Tutorial: Create A 3d Arcade Text Effect Using Photoshop And Illustrator

This particular method requires Illustrator, but that’s not to say it can’t be achieved without illustrator.
My plan at this point is to use Illustrator to create the 3d text objects and then import them into Photoshop to color and finish. This is photosop tutorial text.

1. Creating the vector 3d text objects in Illustrator
I created a new document in Illustrator with the following settings;

600 x 600 px
RGB color mode

Next I laid out the text and chose a font that will give the retro arcade style that I am looking for.
There is several free arcade style fonts available on the web. Any of these will work fine because they are all the same for the most part. Here is a link;
Press Start Font

This is what I started with;



With the text now selected;

type > create outlines

Next, with the new text outline group still selected;

edit > copy
Create a new layer and select it
edit > paste

Now I have two layers, both containing the same thing. I will use the bottom layer for the stroke and the top layer for the fill. For now, I’m going to name the layers accordingly, then lock and turn off visibility the top layer.
With the bottom layer selected;

object > path > offset path

This will expand the text to set amount of pixels. I am doing this to essentially create a stroke for the top layer.
I used the following settings;



Now I can turn the top layer back on and change the color as well, resulting in this;

What I want to do now is apply the 3d extrude and bevel effect to each layer separately. The look and effect of the 3d you want to use could be different and that’s fine, this will work the same. I’m going to start with the bottom stroke layer, so like before I’m going to turn off and lock the top layer and select the bottom layer.
With the bottom layer selected;

effect > 3d > extrude and bevel

These are the settings I used;



Once satisfied with the result of the 3d effect, I repeated this step on the top layer.
At this point I am finished in Illustrator. I will still come back to Illustrator to select and copy each layer individually to paste in Photoshop as a smart object.



2. Importing the 3d text objects in to Photoshop


First, I created a new document in Photoshop with the following settings ( remember that our .Ai file is 600x600px ) ;



Next I filled the background layer with a radial white to gray gradient;



In Illustrator – With the bottom 3d text layer selected;

edit > copy

In Photoshop -

edit > paste
smart object

I’m not going to scale the imported object because I want the top layer from Illustrator to line up correctly when pasted on top of it. I will however reposition it to the middle of the canvas.

Next I added a drop shadow to the object;



And then added outer glow as well;



Resulting in this;



Now that I have the background layer where i want it, I’m going to repeat the steps for importing the top layer from Illustrator in to my document. Once imported, I lined everything up and added a gradient overlay effect, resulting in this;


Now I want to add some detail to the top layer by creating a reflection over the text.

First, I created a new layer above my top layer.

With the new layer selected, I used the pen tool to create a shape that will act as the reflection;



With the new shape layer selected;

Make a selection of the top text layer by holding the Ctrl key and clicking the layer thumbnail
Make sure the shape layer is still selected
select > inverse
delete

If done correctly, it should look something like this;



Next, I repeated these steps to create a similar effect for the bottom lie of text. I found it easier to create a seperate shape for each word, but that’s up to you.
After happy with how the reflections look, I set the opacity to around 23% to knock it back a bit. I often set the layer to screen or overlay as well, but decided not to this time. Here is the result;



Next, I added a thin stroke to the top text layer to help it stand out. Here is the result;


Now that I am happy with how the text looks, I used two free photoshop tech brushes to create a little interest to the background.
Notice that I created a new layer below my text to add the brush strokes. After that, I just adjusted the opacity so that it wasn’t overpowering my text.



I really like how the outer glow used on the text works with the background design, so I decided to add a bit of outer glow to this layer as well;



Next, I wanted the colors of the background design to match my text, so I also added a color overlay effect to the background design layer;


That’s it!  Here is what it looks like;



Thank you for reading this tutorial. I hope that everyone finds it useful, and you are able to apply these techniques in your work flow. If you have questions, please feel free to post them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them for you.
Thanks,
-Craig