Creating the Sky LogoIn this tutorial, I will be explaining a very simple and straightforward way of creating Sky's latest logo. We will be using layer styles and adjustment layers to achieve a transparent glass effect, which will come in handy for many other graphics too.I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to create the outcome to this tutorial, but certainly earlier versions of the program will also be entirely suitable. This tutorial requires no advanced knowledge of Photoshop, and should be easy for everyone to follow.The outcome of the tutorial is shown below:

If the Sky Logo isnt what you are looking for have a look in the Sidebar or follow thisPhotoshop Logo Tutoriallink for some more logo tutorials Looking for anAdobe Illustrator Sky Logo? TVARKhas a great selection of Sky thingsStep One:Firstly, you will need to download the font that is used to create the sky logo. You can find it at this link here:http://www.dafont.com/sky-logos.font(Update: Looks like the font isn't there any more. I'll try and find out a new location for it.)Once you have installed the different TrueType font files, they should automatically load up for use in Photoshop. If not, restart Photoshop and try again.Step Two:Create a new document with a white background at a size measuring 500 x 300 pixels. Select the Horizontal Type Tool and using the Sky TV Channel Logos font, type the number 8 with a size of 400pt into your text box using black as your colour. Make sure that Smooth is selected in the drop down anti-aliasing menu.

You should now have something that looks like this:

Step Three:This is where the fun begins! Using only layer styles, we can achieve an awesome transparent glass effect. If you are using the same sized text as me, these settings will be perfect. Otherwise, you may have to alter them slightly depending on your text size, but they fundamentally remain the same.Open up the Layer Styles menu by clicking on the small fx icon at the bottom of the layers palette, or alternatively, double click on your layer in the palette. The first style we will be adding is a Bevel and Emboss. Make sure that the settings have been changed to match those shown in the screenshot below:

Depth:225%Size:4pxUse Global Light:UncheckedAltitude:65 degreesGlass Contour:CustomYou will also need to add a Contour to the Bevel and Emboss setting, so check the box underneath in the Layer Styles menu, and select this to go to the menu. Simply select the first option in the drop down menu with the diagonal sloping line, like the one shown below:

You should now have something that looks similar to the image below. It looks awful now, but it makes all the difference for later!

Step Four:Keep the Layer Styles menu open, as we will now be adding a colour overlay. Simply select this in the menu, and add a white overlay like that shown in the screenshot below:

Also, we will be adding a Satin to the image, so select that option in the Layer Styles menu and alter the settings to those shown below:

Opacity:20%Distance:14pxSize:21pxThats all the layer styling you need! Your image should now look like this:

Step Five:The final step is to add the blue tint to the text. We will be doing this through the use of an adjustment layer, which are amazingly handy layers which can be used to change a number of different things such as colour, tone and contrast.Go to the bottom of the layers palette again, and click on the small circle icon, which is filled in half black and half white. A small menu should then appear, where you should select the Colour Balance option. It should open up another menu with different slider options. Simply follow the screenshots below to get the correct settings.

Cyan/Red:-40Magenta/Green:0Yellow/Blue:+34

Cyan/Red:-4Magenta/Green:0Yellow/Blue:+16

Cyan/Red:-10Magenta/Green:0Yellow/Blue:+7Now you are finished! Here is your final outcome:

You may want to expand on this technique through sharpening, experimenting with different colours, or adding more distinct highlights and shadows. Have fun!

TEXT INSIDE

In this beginning-level design tutorial, Ill show you how to apply a beautiful and super-easy text treatment in Photoshop: theinset text effect. Its also often called theletterpresseffect because it looks similar to text created by aLetterpress printer.Final ResultHeres a preview of what were about to create.

Creating the Photoshop document1Lets start with the basics: setting up the Photoshop document. Open up Photoshop and create a new document (Ctrl + N). Well start with a small canvas, a550pxby550pxdocument, but know that later on, youll be able to adjust the canvas size of your project.

Styling the Background Layer2Well add a Gradient Overlay layer style onto the default Background layer. To do this, we need to make the layer editable. Double-click on the Background layer in the Layers Panel, which will result in opening the New Layer dialog box. Enter aNamefor the layer (by default its Layer 0); Ive named mineBackground.

3Double-click on the Background layers thumbnail in the Layers Panel to open up the Layer Styles dialog box. We want a vertical color gradient that transitions from darker blue (#003471) at the bottom, to a lighter blue (#448CCB) at the top. To begin, check theGradient Overlaycheckbox to apply the layer style. Then click on the color gradient on the right of theGradientoption to open up the Color Gradient Editor.

