Making a logo with outlined type tricks

Neil from New York, NY, using Photoshop 7.01 with Windows XP, writes in with:
[Quote:] I'm trying to make a text logo.
> I'd like to type my text in blue, then outline it in white, then outline that with black. I just can't figure it out. can you help?

Stroking, layering, expanding and having all sorts of fun with type... a favorite.

Type Effects

Okay, this is one of the more fun activities in Photoshop.

Set the type, adjust or modify the letter shapes until you have your logo floating on its own layer.

Hold the Control key (Mac: Command) and click once on the Type layer in the layers palette. That will put a selection around the letters.

If you want the negative areas filled, (like the eye in the e or the hole in the o) then you'll need to grab the Wand tool (tap 'W') and Shift/click in those areas to add them to your selection.

Now, with the selection active (racing ants) Click on the 'New Layer' icon at the bottom of the Layers palette (next to the trash can) and then drag that layer down, beneath the type layer.

Now, ask yourself how thick you want the "outline" to be. Let's say you want about a four pixel outline.

Choose menu: Select > Modify > Expand and key in "4"

Your selection now moved away form the type by four pixels. Fill with the desired color. (Or, apply a "stroke" using the menu: Edit > Stroke.)

You want another outline behind that one? No problem just follow the steps above again. (This time don't forget the four pixels you already added. If you want another four pixel outline, you'll need to add 8 this time. Starting from the original type each time makes the selection a little more honest than using the newly created outline as the starting point on successive outlines.)

Okay, I know you're going to ask: "What about the Outline/Stroke layers style" ... well you could use that as well, but many say it doesn't do quite as nice of a job as doing it manually. Try it both ways and let us know which way you think worked best.

Comments

[Willem]

This is a great tip, I created a great logo with this advice. Thank you so much for making complex software like Photoshop seem easy!

[batista]

i will be pleased if you send me a .pdf or .doc so that i can me the master in photoshop 7.0. and i can do my projects