In this Photoshop tutorial you’ll learn how to create silvery text. We’re not really into bling but this could prove useful. For instance, it can be used on a jewelry related website. We’re using Adobe Photoshop CS5 for this tutorial, but it’s basically the same in earlier versions. The tutorial is entirely based on Layer Styles.

1/4 The document

Create a new Photoshop document with the resolution of your choice. We’re working on a 500 by 200 pixels canvas. Go to the “Edit” menu, click on “Fill” or use the Paint Bucket Tool {} and pick a dark color for the background.

2/4 The text

Select Photoshop’s “Horizontal Type Tool” {} and drag a text box. We’re using the Verdana font and a white text color.

Set your text size to 75. Select the “Move Tool” {} and position your text in the middle of the canvas.

3/4 The effects

Go to the “Layer” menu, “Layer Style” sub-menu and click on “Gradient Overlay”.

Double click the Gradient Bar {} to open Photoshop’s Gradient Editor. Create a gradient that ranges from a light grey to an even lighter shade of grey. Tip: double click the downwards-pointing arrows to change the gradient colors.

Set the Gradient style to Reflected.

Moving on to the Bevel and Emboss tab. Select an irregular gloss contour and fiddle around with the depth and size values until it looks right. (or you can copy our settings)

Also, remember to check the “Contour” option box.

The inner Glow will accentuate the shaded part of the text. Set a neutral gray color and see what settings work best for your text.

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