4Double-click on the leftColor Stopand enter the color value of a dark blue shade (#003471) which will be the color at the bottom of the canvas. Do the same for the rightColor Stop, but this time, enter a lighter blue color (#448CCB). Lets move theColor Midpointto aLocationof around60%to make the darker blue color more dominant in the color gradient.

5Lets give the background a light source from the top left corner of the canvas. Grab the Brush Tool (B) from the Tools Panel. Set the brush tip to a rounded brush (I usedAirbrush Soft, but feel free to explore your options). Set theDiameteroption to500px,Opacityoption to60%, andFlowoption to70%in the Options Bar.

6Create a new layer (Ctrl + Shift + N) on top of the Background layer where we will apply the light source, call itBackground light source.7Set yourForegroundcolor to white (#FFFFFF). With the Brush Tool (B) still active, click on the top left corner of your canvas.

Creating the Inset Type8Use the Horizontal Type Tool (T) to write some text onto the canvas. When choosing a font family, its best to choose something thats bold and thick to more readily show the inset effect. This type effect also works best on larger font sizes. I usedRockwell Stdset toBoldand with the font size set to30px(you can set these options in the Options bar). The color doesnt matter because we will use a Gradient Overlay layer style (later on) that will supersede whatever foreground color you used.

9Lets center the text in our canvas. In the Layers Panel, make sure the text layer is the active layer. Select the entire canvas by choosing Select > All (Ctrl + A). Then choose Layer > Align Layers to Selection > Vertical Centers. This will center the text vertically. With the canvas still selected, align the text horizontally by choosing Layer > Align Layers to Selection > Horizontal Centers to center our text in the middle of the canvas.

Adding the Inset Typography layer styles10Well be adding three layer styles on the Inset Typography text layer: a Gradient Overlay, an Inner Shadow, and a Drop Shadow. This is all well need in order to get the inset text effect. Start by right-clicking on the Inset Typography text layer in the Layers Panel and then choosingBlending Options this will open up the Layer Styles options dialog (alternatively, double-clicking on the layer in the Layers Panel will perform the same action of opening the dialog box).

11Lets work on the Gradient Overlay first. Check the box besideGradient Overlayto apply this style to the text. Well want a similar color gradient as the background: a vertical color gradient with a darker color at the bottom of the text, and a lighter color at the top.

12Double-click on the color gradient beside theGradientoption to open up the Color Gradient Editor. For the leftColor Stop, choose a dark blue color (darker than the dark blue color of the Background layer). I chose#022854. For the rightColor Stop, choose a lighter blue color than the leftColor Stop, but still a little darker than the dark blue color of the Background layer. I chose#0F498C.13Because the Inner Shadow layer style that well apply next will be at the top left of the text, lets make the lighter blue color more dominant in the color gradient to make the Inner Shadow more visible; do this by moving theColor MidpointLocationto around30%.

14Lets apply the Inner Shadow layer style next. Check the box besideInner Shadow. Keep the angle at 120oso that the Inner Shadows light source comes from the top left, congruent with the light source we created earlier.15Changing the values of theOpacity,DistanceandSizeoptions will determine how pronounced or how subtle the inset effect will be. I chose to set theOpacityat50%, theDistanceat2pxand theSizeat3pxbecause I wanted it to be visible, yet not exaggerated. Experiment with these option values until you get just the right inset effect.

16Finally, well apply a Drop Shadow to make the text effect consistent with the light source. We want it to be very subtle, just enough to accent the text effect. Start by checking the box besideDrop Shadow.17Change theBlend Modeoption toNormalto make the drop shadow less feathered.18Change the Shadow color from the default (which is black) to a bright blue color. I used the Eyedropper Tool (I) from the Tools Panel to sample a color from the top left corner where the light source was to start, and tweaked it until I got the color I was happy with:#A8C9E6.19I wanted the drop shadow to be subtle and small, so I used1pxfor theDistanceoption to locate the drop shadow just at the bottom right of the text, and2pxfor theSizeoption. I then lowered the Opacity option using the slider so that the drop shadow isnt too prominent, and I was satisfied with it at30%opacity. Also, note that its important to keep the angle of the drop shadow at 120oso that its consistently angled with the backgrounds light source and the Inner Shadow layer style.

Were done!Didnt I tell you it would be super-easy?

