Word Art Magic (Photoshop Elements)

Word art is a wonderful way to add interest to your layouts, and there’s so much beautiful artwork out there. Even plain black artwork can be made to match any kit you want to use! Here’s how I do it:

Step 1) Choose your artwork

You can find word art lots of places, for sale and for free! Or you can make your own. Simply type out the words you want to use and arrange them in a pleasing manner. Make sure only your type layers are visible by clicking on the eye of any other layer to hide it. Then choose File > Save As. When the dialog box comes up, give your word art a name, decide where to save it, and select .png from the Format menu. Click OK, and OK again to the PNG Option “None,” and you’ve got word art!

Here’s the artwork I found for my Father’s Day layout:

If you decide to use your own word art, open the png version you just made.

Step 2) Prepare your layers

You’ll need to make a copy of the original layer for each different effect you wish to apply. In my case I’m going to make the first two words different than the last word, so I’ll need two copies.

• Click on the word art layer in the Layers panel and drag it to the Create a new layer icon. (It looks like a little piece of paper with the corner turned over.)
• On the top layer, erase everything that you don’t want to apply the first effect to. Press E to choose the Eraser tool, and erase the portion of the image you want to remove.
• Change to the next layer down in the layers panel and erase everything there that you don’t want to apply the second effect to.

You should end up with something like this:

Step 3) Apply a layer style

On the top layer I used a chrome layer style. You can use one of the styles that comes with the program, or purchase and install a style pack. To apply the style to the top layer:

• Make sure the top layer is active by clicking on it in the Layers panel.
• In the Effects panel, click on the second icon to choose Layer Styles.
• Choose the Styles category you’d like to use from the drop down menu. I chose ‘Wow Chrome.’
• Double click on the thumbnail image of the style you want and it will be applied to the top layer.

Step 4) Use a paper from your kit

To help the word art blend in with the kit, it is helpful to use a paper that coordinates with the kit you’re using. We’ll do this by grouping the paper with the word art:

• Change to the next layer by clicking on it in the Layers panel.
• Open the paper of your choice, and drag it onto the word art making sure everything is covered.
• Place your cursor on the line between the paper layer and the word art layer, hold down your Alt key (Mac: Opt key), and click when you see the double circle icon. Now the paper should only be visible where the words are on the layer below.
  

Step 5) Save your work

• Choose File > Save As and save this new word art in with the kit you used in case you’d like to use it again.

So go dig out some word art, rummage through your styles and kits, and dress up your layouts with some beautiful words! Don’t forget to share your results in our gallery so we can see and be inspired!

Credits: Tutorial, Word Art and Layout by Jennifer White, Kit Boys and Toys by Digital Scrapper Designs.

Download a PDF version of this “Word Art Magic” tutorial.

Windows: Right click on the link and choose “Save Target As” or a similar command.
Mac: Click on the link to download the file.

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