This is a simple text effect that basically creates a double-color blurred border around the text of your choice.
For this tutorial you have to know the use of some functions including, but not necessarily limited to:
How to create a new document
How to change background colors
How to add text
Shrinking/Feathering selections (kind-of explained in tut)
It's all pretty basic stuff so don't worry.
1. Create a new document. Depending on your color choices you can change the background - I usually use white or black.
2. Add some text, usually a neutral color (white or black - the opposite of your background) works best. Any color can look good however
it all depends on your creation. Position the text now, as it will be easier to do sooner than later, unless you plan on flattening all the text layers when you're finished (which you might be).
Note: If your blur goes off the edge of the image and you move the text later, you will end up with a straight line where you don't want one.
3. Duplicate the text layer and change the original layer to the size of your image (Layer > Layer to image size).
4. Right click the lowest text layer in the layers dialog and click Alpha to Selection. There should now be marching ants around you're text.
5. Go to Select > Grow, and grow anywhere from 5-10 pixels depending on what you want your final effect to be. Now feather the selection (Select > Feather) by 10 pixels.
6. Time to choose your 2 colors! I usually choose a darker and lighter shade of the same color, but 2 completely different colors would work too, I suppose.
7. Now fill the lowest text layer with one of your colors (whichever you think will look better against the text)
8. Duplicate your newly colored layer and selecting the original, grow the selection (Select > Grow) by the same amount as before, and feather it (Select > Feather) at 10 again.
9. Fill this selection with your second color.
Optional:
10. Repeat step 8, using a new layer rather than the one you used in step 8 (sorry if I didn't state that very well, if it's to confusing just tell me & i'll change it).
11. Fill this selection with your original color
If needed use a Gaussian blur on your middle layer (the one with your second color in it) to make it blend better. It all depends on what you want for your finished product. You might also want to do a Gaussian on your text (again, depends on what you want the final look to be).
Here's some examples. I only put text so you could see what it looked like without your eye being dragged to other features of a sig. The first one stops at step 9, the second one does the "optional" (Steps 10 & 11):
I know it's not one of those tuts that you end up with a really fancy effect or whatever, and there might be a more efficient way to do this (in fact there probably is), but I use it (or something really similar) all the time. Sometimes it's nice to have simple text if the other stuff is really elaborate. I love to get feedback, see results, etc! If you do something with this show me!
