How to Create a Colorful Pendant Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

Looking for a nice little gift? This tutorial will show you how to use a bunch of layer style, textures, and shapes, to create a bright, colorful pendant text effect. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

1. Create the Background

Step 1

Create a new 1024 x 683 px document, place the White satin stock 8 image on top of the Background layer, and resize it as needed.

Adding the Satin Texture

Step 2

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

Levels Layer

Step 3

Change the Gamma value to 1.85 and the Highlights value to 205. This will brighten up the texture.

Levels Settings

2. Create the Text and Style the Stroke

Step 1

Create the text using the font SedonaScriptFLF, the Size 350pt, and the color #f062b2.

Duplicate the text layer twice, and change the second copy’s Fill value to 0.

Creating the Text Layers

Double click the original text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 2

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

  • Style: Stroke Emboss
  • Size: 8
  • Gloss Contour: Cone
  • Check the Anti-aliased box
  • Highlight Mode: Linear Light
  • Opacity: 75%
  • Shadow Mode – Opacity: 50%
Bevel and Emboss

Step 3

Add a Contour with these settings:

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

Step 4

Add a Stroke with these settings:

  • Size: 5
  • Position: Outside
  • Fill Type: Gradient
  • Style: Reflected
  • Angle: 90
  • Use the stove pipe 80 gradient fill.
Stroke

Step 5

Add a Drop Shadow with these settings:

  • Opacity: 45%
  • Distance: 11
  • Size: 20
Drop Shadow

Step 6

Click the + icon next to the Drop Shadow effect tab to add another one, and then select the new Drop Shadow tab.

Use these settings for the second Drop Shadow effect:

  • Blend Mode: Color Burn
  • Opacity: 15%
  • Distance: 10
  • Size: 5
Drop Shadow 2

This will style the pendant’s stroke.

Styled Stroke

3. Style the First Copy Text Layer

Double click the first copy text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

  • Size: 16
  • Gloss Contour: Ring-Double
  • Check the Anti-aliased box
  • Highlight Mode: Vivid Light
  • Shadow Mode: Color Burn
  • Color: #4c0d33
Bevel and Emboss

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

  • Contour: Guassian – Inverse
  • Check the Anti-aliased box.
Contour

Step 3

Add a Texture with these settings:

  • Pattern: Metallic Snakeskin
Texture

This will style the first part of the text.

Styled Text Layer 1

4. Style the Second Copy Text Layer

Double click the second copy text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

  • Size: 18
  • Uncheck the Use Global Light box
  • Angle: 135
  • Altitude: 74
  • Gloss Contour: Cone – Inverted
  • Check the Anti-aliased box
  • Highlight Mode: Linear Light
  • Shadow Mode: Linear Burn
  • Color: #11d6b3
Bevel and Emboss

Step 2

Add a Texture with these settings:

  • Pattern: Metallic Snakeskin
Texture

This will style the second part of the text.

Styled Text Layer 2

5. Create the Rings

Step 1

Pick the Ellipse Tool, press and hold the Shift key, and then click and drag to create a 25 x 25 px circle. Release all.

Press and hold the Option key to subtract a smaller circle from the bigger one.

Click and drag again, release the Option key, and press and hold the Shift key instead. Then keep dragging to create a smaller 15 x 15 px circle.

You can press and hold the Spacebar to move the circle around, and then release all when the smaller circle is in the middle of the bigger one. This will create the ring shape.

Creating the Ring Shape

Step 2

Duplicate the Ellipse 1 shape layer three times. Rename the second copy to Ellipse 2, and the third copy to Ellipse 2 copy.

Place the Ellipse 1 and Ellipse 1 copy rings somewhere on the edge of the first letter, and the Ellipse 2 and Ellipse 2 copy rings somewhere on the edge of the last letter.

Placing the Ring Shapes

6. Style the Bottom Ring Layers

Double click the Ellipse 1 layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

  • Size: 7
  • Gloss Contour: Ring
  • Check the Anti-aliased box
  • Highlight Mode: Linear Light
  • Shadow Mode – Opacity: 50%
Bevel and Emboss

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

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

Step 3

Add a Drop Shadow with these settings:

  • Opacity: 45%
  • Distance: 11
  • Size: 20
Drop Shadow 1

Step 4

Add another Drop Shadow with these settings:

  • Blend Mode: Color Burn
  • Opacity: 15%
  • Distance: 10
  • Size: 5
Drop Shadow 2

Step 5

This will style the bottom ring layer.

Right click the Ellipse 1 layer, and choose Copy Layer Style. Then right click the Ellipse 2 layer, and choose Paste Layer Style.

Copy and Paste Layer Style

7. Style the Top Ring Layers

Double click the Ellipse 1 copy layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

  • Size: 7
  • Gloss Contour: Ring
  • Check the Anti-aliased box
  • Highlight Mode: Linear Light
  • Shadow Mode – Opacity: 50%
Bevel and Emboss

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

  • Contour: Cone – Inverted
  • Check the Anti-aliased box.
Contour

Step 3

This will style the top ring layer. Copy and paste this layer style to the Ellipse 2 copy layer.

Copy and Paste Layer Style

8. Add the Chains

Step 1

Open the Artist Heart image, and use the Lasso Tool to select the right chain. You can then use the Quick Selection Tool or the Magnetic Lasso Tool to add the end of the chain to the selection.

Go to Edit > Copy, and then go back to the original document.

Select the Chain

Step 2

Go to Edit > Paste, and then go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Place the chain layer on top of all the Ellipse layers, and resize it as needed. Use the Move Tool to move the chain on top of the right rings.

Adding the Chain

Step 3

Copy and paste the Ellipse 1 layer’s layer style to the chain layer, and then double click the chain layer to uncheck the Bevel and Emboss and Contour effects.

This will apply only the Drop Shadow effects to the chain layer.

Adding the Drop Shadow Effects

Step 4

Duplicate the chain layer. Then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical, and move the flipped chain on top of the left rings.

Flip the Chain Copy

9. Add the Flares and the Background Blur

Step 1

Create a new layer on top of all layers, call it Flares, and change its Blend Mode to Linear Light.

Pick the Brush Tool, and set the Foreground color to #f4f1e2.

Choose any of the Stars and Flares Brush Set tips, resize it, and if you like, you can also change its Angle value under the Brush Tip Shape tab in the Brush panel (Window > Brush). Add some small flares to a couple of the bright areas.

Adding the Flares

Step 2

Select the Satin layer, and go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Tilt-Shift. Change the Blur value to 7, and click and drag the lines you have to get a result you like.

Tilt-Shift Blur

10. Add Some More Shadow

Step 1

Select all the text, Ellipse, and chain layers. Duplicate them, right click any of the duplicated layers, and choose Clear Layer Style. Then go to Layer > Merge Layers.

Rename the merged layer to Shadow, and place it on top of the Levels adjustment layer.

Create the Shadow Layer

Step 2

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

Lightness Value

Step 3

Go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters, and then go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Change the Angle to -35, and the Amount to 115.

Motion Blur

Step 4

Use the Move Tool to place the shadow so that it extends from the text.

Move the Shadow

Step 5

Change the Shadow layer’s Blend Mode to Multiply and its Opacity to 7, or any other value you like.

Shadow Layer Settings

Step 6

Finally, use the Move Tool to nudge the Ellipse 1 copy and Ellipse 2 copy layers a little bit. This will show the rings below them, giving the illusion of a more 3D look.

Nudge the Top Rings

Step 7

Keep in mind that you can move and resize any parts you feel need moving or resizing.

Finishing Touches

Congratulations! You’re Done

In this tutorial, we adjusted the lighting of a satin texture, created a couple of text layers, and styled them to create the main text effect.

After that, we used the Ellipse Tool to create the ring shapes, and styled them as well. We also used a stock image to get the chain, adjusted its coloring, styled it, and added it to the text. Finally, we added some flares, and blurred the background to finalize the effect.

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

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