stroke” under edit. The stroke setting dialogue box will appear. Add at least a 2 pixel gray “stroke” and select “outside” for the location. This line will be the line that outlines your text - experiment until you find a thickness you like. A gray color is usually used, but you can choose any color you think works best with your design.
After you have your stroke completed, using this same layer, select “filter” from your tool box, then click “blur” and “gassian blur”. In the dialogue box that opens, set the gassian blur to at least .08, but again, find a setting that works best for you.
It is now time to merge the two layers you have created. You can do this by clicking “control” and “E” on your keyboard or by selecting “merge down” from the main menu of the software program. Now, re-select the layer and open the “stroke” menu again. You need to create another outline, this time right on the graffiti layer. It should be the same width as your previous lines, but a darker color, so if you did a two pixel gray line before, go for a 2 pixel black line this time. Now, create a shadow by copying the graffiti layer into a new layer. Select the new layer, and fill it completely with black, using your paint box tool.
At this point, your graffiti text is completed, but there are a few things you can do to make it stand out more. Add a background to your image, so it gives the impression the graffiti is sprayed on. Also, if you go back to the blending function and turn on the “hard light” application, your graffiti will gain a little sparkle, like the sun reflecting off of it, just like real graffiti.