ELEGANT TEXT WHITE

In this tutorial youll learn how to create an elegant 3D Text effect using simple the shape tool, layer styles and paths.Step 1: Setting Size

Make a new document. Im choosing a standard desktop resolution of 12801024 so this can be used as a wallpaper.Step 2:

Now press "U" and select the rectangle tool. Create a rectangle that is the size of the document. Name this rectangle layer "Gradient". Now apply a layer style with a gradient overlay using these colors#af1854,#f0d6c0and#ffffff. Be sure the gradient is set to Radial.ImportantMake sure to turn on the "Shape Layer" instead of the default path layer when using the Rectangle Shape Tool.Step 3:

Now transform the rectangle named "gradient" and increase its size from all sides. The gradient will stretch along with rectangle and the background will look like this:

Step 4:

Now click on type tool and write "Think" on a new layer. Name this layer "Think". I usedHelvetica Neue 75 bold. Apply an inner glow with these settings:Blend Mode: MultiplyColor blackOpacity 8%Size 13 pxNote:These values may change depending on the size of your font. Use the image below for reference.The text will look like this:

Step 5: Creating 3D Text

Duplicate the text layer and position it behind "Think" layer. Name this layer "3D". To give it a 3D look, we need to extract all the highlighted 3D faces of text . Lets start with letter "T".Press "U" and create a rectangle of equal width above the letter "T". Dont forget to turn on "shape layer". Fill this rectangle with any color and give opacity 20%.

Press "A" and select the direct selection tool. Select the upper two anchor points and align them by pressing the right arrow to give the top of your "T" a 3D look. Name this shape "T1".

Create other faces shown below using the same process. Name these T2 and T3.

Step 6: Giving ShadowsSelect the face T1 and change its color to white. Hold Ctrl and click on layer T1 to get selection of layer. Create a new layer and name it "T1shadow". Select a brush, and using the color black, hardness 0% and size 50 px. Drag from left to right to give it depth.

Step 7:Repeat step 5 & 6 to the rest of the characters. Give shadows to other letters carefully. If everything is done correctly, the result will look like this.

You may decide to apply your shadows differently. Ive applied shadows that gives the text a bit of a soft glossy feel.Step 8:Select all layers except the background layer, group them and name the group "Think". Copy the group and merge all the layers of this group copy. This layer will be automatically named as "Think". Duplicate the Think layer and change the blending mode to multiply with 50% opacity.

Step 9:To create a perfect shadow we need to establish a perspective viewport. Create a new document of size 900 x 600 px. Press ctrl + " to show the grid. Pressprint screento copy the entire desktop. Open new document, paste the image and remove the area without the grid.

Copy this grid and paste it in our work document. Change its blending mode to multiply to see through it. Transform it to create a plane on which the shadow will fall.

Step 10: ShadowingDuplicate the Think layer and fill it with black. Transform it to make it fall onto our grid.

Fill in empty spaces where we added extra faces on our characters with black and merge them with the think shadow layer. Now our shadow will look like this:

Step 11:Apply a Gaussain Blur to our shadow layer "think shadow" and change its blending mode to multiply. Now add a layer mask to the think shadow layer to fade out the shadow using a gradient (or use a soft eraser).

Step 12:Looking pretty good! Now lets add some lighting effects. Press P to select thepen tooland create aPathlike this.

Now select a brush of size of 5px with 100% hardness. Select White as your foreground color. Select the pen tool againthe path you drew before should still be there. Right click and select "stroke path" tool. Select Brush from drop down menu and turn on "stimulate pressure". You will get stroke like this:

Step 13:Name the this stroke layer as "Wave 1" and duplicate the layer. Go to filter > Distort > Wave and apply filter with these settings:

This will give an extra wavy look to the stroke.Step 14:Create some more waves by following the steps 12 & 13 and arrange them around the text. Apply a light gussian blur to some waves to give them a sense of depth. If everything is done correctly then it will look like this:

Step 15:As an optional step, we can add some stars to our text. Press "U" to select the custom shape tool and select 5 point star.

Make a new document of size 100 x 100 px and make a star with the 5 point star shape. Fill it with black and then ctrl + click the same layer to get selection of star. Go to Edit > Define Brush Preset, create the brush and name it star brush.

Step 16:Press F5 to access the brush panel and apply these settings:Brush tip shape spacing 30%Shape Dynemics size jitter & angle jitter 100%Scattering 578% on both axisOther Dynemics opacity 100%.

Step 17:Select this star brush and keep its size to 15 px. Set foreground color to "#ff62ad". Create another path with the pen tool, right click to select "stroke path". Turn on stimulate pressure and create a wave of stars. Name this new layer something like Star Wave.

Step 18:Now we just need to hide this star wave layer from some places to make it seem as if it is passing through layers. I prefer to use a mask, and manually filling in the areas I want to hide.