How to Create a 3D Jewel Text Effect Action in Photoshop

Final product image — What You’ll Be Creating

Today I’m back to show you how to create fake 3D Photoshop actions. This text effect action was inspired by one of the text effects of the 10 Glossy Photoshop Text Effects, and it looks as if it’s made of a faceted ruby.

You will learn that it is possible to save the information of Photoshop layer styles in Photoshop actions, making the process of saving the text effect easier since you don’t need to save any layer style. The fake 3D effect will come from a Bevel & Emboss style and a reflection layer below the text.

At the end of this tutorial, I will link to more tutorials about how to create an action in Photoshop and Photoshop type effects. So don’t forget to check those if you’re interested in learning more 3D text effect Photoshop actions.

Check the original text effect on GraphicRiver—you might like the whole pack.

10 Glossy photoshop text effects promo image — 10 Glossy Photoshop Text Effects

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during this tutorial:

Darktech LDR Font
Background image attached to this tutorial

1. How to Record the Action

Step 1

In my other tutorials, I teach how to create the layer styles first and then how to create the action using the styles. Today it will be faster, since this text effect doesn’t require any assets, to save all its settings in the action itself. So let’s begin.

Extract the zip file attached to this tutorial and then open the Background-image.jpg with Photoshop.

Step 2

Pick the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and set the font to Darktech LDR and font size to 121 pt. After that, write “JEWEL” in the center of the document.

Step 3

Make sure the text layer is selected on the Layers panel. After that, go to Window > Actions to open the Actions panel. Then, click on the Create new set icon and name it My Text Effects. After that, click on the Create new Action icon and name it Jewel Text Effect.

Now Photoshop will record the next steps. Keep an eye on the Actions panel. Delete any wrong step you make by dragging it to the trash bin icon.

Step 4

Rename the text layer to Jewel A. Then double-click on it to open the Layer Style panel. After that, add a Gradient Overlay with these settings:

Blend Mode: Normal
Dither: Off
Opacity: 100%
Reverse: Off
Style: Linear
Align with Layer: On
Angle: 90º
Scale: 100%

Click on the gradient bar to open the Gradient Editor.

You can move the stops on the gradient bar and create new ones by clicking below it. Create a gradient with these settings:

First stop color: #1a1a1a Location: 19%
Second stop color: #404040 Location: 42%
Third stop color: #1c1c1c Location: 80%

Step 5

Add a Drop Shadow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Normal
Color: #090909
Opacity: 100%
Use Global Light: Off
Angle: 180º
Distance: 2 px
Spread: 100%
Size: 3 px
Contour: Linear
Anti-aliased: On
Noise: 0%
Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow: On

Step 6

Now add an Outer Glow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Noise: 0%
Color: #181818
Technique: Softer
Spread: 0%
Size: 18%
Contour: Linear
Anti-aliased: Off
Range: 100%
Jitter: 0%

Step 7

Add an Inner Glow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Screen
Opacity: 100%
Noise: 0%
Color: #828282
Technique: Softer
Source: Edge
Choke: 100%
Size: 2 px
Contour: Linear
Anti-aliased: On
Range: 100%
Jitter: 0%

Step 8

Now add an Inner Shadow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Multiply
Color: #383838
Opacity: 100%
Use Global Light: Off
Angle: -61º
Distance: 2 px
Choke: 40%
Size: 1 px
Contour: Linear
Anti-aliased: On
Noise: 0%

Step 9

Add a Bevel & Emboss with these settings:

Style: Inner Bevel
Technique: Smooth
Depth: 355%
Direction: Up
Size: 32 px
Soften: 0 px
Use Global Light: Off
Angle: -56º
Altitude: 74º
Anti-aliased: On
Highlight Mode: Screen Color: #ffffff Opacity: 45%
Shadow Mode: Multiply Color: #242424 Opacity: 55%

Then click on the Gloss Contour box and edit the curve with these settings:

First Point Input: 0% Output: 100% Corner: Off
Second Point Input: 24% Output: 99% Corner: Off
Third Point Input: 44% Output: 45% Corner: Off
Fourth Point Input: 100% Output: 0% Corner: Off

Now click OK to close the Layer Style panel.

