02
SELECT COLOR RANGE
To make the cracks in the earth glow red
with magma, go to Select>Color Range and use the
Eyedropper tool to select the cracks. Copy and paste
the cracks onto a new layer and double-click on the
Layer in the Layers Panel. Select Color Overlay and
give it a searing hot red colour.03
MAKE ADJUSTMENTS
Select the cracked earth texture and the
new magma layers in the Layers panel, right-click
on them and select Merge Layers. Play with the
Levels, go to Image>Adjustments>Levels, and
opacity so that it appears convincing. Use the
Eraser (E) on a Soft Round brush setting to lightly
delete the edges of the magma layer so that it
fades into the darkness.04
INSERT THE TEXT
Merge the layers together and forget about it.
Better yet, click on the eye icon in the layers panel and
hide it altogether. Create a new layer on top and fill it in
black again using the Paint Bucket (G). Type in your
text using the Type tool (T) – I’m using Impact but feel
free to use any font you like. Adjust the tracking
setting in the Characters panel, Window>Character, to
change the spacing in between the letters.PRODUCE ICEEFFECT TYPE
QUICK TIP
Creating an ice effect isn’t an exact science. This tutorial gives you the suggested steps and settings to
use but a lot of it will be down to personal judgement and experimentation. Don’t be afraid to tinker,
adjust and carve up the layers until they give you the effect you want.05
CREATE A CLIPPING MASK
Right-click on the text layer in the Layers panel and select Rasterize
Type. Use the Eraser (E) with a Hard Round brush setting to round off the corners
of the letters. Make a copy of this text layer and hide the original – we’ll need it
later. Drag in the ice texture into the canvas. Place the ice texture layer on top of
the copied text layer. Right-click on the ice texture layer in the Layers panel and
select Create Clipping Mask. The ice texture will show through the text.06
APPLY THE FIRST ADJUSTMENT LAYER
Select the ice texture layer and text layer in the Layers panel, right-click
on them and select Merge Layers. This will lock in the clipping mask, which
means you won’t be able to move the ice texture layer through the clipping mask
anymore. To remove the colours in the ice text, apply a Black & White adjustment
layer by clicking on the circular icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and select
Black & White. Adjust the settings to the suggested values in the screenshot.07
BOOST IT WITH ANOTHER LAYER
To boost the contrast in the ice text, add
another adjustment layer. Click on the circular icon
at the bottom of the Layers panel again and this
time select Levels. Play with the settings until you
get intense areas of black and white. The suggested
values in the screenshot are a good starting point
but feel free to adjust the settings according to
what’s right for your image. The more contrast you
can get at this point the better – it will help to build
the feeling of transparency later on.08
ADD MORE TEXTURE
To add some more texture to the ice text, unhide the original text layer and repeat Steps 5 to 7. This
time however, make sure that you use a different area of ice through your clipping mask. Merge these new
layers and place the layer above the ice text layer. Change the blending mode of this new layer to Hard Light.
You should have more areas of white and black and the contrast level should have greatly increased.