- Drag in the sides to create a margin. Once you get the corners
positioned where you like them and align the layer’s edges with
the sign’s edges, drag in the sides to add some white space around
the text. When you get everything just so, press Enter (Return)
or click in the options bar to accept your transformation. - Add an inner shadow to the
text. Now that the message is in the
right place, let’s integrate the letters
into the sign a little better. Start by
clicking the icon at the bottom of
the Layers panel and choosing Inner
Shadow. In the Layer Style dialog box,
drop the Opacity to 45 percent but
otherwise leave the default settings.
Click OK and you’ll see how the text
embeds slightly into the material of
the sign, as in Figure 8-9. - Create a new layer for a shading effect. To give the text the
highlight and shadow appropriate to its new orientation, we’re
going to create a gradient-style effect. Start by Alt-clicking
(Option-clicking) the icon at the bottom of the Layers panel
to create a new layer. Name the layer “Shading” and click OK. - Paint white across the top. Press B to get the brush tool and use
the bracket keys to size your brush so it’s about half the height
of the sign. Right-click and set your brush hardness to about
50 percent. Press the D key to make sure your colors are set to
their defaults, and then press the X key to make white the fore-
ground color. Paint with white across the top half of the sign. - Paint black across the bottom. Press the X key again to switch
the foreground and background colors. Then paint the bottom
half of the sign black. Your image should
look as defaced as mine is in Figure 8-10. - Clip the shading layer to the text
layer. Choose Layer→Create Clip-
ping Mask. When you do so, the shad-
ing you’ve painted will clip the layer
beneath it, limiting the shading effect
to just the letters, as in Figure 8-11, on
the next page.
Figure 8-9.Figure 8-10.Applying Free Transform to Scale and Align Perspective 265