The Type tool in Photoshop Elements has advanced far beyond its humble beginnings. When Photoshop Elements first appeared, the most you could expect from the Type tool was to enter text. Today it’s a powerful and creative tool. Not only can you place text into any open Photoshop Elements image, you can also use text as a mask, path, or even warp text into any shape you desire. In addition, Photoshop Elements now preserves type without rasterizing. That means, that type created in Photoshop Elements will print out as fine as type created in Adobe Illustrator, or InDesign; regardless of the image’s resolution. When you work, type becomes as creative a design element as any other available feature.
Working with the Options bar for a text tool gives you the ability to select a specific font, style, and size, as well as expand or contract the space between letters with leading and kerning; or you could simply increase or decrease the physical width of the text. Baseline shifting even gives you the ability to raise or lower text off the original line.
You can isolate image pixels with a type mask to create words out of pictures. For example, you could type the phrase Fall Is Coming, and use the image of leaves. The type mask would make the words appear as if they were spelled out in colorful fall leaves. In addition, you could use a type mask in combination with the layer styles to create text that almost leaps off the page. Working with text is more than typing words on paper, it’s a process every bit as creative as working with graphic images.
Photoshop Elements comes with a set of standard typing tools, which are controlled in much the same way as typing tools in any program that uses text. However, the creative possibilities go far beyond those of a standard typing program. When you work with the Type tools, you begin by typing some text, and then controlling the text, through the toolbox and the Options bar. Photoshop Elements helps you maintain control over the text by automatically placing it in a separate text layer.
In the Editor, select the Horizontal Type or Vertical Type tool.
Click in the image window to create a single line of text, or drag a rectangle to create a text box.
Begin typing.Photoshop Elements creates a text layer, and places the text in the layer. A line appears through the text and a small line appears through the I-beam cursor to mark the position of the text baseline.
If you did not create a text box, you can press Enter to create a new line.
Move your cursor to a point away from the text (which displays the move cursor), and then drag to move the text.
Double-click to select a specific word, or drag across the text to select groups of words.
Change the text color by clicking the Color list arrow on the Options bar, and then choosing a new color from the Color Swatches palette or clicking More Colors to select a new color from the Color Picker dialog box.
Delete the text by clicking within the text and pressing the Backspace key to erase one letter at a time, or select a group of text and press the Backspace key.
Insert text by clicking within the text to create an insertion point, and then typing.
Click the Commit button on the Options bar or click outside the text box to accept the text, or click Cancel to ignore the changes.
See Also
See “Creating a New Layer” on page 204 for more information on creating layers.
When you add text to an image, Photoshop Elements automatically places it in a separate text layer. To edit type in a text layer, select the text layer in the Layers palette, select a standard type tool on the toolbox, place the insertion point or select the text with the I-beam cursor, and then edit the text you want. As you edit the text, a line appears through the text and a small line appears through the I-beam cursor to mark the position of the text baseline. For horizontal type, the baseline marks the line on which the type rests, while for vertical type, the baseline marks the center axis of the type characters.
- In the Editor, select the Horizontal Type or Vertical Type tool.
You can also select the Move tool and then double-click the text.
- Select the text layer in the Layers palette.
- Edit the text using any of the following:
Click to place the insertion point.
Select one or more characters you want to edit.
- Type to insert or replace text.
- Click the Commit button on the Options bar or click outside the text box to accept the text, or click Cancel to ignore the changes.
If you work with Asian type, such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, you can set options in Photoshop Elements to use double-byte fonts, also known as CJK fonts. Before you can set Asian type options, you need to enable the Show Asian Text Options check box in Type Preferences. You can set several Asian type options: (1) reduce spacing between Asian characters known as Tsume, (2) turn on or off Tate-chuu-yoko, also called kumimoji or renmoji, and (3) turn on or off Mojikumi, which is the spacing between punctuations, symbols, number and other characters in Japanese type.
- In the Editor, click the Edit menu, point to Preferences, and then click Type.
- Select the Show Asian Text Options check box.
- Select the Show Font Names in English check box.
- Click OK.
The Asian Type Option button appears on the Options bar.
- Select a Type tool on the toolbox, and then select a text layer in the Layers palette or create a new type.
- Click the Asian Text Option button on the Options bar, and then specify the following options:
Tsume. Reduces the space around a character by the specified percentage value. The greater the percentage, the tighter the spacing.
Tate-Chuu-Yoko. Select to display a block of horizontal type within a vertical type line.
Mojikumi. Determine spacing between punctuation, symbols, numbers, and other characters in Japanese type. Select to use half-width spacing. Deselect to use full-width spacing.
