Any Idea how to create this effect in Photoshop?

[SomeGuy1223]

This is the WGBH logo and I've been trying to figure out how to recreate it with Photoshop but I can't seem to get it right. I was hoping some of you who are more well versed in the functions of Photoshop might be able to help me out

 

[Rich54]

I was able to create this. The font is wrong, but otherwise I think the effect is basically there.

Is there a particular part of the effect you're struggling with, or do you want to know how to do the whole thing?
What is your general skill level in Photoshop?

Rich

 

[SomeGuy1223]

I'm mostly looking for how to do the whole thing

Thank you!

 

[Rich54]

I'm not sure what your Photoshop skill level is. If you're a beginner this may be too much. But here's what I did:

• Create a new document approx. 1,000 pixels wide and 800 high, with the background layer set to black.
• On a new layer, use the Text tool and type WGBH in yellow. I used the Impact font, which isn’t right but I didn’t focus much on the font, other than to select a thick, chunky one
• With the Type tool active, open the Character controls and adjust the “tracking”, which sets the spacing between the letters. The letters need to overlap a bit, so you need to set the tracking to a negative number. Experiment with what looks best (I used -75).
• Click on the Layer Effects icon and apply a stroke of approx. 4 pixels using the same yellow color. Then, in the layer panel, adjust the Layer Fill (not the Layer Opacity) to 0%. You should be left with only the stroked outline of the letters WGBH.
• Once you’ve got this far, take a look at the spacing of the letters and the thickness of the stroke to make sure you like them. Adjust as needed because this will be your last chance to change it.

Now for the 3D portion.

• Copy the text layer to a new layer above it. On this new layer, re-set the Layer Fill back to 100% and turn off the stroke. Now rasterize this layer.
• Temporarily, turn off the layer visibility of the original text layer you made in steps 1-5. We’ll turn it back on later.
• Go back to the rasterized text layer. Copy that to a new layer directly above it. Activate the Move tool and, using the keyboard arrows, move it 3 clicks up and then 3 clicks to the right.
• Copy the layer you just made to another new layer. Using the Move tool again, move it 3 clicks up and then 3 clicks to the right.
• Repeat this process 15 or 20 times—where each layer is 3 clicks up and 3 clicks to the right of the layer below it—and you will eventually build up a shape that simulates 3D thickness in the shape of the text.
• Merge all of these 15 or 20 layers down to one layer. Use the brush tool to clean up any jagged edges (do this on a new layer and then merge it down once you’re happy with it.).
• Make a selection of this merged layer and contract the selection by 4 pixels (the same number of pixels as the stroke in step 4). Press the Delete key, which should leave you with just the yellow 3D outline shape.
• Turn on the layer visibility of the original text layer that you turned off earlier. Use the Move tool to position this layer inside the 3D shape. If necessary, use EDIT>Transform>Scale to re-size the text to fit within the 3D shape.
• Turn off the black background layer. On a new layer above the entire stack, do Stamp Visible by pressing Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E. Then turn the black background layer back on.
• On the Stamp Visible layer, click on the Layer Effects icon and apply an Outer Glow using the color red. Experiment with the Outer Glow settings; I used Spread = 7% and Size = 68 pixels. You can also experiment with the opacity of the Outer Glow.
• Make a selection of the Stamp Visible layer, create a new layer above it, and fill the selection on that new layer with red. Apply gaussian blur to this red layer so that some of the underlying yellow starts to show through.

 

[SomeGuy1223]

Thank you so much!