How to Create an 80s-Inspired Silver Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

This tutorial will show you how to use Photoshop’s layer styles and filters, along with actions, textures, and patterns, to create a retro 80s-inspired silver 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:

• Argon Font
• Smooth Seamless Concrete by hhh316
• 30 Awsome Lens Flare by mbarekamsoftgfx
• Basic Scanline Patterns by Artbox-DA
• Free Pack 6000 photoshop gradients by Supertuts007 (Load the CHROMES.grd and CSP True Sky Gradients.grd files.)

1. How to Define a Pattern and Create a Background

Step 1

Open the Smooth Seamless Concrete image, go to Edit > Define Pattern, and set the Name to BG Pattern.

Step 2

Create a new 1000 x 700 px document. Duplicate the Background layer twice, and change the second copy’s Fill value to 0.

Step 3

Double-click the Background copy layer to apply a Gradient Overlay effect with these settings:

• Check the Dither box
• Style: Radial
• Angle: 15
• Scale: 90%
• Create the Gradient fill using the Colors #b9a8a4 to the left and #201a1a to the right.

Step 4

While you’re still in the Layer Style box, you can click-drag the gradient to reposition it within the document.

Step 5

Double-click the Background copy 2 layer to apply a Pattern Overlay effect with these settings:

• Blend Mode: Multiply
• Pattern: BG Pattern

This is one way to apply a pattern overlay, and we will use another one later in this tutorial as well.

2. How to Create and Kern Text

Step 1

Create the text using the Argon Font, and set the Size to 225 pt.

Step 2

In the Character panel, set the Kerning to Optical.

You’ll notice that some characters don’t seem to be evenly spaced, and we’ll fix that next.

Step 3

Highlight (select) the letter you want to adjust, and change its Tracking value as needed.

Step 4

Use different Tracking values for the characters you have, until you get a final result you like.

3. How to Create Text Smart Objects

Step 1

Double-click the text layer to apply a Gradient Overlay effect using the stove pipe 10 gradient fill.

Step 2

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

4. 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.

Step 2

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

Step 3

Press Command-J to Duplicate the Text layer.

Step 4

Press Command-T to enter Free Transform Mode.

Step 5

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

Step 6

Hit the Down Arrow key once to nudge the text 1 px downwards.

Step 7

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

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

5. How to Create an Extrusion

Step 1

Click the Play selection icon at the bottom of the Actions panel 10 times to create 10 more copies with the transformation.

Step 2

Select all the Text copy layers, drag them below the original Text layer, and go to Layer > Arrange > Reverse.

This will place the last copy layer at the bottom and bring the first to the top.

Step 3

Place the selected copy layers in a Group and call it Extrusion.

Step 4

Duplicate the last Text copy layer (Text copy 11), drag the copy outside the Extrusion group, and rename it to Shadow 1.

Step 5

Place the Shadow 1 layer in a Group and call it Shadow.

6. How to Style the Front Text Layer

Double-click the original Text layer to apply the following Layer Style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 0
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: 55
• Altitude: 5
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Vivid Light
• Shadow Mode: Color Burn

Step 2

Add a Stroke with these settings:

• Size: 1
• Position: Inside
• Blend Mode: Hard Light
• Fill Type: Gradient
• Use the stainless steel 101ss gradient fill

Step 3

Add an Inner Shadow with these settings:

• Opacity: 35%
• Distance: 2
• Size: 5

Step 4

Add an Inner Glow with these settings:

• Blend Mode: Hard Light
• Opacity: 35%
• Color: #dae8ec
• Technique: Precise
• Source: Center
• Size: 20
• Contour: Cone – Inverted

Step 5

Add a Gradient Overlay with these settings:

• Check the Dither box
• Blend Mode: Overlay
• Check the Reverse box
• Use the steel pipe 30 gradient fill

Step 6

Click the + icon to the right of the Gradient Overlay tab to add another instance with these settings:

• Check the Dither box
• Blend Mode: Soft Light
• Use the gradient fill below

Step 7

Add an Outer Glow with these settings:

• Blend Mode: Vivid Light
• Opacity: 50%
• Color: #acc4c4
• Technique: Precise
• Size: 5
• Contour: Cove – Deep

This will style the front text layer.

7. How to Style an Extrusion

Double-click any of the Text copy layers inside the Extrusion group to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

• Size: 0
• Soften: 1
• Uncheck the Use Global Light box
• Angle: 55
• Altitude: 5
• Check the Anti-aliased box
• Highlight Mode: Vivid Light
• Shadow Mode: Color Burn

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

• Contour: Cove – Shallow
• Check the Anti-aliased box.
• Range: 100%

Step 3

Right-click the styled layer and choose Copy Layer Style.

Then, select the rest of the Text copy layers inside the Extrusion group, right-click any of them, and choose Paste Layer Style.

Step 4

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

• Blend Mode: Linear Burn
• Use the stove pipe 10 gradient fill

Step 5

Add another Gradient Overlay instance with these settings:

• Blend Mode: Overlay
• Use the stove pipe 155b gradient fill

This will style the extrusion.

8. How to Add Shadows

Step 1

Double-click the Shadow 1 layer to apply a Color Overlay effect, and set the Color to Black.

Step 2

Change the Shadow 1 layer’s Fill value to 0 and its Opacity to 50%.

Step 3

Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.

Change the Angle to -60 and the Distance to 100, or use any other values you like.

Step 4

Pick the Move Tool, and click-drag, or use the Arrow Keys, to nudge the shadow and place it behind the text.

Step 5

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, and change the Radius to 5, or any other value you like.

Step 6

To intensify the shadow and make it look more realistic, Duplicate the Shadow 1 layer, and use different values.

So create as many copy layers as needed, and change the Opacity and Blur filter values for each of the copies, as well as moving it around behind the text to get a result you like.

9. How to Add Finishing Touches

Step 1

Place the Lens Flare 25 image on top of all layers, resize it as needed, and change its layer’s Blend Mode to Screen.

Step 2

Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, and change the Saturation to -35.

Step 3

Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, choose Pattern, and use the Pattern 1 fill.

Step 4

Change the Pattern layer’s Blend Mode to Overlay, and its Opacity to 15%.

This is another way of adding a pattern overlay instead of using layer styles.

Step 5

Add a Color Lookup layer, and choose the FoggyNight.3DL table from the 3DLUT File menu.

Check the Dither box, and then change the Color Lookup layer’s Blend Mode to Soft Light and its Opacity to 50%.

Step 6

Double-click the Text layer’s thumbnail to open the editable text file, where you can change the text and update all the copies in the original file.

For now, all we need to do is change the Canvas Size to match the original document’s dimensions.

So go to Image > Canvas Size, and type 1000 for the Width and 700 for the Height.

Save and close the file to go back to the original document.

Congratulations! You’re Done

In this tutorial, we created a simple background using gradient and pattern overlays. Then we created and styled the main text’s smart object.

After that, we recorded an action to create the extrusion, styled the extrusion, and used a couple of filters to create the shadows. Finally, we used texture and patterns overlays, with adjustment layers, to finish off the effect.

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