This is how the text effect should look by now:

Step 10

Press Control-J to duplicate the layer. Then rename the copy to Jewel B. After that, right-click on the Jewel B layer and choose Clear Layer Style.

Step 11

Double-click the Jewel B layer to open the Layer Style panel. Then add a Bevel & Emboss with these settings:

Style: Inner Bevel
Technique: Chisel Hard
Depth: 157%
Direction: Down
Size: 250 px
Soften: 0 px
Use Global Light: Off
Angle: 81º
Altitude: 32º
Anti-aliased: On
Highlight Mode: Color Dodge Color: #ececec Opacity: 69%
Shadow Mode: Hard Light Color: #474747 Opacity: 9%

Then click on the Gloss Contour box and edit the curve with these settings:

First Point Input: 0% Output: 0% Corner: Off
Second Point Input: 7% Output: 100% Corner: On
Third Point Input: 37% Output: 55% Corner: Off
Fourth Point Input: 46% Output: 1% Corner: On
Fifth Point Input: 73% Output: 100% Corner: On
Sixth Point Input: 100% Output: 100% Corner: Off

Step 12

Add a Stroke with these settings:

Size: 2 px
Position: Outside
Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Overprint: Off
Fill Type: Gradient
Reverse: Off
Align with Layer: On
Style: Linear
Angle: 83º
Scale: 100%
Dither: Off

Then click on the gradient bar and edit it with these settings:

First stop color: #121212 Location: 0%
Second stop color: #5b5b5b Location: 48%
Third stop color: #121212 Location: 100%

Step 13

Now add a Color Overlay with these settings:

Blend Mode: Color Dodge
Color: #404040
Opacity: 100%

Step 14

Add an Outer Glow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 68%
Noise: 0%
Color: #272727
Technique: Softer
Spread: 15%
Size: 16 px
Contour: Linear
Anti-aliased: On
Range: 100%
Jitter: 0%

After that, click OK to close the Layer Style window.

This is how the text effect should look:

Step 15

Press Control and select both text layers. Then right-click on one of them and choose Convert to Smart Object. After that, rename the new smart object to Jewel Text Effect.

Step 16

Now go to Window > Adjustments and click on the Gradient Map icon. After that, right-click on the Gradient Map layer and choose Create Clipping Mask.

Step 17

Select the Gradient Map layer and go to Window > Properties. Then click on the gradient bar to open the Gradient Editor. After that, edit the gradient with these settings:

First stop color: #240003 Location: 0%
Second stop color: #4e0009 Location: 16%
Third stop color: #ff0012 Location: 59%
Fourth stop color: #ffbe8f Location: 86%
Fifth stop color: #ffffff Location: 100%

Step 18

Select both the text layer and the gradient map and convert them into a smart object. Then rename the new smart object to Jewel Text Effect. After that, go to the Actions panel and click on the Stop Recording icon to finish the action.

Converting the layers into one smart object

This is how the text effect should look:

2. How to Create the Shadow and the Reflection

Step 1

Create a new layer below the text effect and name it Shadow. Then pick the Rectangle Tool (U) and create a thin black shape below the text.

Step 2

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur and set it to 6.0 pixels. After that, change the Opacity of the Shadow layer to 35%.

Step 3

Select the text layer and press Control-J to duplicate it. Then rename the copy to Reflex and move it below the Shadow layer. After that, press Control-T and right-click on the Transform box and choose Flip Vertical. Then, move the layer down to make it look like a perfect reflection.

Step 4

Select the Reflex layer and click on the Add layer mask icon. Then pick the Gradient Tool (G) and select the Black, White gradient. After that, draw a gradient vertically from the bottom of the Reflex layer to the top of the Jewel Text Effect Layer.

And We’re Done!

In this tutorial, you learned how to record a Photoshop action and save Photoshop layer styles in it. We created two layer styles and merged them. After that, we added some colors with a gradient map, and then we added a simple shadow and a reflection below the text.

The text effect is saved in the Actions panel. Now you can apply the same effect to any word or font by selecting the action and clicking on Play. Then you just need to create the shadow and the reflection.

Don’t forget to check the original text effect.

If you want to keep learning, here are some tutorials that you may also like: