Text Shaping in Photoshop

by: DavidPeters
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Flexibility is abundant in the Photoshop CS2 Program. With the wide range of features this program has to offer, it can rise to meet any demand you could give it. Not only can Photoshop CS2 offer great effects for your images, you can also transform text from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Photoshop's Warp Text feature enables you to wrap or bend text around an object in your image to make eye-catching, customized banners or headlines. Additionally, you can warp text in either the horizontal or vertical direction to give your text a distinctive look and feel. There are many ways to manipulate text in Photoshop images, but this will give you a place to start, especially if you've never worked with Photoshop's text features before.

First, open an image to which you want to add text. Choose the horizontal text tool from the toolbar and click the image near to where you want to position your text. Type in the text you would like to add. You can also add the more traditional style enhancements such as bold, italics or underline to your text while in text mode.

When you are done adding your text, select and right-click this text to open the contextual menu. To open the Warp Text dialogue box, choose Warp Text. From this box, you can choose from a selection of pre-defined text warps using the Style pull-down menu. Select the warp that best fits the effect you're trying to accomplish. If you're undecided on the kind of warp you want, try some out to see what effect they have on your image text.

Several sliders will be below the Style pull-down menu that will allow for fine-tuning the warp effects. Here you can adjust the text bend along with the horizontal and vertical distortion. You have the option of using the sliders, or you can enter a percentage value for all three of these effects. Once you have reached the effect you like, click OK. The Warp Text effect will now be applied to your image.