How to Create a Metal Effect in Photoshop

If you want to create a cool effect for business cards, brochures or your website, then a metallic look might be just the thing. One of the many things that Adobe Photoshop excels at is creating metallic effects that can be applied to surfaces, objects or in this case, text.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Open Photoshop. Then go to File and select "New." In the window that pops up, make the size setting whatever you need for your project. The resolution you pick will depend on the project, since something going on the web only needs a resolution of 72 pixels, but something being professionally printed will require at least 150 pixels.

2. Use the "Fill" tool to fill the canvas with black. Then change the "Foreground" color to gray.

3. Select the "Text" tool, and type out whatever you like, such as a slogan or a name.

4. Go to the "Blending Options" and select "Bevel and Emboss." Make the Technique "Chisel Hard," the size about 120. Then scroll through the Contours until the preview looks good. The one that looks like a deep valley seems to work well.

5. Adjust the "Angle" of the lighting to produce the highlights you want. Now click on "Color Overlay" and change the color to whatever you like, such as bright metallic red.

Resources

• Photoshop