How to Create a Geometric Collage Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

This tutorial will show you how to use selection and move tools to divide text into segments and fill them with parts of an image, creating a geometric collage text effect. Let's get started!

This text effect was inspired by the many Layer Styles available on GraphicRiver.

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial:

• Peace Sans font
• Mountain Image by Sven Scheuermeier

1. How to Resize an Image and Create Text

Step 1

Open the Mountain Image, and then go to Image > Image Size, type 1500 for the Width value, and click OK.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 2

Create the text in All Caps using the font Peace Sans. Set the Color to Black, the Size to 250 pt, and the Leading value to 210 pt.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

2. How to Create Segments

Step 1

Set the Foreground Color to White, pick the Line Tool, and set the Weight value in the Options bar to 1.

Click-drag to create a line that divides a section of the first letter you have.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 2

Keep creating more lines to divide the text into a couple of segments per letter. The number and size of segments you create controls how the final result looks.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 3

Group all the line layers you have, and then duplicate the group and make it invisible by clicking the eye icon next to it.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 4

Right-click the copy group, choose Merge Group, and rename the merged layer to Lines.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

3. How to Use the Selection Options

Step 1

Command-click the text layer's thumbnail to create a selection.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 2

Shift-Command-Option-click the Lines layer's thumbnail to make the text selection intersect with the lines.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 3

Go to Select > Inverse, hit the Delete key, and press Command-D to deselect.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

4. How to Create an Outer Stroke Shape

Step 1

Duplicate the original text layer, and rename the copy to Stroke 1.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 2

Right-click the Stroke 1 layer, and choose Convert to Shape.

Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then, in the Options bar, change the Fill to None, the Stroke Color to White, and its Size to 1.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 3

Select both the Stroke 1 and Lines layers, and press Command-E to merge them.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 4

Make the text layer invisible.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

5. How to Create a Collage

Step 1

Pick the Magic Wand Tool (W), and check the Contiguous box in the Options bar.

Click once to select the first segment in the first letter.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 2

With the Magic Wand Tool still active, click-drag to move the selection over any area within the image you have.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 3

Select the Background layer, and press Command-J to duplicate the chosen area in a new layer.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 4

Pick the Move Tool (V), and click-drag to place the duplicated part into the segment.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 5

Repeat those steps to fill all the first letter's segments, and then place the segment layers in a group that has the name of that letter.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 6

Fill each of the remaining letters, and place all the letter groups in a Collage group.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

6. How to Create an Outer Stroke and a Shadow

Step 1

Duplicate the original text layer, make the copy visible, rename it to Shadow, and convert it into a shape.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 2

Duplicate the Shadow layer, and rename the copy layer to Stroke.

Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then, in the Options bar, change the Fill to None, the Stroke Color to White, and its Size to 2.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 3

Drag the Shadow layer below the Collage group, and then change the Stroke Color to Black and the Size to 2.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 4

Use the Move Tool and the Arrow Keys to nudge the shadow a little bit away from the text.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 5

Change the Shadow layer's Opacity to 30%.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

7. How to Adjust the Coloring Using a Curves Adjustment Layer

Step 1

Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Curves.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Step 2

For each color channel you have, select it from the drop-down menu at the top of the Properties panel, and change its values slightly to achieve a result you like.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Congratulations! You're Done

In this tutorial, we created some text and divided it into a couple of segments.

Then, we used selection and move tools to fill the segments with different areas of the image and create the geometric collage effect.

Finally, we used a curves adjustment layer to adjust the coloring of the final result.

Please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions, and outcomes below.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.