How to Create an Aquaman-Inspired Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

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This tutorial will show you how to use layer styles, textures, brushes, with a bunch of tools and adjustments to create a text effect inspired by the Aquaman movie poster. 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:

• Lato Heavy font
• Under water texture by dadrian
• Light Rays by spiritsighs-stock
• Phineas F. Texture Stock by redwolf518stock
• Metal seamless textures by jojo-ojoj
• out of the blue by darkwood67
• Grunge-Backgrounds by Chrisdesign
• Ur gravel by DivsM-stock
• 30 Awsome Lens Flare by mbarekamsoftgfx
• Free Water Splash Photoshop Brushes by Brusheezy.com
• Water Splash Brushes by Serkenil
• Concrete Rough 5 by artboy2007

1. How to Create a Background

Step 1

Create a new 3000 x 2071 px document, click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Gradient.

Create the gradient fill using the Colors#297f82 to the left, #1a3344 in the middle, and #0d1018 to the right.

Change the Style to Radial, and click-drag the center of the gradient to place it at the top of the document.

Increase the Scale value to 200, and check the Dither box.

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Step 2

Go to File > Place Linked, open the Under water texture image, and go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation to change the Saturation value to -100.

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Step 3

Change the texture layer's Blend Mode to Color Dodge.

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Step 4

Go to Edit > Transform > Warp, choose Arc from the Warp menu in the Options bar, and click-drag the control point to get a result you like.

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Step 5

Hit the Return key to commit the changes, and click the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

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Step 6

Pick the Gradient Tool, set the Foreground and Background Colors to White and Black, choose the Foreground to Background gradient fill, and click the Radial Gradient icon in the Options bar.

Select the mask's thumbnail, and click-drag from the document's top to its bottom to create a gradient mask.

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2. How to Add a Light Rays Brush

Step 1

Pick the Brush Tool, and create a new layer and name it Light Rays.

Change the layer's Blend Mode to Overlay and its Opacity to 50%.

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Step 2

Hold the Option key, and click-drag the texture layer mask's thumbnail to the Light Rays layer to duplicate it.

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Step 3

Unlink the mask by clicking the link icon between the layer and mask thumbnails.

Select the layer's thumbnail, and add a light rays brush from the Light Rays pack. You can then press Command-T to enter Free Transform Mode and rotate, resize, and warp the rays.

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3. How to Add a Fizz Texture

Step 1

Open the Phineas F. Texture Stock image, and go to Image > Calculations.

Change both Channel values to Red, the Blending to Overlay, and the Result to Selection. Click OK, and go to Edit > Copy.

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Step 2

Back to the original document, go to Edit > Paste, rename the layer to Top Fizz, and change its Fill value to 0%.

Place the texture at the top of the document and resize it as needed.

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Double-click the Top Fizz layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 3

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 2
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: 122
• Altitude: 42
• Gloss Contour: Ring
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Linear Light
• Shadow Mode:
  • Opacity: 35%

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Step 4

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Ring - Double
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

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Step 5

Lower the Opacity to 50%.

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Step 6

Put all the layers except for the Background layer in a group and name it Background.

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4. How to Create a Smart Object Text Layer

Step 1

Create the text in All Caps using the font Lato Heavy. Set the Size to 250 pt and the Tracking to 645.

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Step 2

Rename the text layer to Text, right-click it, and choose Convert to Smart Object.

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5. How to Record a Simple Extrusion Action

Step 1

Open the Actions panel, click the Create new set icon at the bottom of the panel, type Extrusion in the Name field, and click OK.

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Step 2

Click the Create new action icon at the bottom of the panel, type Action in the Name field, and click Record.

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Step 3

Press Command-J to duplicate the Text layer.

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Step 4

Press Command-T to enter Free Transform Mode.

In the Options bar, click the Maintain aspect ratio icon between the W and H fields, and set their values to 99.9%.

Hit the Return key to commit the changes. You should see all the steps recorded and added to the action you've created.

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Step 5

Click the Stop recording icon at the bottom of the Actions panel.

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6. How to Create an Extrusion

Step 1

Click the Play selection icon at the bottom of the Actions panel ten times to create ten more copies with the transformation.

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Step 2

Select all the Text layers, and go to Layer > Arrange > Reverse. This will place the last copy layer at the bottom and bring the original to the top.

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Step 3

Deselect the first and last Text layers, and place the rest in a group and name it Center.

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Step 4

Rename the top Text layer to Front and the last to Back.

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Step 5

Duplicate the Front layer twice.

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Step 6

Drag the Front layer on top of all layers inside the Center group.

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7. How to Style the Front Text Layers

Double-click the Front copy 2 layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Style: Stroke Emboss
• Depth: 300
• Size: 5
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: -176
• Altitude: 21
• Gloss Contour: Gaussian
• Check the Anti-aliased box

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Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Cone - Asymmetrical
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

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Step 3

Add a Stroke with these settings:

• Size: 3
• Position: Inside
• Fill Type: Gradient
• Style: Reflected
• Create the Gradient using the Colors#7e662e to the left, and #cfb765 with a Location value around 86%.

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Step 4

Change the Fill value to 0%.

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Step 5

Convert the layer to a Smart Object.

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Step 6

Double-click the Front copy layer to apply a Pattern Overlay effect with these settings:

• Pattern: 1.jpg (Open the image from the Metal seamless textures pack, and go to Edit > Define Pattern to add it to the preset)
• Scale: 50%

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This will style the front part of the text.

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8. How to Style the Extrusion

Double-click the Front layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Style: Stroke Emboss
• Depth: 230
• Size: 5
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: -90
• Altitude: 50
• Gloss Contour: Cove - Deep
• Check the Anti-aliased box

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Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Rolling Slope - Descending
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

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Step 3

Add a Stroke with these settings:

• Size: 3
• Position: Center
• Fill Type: Gradient
• Style: Linear
• Create the Gradient using the Colors#7e662e to the left and right, and #d4c591 in the middle.

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Step 4

Change the Front layer's Fill value to 0%, right-click it, and choose Copy Layer Style.

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Step 5

Select the other layers inside the Center group, right-click any of them, and choose Paste Layer Style.

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9. How to Style the Back Text Layer

Double-click the Back text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Style: Stroke Emboss
• Size: 4
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: -164
• Altitude: 53
• Gloss Contour: Gaussian
• Check the Anti-aliased box

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Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Cone - Asymmetrical
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

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Step 3

Add a Stroke with these settings:

• Size: 2
• Position: Outside
• Fill Type: Gradient
• Style: Reflected
• Create the Gradient using the Colors#7e662e to the left and right, and #fdcb1c in the middle.

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Step 4

Change the Back layer's Fill value to 0%.

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Step 5

Double-click the Center group to apply a Gradient Overlay effect with these settings:

• Check the Dither box
• Blend Mode: Color Burn
• Style: Reflected
• Use the Silver 30 gradient fill

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This will finish styling the text.

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10. How to Create a Simple Texture Using Filters

Step 1

Create a new layer on top of all layers, fill it with Black, name it Extrusion Texture, and convert it to a Smart Object.

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Step 2

Set the Foreground and Background Colors to Black and White, and go to Filter > Render > Fibers.

Change the Vibrance to 20 and the Strength to 5.

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Step 3

Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur, and change the Angle to 90 and the Distance to 25.

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Step 4

Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select a random small area of the texture.

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Step 5

Press Command-J to duplicate the selected area in a new layer, and hide the Extrusion Texture layer.

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11. How to Add the Extrusion Texture

Step 1

Move the duplicated texture layer on top of the Center group, right-click it, and choose Create Clipping Mask.

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Step 2

Place the clipped texture on top of the letter you want to apply it to, and press the Command-T keys to transform the texture so that it matches the part you want it to cover.

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Step 3

You can add a mask and use a round brush tip to remove any areas you don't like.

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Step 4

Once you're done, change the texture layer's Blend Mode to Soft Light.

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Step 5

For rounded letter parts, you can use the Warp mode to adjust the texture.

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Step 6

Show the Extrusion Texture layer, select a new area, and repeat the steps to add the texture to all the letters you have.

Once you're done, put the Center group and its texture layers in another group with the name Center + Textures.

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12. How to Add Highlights and a Color Texture

Step 1

Create a new layer on top of all the layers inside the Center + Textures group, name it Highlights, and clip it to the Center group.

Change the Highlights layer's Blend Mode to Linear Light, and its Opacity to 30%.

Set the Foreground Color to #b5aa98, and use a soft round brush tip to paint some highlights over the bright areas of the extrusion.

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Step 2

Create a new layer on top of the Front copy 2 layer, name it Stroke Highlights, and change its Blend Mode to Vivid Light.

Clip the Stroke Highlights layer to the Front copy 2 layer, and add some highlights to the stroke.

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Step 3

Place the out of the blue image on top of the Front copy layer, resize it as needed, rename its layer to Color Texture, and change its Blend Mode to Color.

Command-click the Front copy layer to create a selection.

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Step 4

Click the Add layer mask icon.

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Step 5

Put all the front layers in a group and name it Front.

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13. How to Add Texture Overlays

Step 1

Place the grunge-background8 image from the Grunge-Backgrounds pack on top of the Front group, clip it to it, change its layer's Blend Mode to Soft Light, and resize it as needed.

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Step 2

Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, and change the Saturation value to -100.

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Step 3

If you like a smaller texture overlay, you can create copies to cover the whole text instead of scaling the texture up.

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Step 4

Add the Ur gravel texture on top of the grunge-background8 layers, and go to Image > Adjustments > Levels.

Change the Input Levels Shadows' value to 50 and the Output Levels Highlights' value to 150.

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Step 5

Clip the layer to the Front group, change its Blend Mode to Soft Light, and resize the texture to cover the first letter.

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Step 6

Duplicate to add the texture to each of the remaining letters, and then put the Front group and its texture layers in another group and name it Front + Texture.

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14. How to Add a Lens Flare

Step 1

Place the Lens Flare 02 image from the 30 Awsome Lens Flare pack on top of all layers, and go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° Clockwise.

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Step 2

Double-click the lens flare layer's thumbnail to open its original file. Create a new layer under the flare's layer and fill it with Black.

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Step 3

Select both layers and press Command-E to merge them, and save and close the file.

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Step 4

Change the flare layer's Blend Mode to Screen and its Opacity to 70%. Place the flare on top of one of the letters in the center of the text, and resize it as needed.

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Step 5

Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, check the Colorize box, and change the Hue to 180 and the Saturation to 50.

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Step 6

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels, and change the Gamma value to 0.61.

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15. How to Add Water Splashes

Step 1

Create a new layer on top of the flare layer and name it Water Splash 01, and change its Fill value to 0%.

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Double-click the Water Splash 01 layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 2

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 3
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: -48
• Altitude: 21
• Gloss Contour: Ring
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Linear Light
  • Opacity: 35%
• Shadow Mode:
  • Opacity: 20%

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Step 3

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Ring - Double
• Check the Anti-aliased box.

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Step 4

Use the Free Water Splash Photoshop Brushes and Water Splash Brushes packs' brush tips to add water splashes to the letter with the flare.

For better results, add each splash in a separate layer, and copy and paste the layer style to each copy.

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Step 5

You can also add some splashes to the background behind the text.

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16. How to Make Global Adjustments

Step 1

Place the Concrete Rough 5 texture on top of all layers, rename its layer to Texture Overlay, and change its Blend Mode to Soft Light and its Opacity to 10%.

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Step 2

Add a Photo Filter adjustment layer on top of all layers, and use the default values.

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Step 3

Save the file as an image, open the image, and go to Image > Image Size to change the size to 1500 x 1063 px.

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Step 4

You can also use the Crop Tool to control the final size even more.

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Congratulations! You're Done!

In this tutorial, we created a simple background and a text smart object layer. After that, we recorded an action to create the extrusion, and styled all parts of the text.

Then, we created and added a bunch of different texture overlays, flare, and adjustment layers to the text. Finally, we added some water splash brushes to finish off the effect.

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

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