Creating Good Enough to Eat Typography

Step 1

Create a new document (1000X600px). Fill your canvas with a radial gradient ranging from ffd800 to ffae00.

Step 2

Download the crumpled paper texture in the resources for this tutorial.

Paste it into your document, scaling it to fit your composition.

Then change this layer’s blend mode to ‘overlay’ and reduce it’s opacity to 35%.

Step 3

Now type out some text in the bottom-center of your canvas.

Font Settings:

Font Face: Arial Rounded MT Bold
Size: 400pt
Kerning: -50
Color: ffffff

Step 4

Now in your layers palette reduce the fill opacity of your type layer to 0%, keeping your overall layer opacity at 100%.

Then go to blending options for this layer and apply a stroke effect:

Stroke Blending Option Settings:

Size: 3px
Opacity: 100%
Color: d80000

Step 5

Now go to the Yummy icon pack located in the resources for this tutorial.

Start pasting in icons from this set, and resizing/positioning them to fit over your letters. To add definition to each icon add a stroke blending option to each icon layer.

In order to quickly apply the same stroke to each icon simply right click on your initial icon layer and click ‘copy layer styles’. Then with each subsequent icon layer right click on it and click ‘paste layer style’.

Stroke Blending Option Settings:

Size: 1px
Opacity: 30%
Color: 000000

Step 6

Now continue to paste icons over your letters, until each letter is totally covered. Then hide all layers apart from your icon layers and go to layer>merge visible. This means that your icons should be all on a single layer. The end result should look something like this:

Step 7

Now apply an outer glow blending option to your icon letters layer.

Outer Glow Settings:

Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 40%
Noise: 0%
Color: 633b0c
Spread: 0%
Size: 4px

Step 8

Now duplicate your icon letters layer.

Move the duplicate layer beneath the original. Then go to edit>transform>flip vertical. Then apply a black color overlay blending option.

Step 9

Go to edit>transform>distort and drag out the corners of your letters, giving perspective.

Then go to filter>blur>gaussian blur and apply a 12px gaussian blur to this layer.

Now reduce your layer’s opacity to 30%. Go to layer>layer mask>reveal all and drag a linear gradient (black to transparent) upwards from the bottom of your canvas. This will cause your blurred shadow to fade smoothly into your background:

Step 10

Now create a new layer called ‘dark shadow’. Use a medium sized, soft, black paintbrush to enhance the shadows underneath your letters:

Step 11

Now create a new top layer called ‘dodge/burn’. Go to edit>fill and fill your canvas with a 50% gray.

Then change this layer’s blend mode to ‘overlay’. This will hide your 50% gray, but will allow you to paint black/white over your canvas.

Use a soft black paintbrush (around 10% opacity) to paint in the shadows of your letters. Then use a white paintbrush to paint in the highlights. This should really add a nice gleam to your letters:

Step 12

Now create a new layer called ‘white bars’. Use your lasso tool and paintbucket tool to create some diagonal white bars going over your letters.

Now go to filter>blur>gaussian blur and apply a 12px gaussian blur to your white bars layer. Then option+click on your icon lettering layer in your layers palette. This will select the shape of your letters. The go to select>inverse to invert your selection. With this selection in place, ensure that you’re on your blurred white bars layer, and hit ‘delete’. This will delete all areas of your white bars that are outside of your letters.

Then change this layer blend mode to ‘overlay’, and reduce your layer opacity to 35%. This should create a subtle lighting effect over your layer.

Step 13

Now create a new layer called ‘ketchup’. Use your path tool to create a dripping shape coming from the top of your canvas. Then in your paths palette right click on your path and click ‘make selection’. Fill your selection with cb0000.

Step 14

Now go to blending options for this layer and apply a drop shadow.

Drop Shadow Settings:

Blend Mode: Multiply
Color: 000000
Opacity: 25%
Angle: 90 degrees
Distance: 1px
Spread: 0%
Size: 1px

Step 15

Now apply some additional drips and splatters:

Step 16

Now create a new top layer called ‘ketchup shading’.

Option+click on your ketchup shape layer to select your entire ketchup shape. Then with your selection in place return to your ketchup shading layer. Use a small, soft black paintbrush at around 10% opacity to paint in shadows for your ketchup splatter. Then use a soft white paintbrush to paint in highlights. You should try to really make your ketchup splatter look 3d.

Step 17

Now create a final top layer called ‘vignette’. Use a large, soft black paintbrush to paint around the edges and particularly corners of your canvas. If needed reduce the opacity of this layer to make the effect more subtle:

And We’re Done!

You can view the final outcome below. I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and would love to hear your feedback on the techniques and outcome.

You can view the full-sized finished design by clicking the image below: