This tutorial will show you how to use selection and move tools to divide text into segments and fill them with parts of an image, creating a geometric collage 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:
- Peace Sans font
- Mountain Image by Sven Scheuermeier
1. How to Resize an Image and Create Text
Step 1
Open the Mountain Image, and then go to Image > Image Size, type 1500 for the Width value, and click OK.
Step 2
Create the text in All Caps using the font Peace Sans. Set the Color to Black, the Size to 250 pt, and the Leading value to 210 pt.
2. How to Create Segments
Step 1
Set the Foreground Color to White, pick the Line Tool, and set the Weight value in the Options bar to 1.
Click-drag to create a line that divides a section of the first letter you have.
Step 2
Keep creating more lines to divide the text into a couple of segments per letter. The number and size of segments you create controls how the final result looks.
Step 3
Group all the line layers you have, and then duplicate the group and make it invisible by clicking the eye icon next to it.
Step 4
Right-click the copy group, choose Merge Group, and rename the merged layer to Lines.
3. How to Use the Selection Options
Step 1
Command-click the text layer’s thumbnail to create a selection.
Step 2
Shift-Command-Option-click the Lines layer’s thumbnail to make the text selection intersect with the lines.
Step 3
Go to Select > Inverse, hit the Delete key, and press Command-D to deselect.
4. How to Create an Outer Stroke Shape
Step 1
Duplicate the original text layer, and rename the copy to Stroke 1.
Step 2
Right-click the Stroke 1 layer, and choose Convert to Shape.
Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then, in the Options bar, change the Fill to None, the Stroke Color to White, and its Size to 1.
Step 3
Select both the Stroke 1 and Lines layers, and press Command-E to merge them.
Step 4
Make the text layer invisible.
5. How to Create a Collage
Step 1
Pick the Magic Wand Tool (W), and check the Contiguous box in the Options bar.
Click once to select the first segment in the first letter.
Step 2
With the Magic Wand Tool still active, click-drag to move the selection over any area within the image you have.
Step 3
Select the Background layer, and press Command-J to duplicate the chosen area in a new layer.
Step 4
Pick the Move Tool (V), and click-drag to place the duplicated part into the segment.
Step 5
Repeat those steps to fill all the first letter’s segments, and then place the segment layers in a group that has the name of that letter.
Step 6
Fill each of the remaining letters, and place all the letter groups in a Collage group.
6. How to Create an Outer Stroke and a Shadow
Step 1
Duplicate the original text layer, make the copy visible, rename it to Shadow, and convert it into a shape.
Step 2
Duplicate the Shadow layer, and rename the copy layer to Stroke.
Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then, in the Options bar, change the Fill to None, the Stroke Color to White, and its Size to 2.
Step 3
Drag the Shadow layer below the Collage group, and then change the Stroke Color to Black and the Size to 2.
Step 4
Use the Move Tool and the Arrow Keys to nudge the shadow a little bit away from the text.
Step 5
Change the Shadow layer’s Opacity to 30%.
7. How to Adjust the Coloring Using a Curves Adjustment Layer
Step 1
Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Curves.
Step 2
For each color channel you have, select it from the drop-down menu at the top of the Properties panel, and change its values slightly to achieve a result you like.
Congratulations! You’re Done
In this tutorial, we created some text and divided it into a couple of segments.
Then, we used selection and move tools to fill the segments with different areas of the image and create the geometric collage effect.
Finally, we used a curves adjustment layer to adjust the coloring of the final result.
Please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions, and outcomes below.
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