Photoshop Elements lets you control text through the type options, located on the Options bar. To access the Type options you must have one of the Type tools selected. It is not necessary to change type options after typing. If you know what you’re after, you can set the options, and then commence typing. However, if the need arises to change the text, Photoshop Elements comes to the rescue with a host of type options, such as font family, size, color, justification, even high-end type processing controls like leading and kerning. You can preview font families and font styles directly in the Font menu. Font names appear in the regular system font, and a sample word (“Sample”) appears next to each font name, displayed in the font itself.
- In the Editor, open an image.
- Select a Type tool on the toolbox, and then select a text layer in the Layers palette or create a new type.
- Click the Font Family list arrow, and then select from the fonts available on your computer.
- Click the Font Style list arrow, and then select from the font styles available on your computer.
- Click the Font Size list arrow, and then select from the pre-set font sizes, measured in points (6 to 72).
Photoshop Elements uses a standard Postscript measuring system of 72 points to the inch.
- Click the Anti-aliasing button to turn anti-aliasing on and off.
Anti-aliasing creates text that is visually smoother to the eye.
- Click the Faux Bold, Faux Italic, Underline, or Strikethrough button.
Use the faux option if your font doesn’t have a true bold or italic style under Font Style.
- Click the Align button, and then click Left Align Text, Center Text, or Right Align Text button.
- Click the Leading list arrow, and then select from the pre-set values for leading. Leading adds or subtracts space vertically between lines of text.
Click the Color Swatch button, and then select a color from the Color Picker dialog box.
Click the Warped Text button to apply special warped text effects to text.
To toggle between horizontal and vertical type, click the Text Orientation button on the Options bar.If this option is selected on a preexisting text layer, the text switches between horizontal and vertical.
Click the Commit button on the Options bar or click outside the text box to accept the text, or Cancel to ignore the changes.
Did You Know?
You can use non pre-set font sizes from the Options bar. Select the current point size on the Options bar, type a point size, and then press Enter.
See Also
See “Using the Warp Text Option” on page 370 for information on warping text in your image.
The Warp Text option gives you creative control over the look of text. No longer are you confined to straight vertical or horizontal text. In the Photoshop Elements world, text can be created in almost any size and shape. As an additional bonus, warping text does not require converting the text into a raster. So days later, you can access the warped text, change its font family, size, and color. It’s all about control... in this case, controlling text.
- In the Editor, open an image.
- Select a Type tool on the toolbox, and then select a text layer in the Layers palette or create a new type.
- Click the Warp Text button on the Options bar.
- Click the Styles list arrow, and then select from the following style options:
Arc
Arc Lower
Arc Upper
Arch
Bulge
Shell Lower
Shell Upper
Flag
Wave
Fish
Rise
Fisheye
Inflate
Squeeze
Twist
- Click the Horizontal or Vertical option to warp the text in a horizontal or vertical direction.
- Enter a percentage value in the Bend box, or drag the slider left or right (-100 to 100). Bend controls the physical amount of bend applied to the text, based on warp style.
- Enter a percentage value in the Horizontal Distortion box, or drag the slider left or right (-100 to 100). Horizontal Distortion controls the amount of distortion on the horizontal axis applied to the text, based on warp style.
- Enter a percentage value in the Vertical Distortion box, or drag the slider left or right (-100 to 100). Vertical Distortion controls the amount of distortion on the vertical axis applied to the text, based on warp style.
- Click OK.
The Anti-aliasing option helps to make text appear smoother by painting the edges of the text with semi-transparent colors. When text is displayed on a raster monitor, the text is built using pixels, and since pixels are essentially bricks, the edges of curved type have a tendency to look ragged. By painting the edges of the text with semi-transparent pixels, the type blends into the background, creating a smoother look. Unless you apply a gradient or mask, text is typically one color; activating anti-aliasing can increase the number of colors (at the edge) to 6 to 10. While this works to make the text smoother, it will also make small text (under 12 points) harder to read. The trick with anti-aliasing is to experiment with the various options to determine which one works the best, and that means occasionally turning anti-aliasing off.
Photoshop Elements has two type tools—the Horizontal or Vertical type tools and the Horizontal or Vertical Type Mask tools. The former create regular type, using the fonts available on your computer system, and when you add type to the screen, the color of the font defaults to the current foreground color. The latter are masking tools. When you use one of the type mask tools, Photoshop Elements creates a mask in the size and shape of the selected font with the mask appearing as a red overlay. Once the mask is created, you can modify it just like any normal text layer, by changing the font, size, or even use the Warp feature. Unlike the normal type tools, Photoshop Elements does not create a text layer for the mask; the mask simply appears in the active layer. Being able to create a mask from a font opens up all kinds of creative possibilities. For example, you could use a mask in conjunction with a photograph to create a unique fill or you could use a mask to create a chiseled look to text.
- In the Editor, open an image.
- Select the Horizontal Type Mask or Vertical Type Mask tool on the toolbox.
- Click in the image window to create a single line of text, or drag a rectangle to create a text box, and then type.
As you type, Photoshop Elements creates a mask in the size and shape of the current font.
- Use the type tools on the Options bar to change its font family, style, and size.
- Click the background color box on the toolbox to select the background color of the mask if it is on the Background layer.
- Select the Marquee tool on the toolbox, or any other of the selection tools.
The mask converts from a red overlay into a traditional selection.
- Select the Move tool, and then point into the interior of one of the letters, and then drag to move the selection.
One of the advantages to a mask is you can create type using any fill you desire. For example, you’re doing an advertising piece for a real estate company in California, and you want something unique for the text, so you get an image of the plains, create a type mask with the words SUNSET and then use the image and mask to create a unique fill.
- In the Editor, open an image containing the image you want to mask.
- Select the layer containing the image in the Layers palette.
- Select the Horizontal Type Mask or Vertical Type Mask tool on the toolbox.
- Click in the image window to create a single line of text, or drag a rectangle to create a text box, and then type.
As you type, Photoshop Elements creates a mask in the size and shape of the current font.
- Use the type tools on the Options bar to change its font family, style, and size.
Did You Know?
You can move the mask after you’ve converted it into a selection. Click any selection tool, and then drag from inside the selection. The selection area will move without modifying the actual image. In addition, you can use your arrow keys to gently nudge the selection left, right, up, or down.
- Select the Marquee tool on the toolbox, and then position the mask directly over the portion of the image you want inside the text.
- Click the Select menu, and then click Inverse.
- Press the Backspace key to delete the inverse selection.
The Invert command reverses the selection and the deletion removes all the pixels outside the mask.
Did You Know?
You can use the adjustment tools to control the selection. Instead of deleting the surrounding image, click the Image menu, point to Adjustments, and then click Levels. Move the middle gray slider left or right to increase or decrease the brightness of the surrounding pixels. That way the text will stand out against the original image background.
This technique is great for creating three-dimensional text on any image. For example, you can use this technique to create the extended text on a plastic credit card, or words chiseled in marble. The technique is simple, but the results are impressive. Using the Bevel and Emboss layer style generates the effect, and the trick is it darkens the upper-left portions of the selection, while lightening the lower-right portions. This creates the illusion of a light source falling across a concave or chiseled surface.
- In the Editor, open an image containing the image you want to use for the chisel effect.
- Select the layer containing the image in the Layers palette.
- Select the Horizontal Type Mask or Vertical Type Mask tool on the toolbox.
- Click in the image window to create a single line of text, or drag a rectangle to create a text box, and then type.
As you type, Photoshop Elements creates a mask in the size and shape of the current font.
- Use the editing tools on the mask to change its font, style, and size.
- Select the Marquee tool on the toolbox, and then position the mask directly over the portion of the image you want the words to appear.
- Press Ctrl+J to create a new layer via a copy.
Photoshop Elements creates a copy of the image pixels inside the type mask, and then places them in a layer directly above the active layer.
- Click the layer containing the copied image pixels.
- Select a bevel layer style from the Effects palette, and then click Apply.
- To edit the layer style, click the effects icon (fx) in the Layers palette containing the bevel layer style, make the changes you want, and then click OK.
See Also
See Chapter 14, “Working with Layer Styles and Photo Effects,” on page 323 for more information on using layer styles.
After you create the text you want, you can apply a gradient fill to the text. A gradient fill lets you paint with a rainbow of colors. The gradient tool comes packaged with several sets of pre-designed gradients, or you can create and save your own customized gradient sets. Before you can apply a gradient fill to text, you need to convert the text layer with vector to a traditional bitmap layer, which means you cannot edit the text anymore. Since gradients, by default, overwrite the image, it’s a good idea to create gradients in separate layers.
- In the Editor, open an image that contains a text layer.
- Select a Type tool on the toolbox.
- Display the Layers palette.
- Select the layer containing the text.
- Click the Layer menu, and then click Simplify Layer to convert the vector text to a bitmap.
You won’t be able to edit the text after you simplify it.
- Ctrl-click the thumbnail for the text layer in the Layers palette.
- Select the Gradient tool on the toolbox.
- Click the Gradient Type list arrow on the Options bar, and then select the gradient you want.
- To adjust the gradient, click Edit on the Options bar, make the changes you want, and then click OK.
- Click to set the starting point of the gradient and drag to define the ending point.
