Offset Summer Title
Offset Summer Title
by Syndee Rogers & Jen White
Use a chunky serif font and a cleverly placed stroke outline to create a splash of summer fun on your next digital project.
Note: This tutorial was updated July 2019 by Jen White.
For this tutorial you will need:
- Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements
- A chunky serif font. Here are two good examples:
- Bevan (free at Font Squirrel)
- ChunkFive (free at Font Squirrel)
Step One: Open a Scrapbook Page
- Create a new 8×6 inch document (File > New > Blank File) at 300 ppi with a white background. (PS: Choose File > New.)
OR, open the layered scrapbook page (File > Open) and in the Layers panel, activate the top layer. - Press the letter D to reset the Color Chips to the default of black over white.
Step Two: Add the First Letter
- Get the Horizontal Type tool.
- In the Tool Options, open the Font Picker and choose a bold, serif font. I’m using Beven. Set the Size to 150. The Color Chip should be black.
- On the document, click once in the middle of the document to place the cursor. Type the first letter of a word. I’ll type a Capital S for Summer.
- Holding down the Ctrl key (Mac: Cmd key) click inside the bounding box and drag the letter to the left center of the document. Click the checkmark to commit.
Step Three: Add Additional Letters
- Get the Horizontal Type tool.
- Holding down the Shift key, click in the center of the document and type another letter of a word. I’ll type a lowercase U.
- Holding down the Ctrl key (Mac: Cmd key) click inside the bounding box and drag the letter so that it’s overlapping the previous letter and is slightly offset. Click the checkmark to commit. To fine-tune the placement, get the Move tool and use your Arrow keys to nudge the letter into place.
Step Four: Create the Outline Text
- In the Layers panel, click on the top letter layer to activate it.
- Holding down the Shift key, click on the bottom letter layer. Now all layers associated with your word should be active.
- Press Ctrl E (Mac: Cmd E) to merge all the letter layers together.
- In the Layers panel, hold down the Ctrl key (Mac: Cmd key) and click on the thumbnail of the merged word layer to get a selection outline.
- Click on the Create a New Layer icon.
- Double click directly on the name of this new layer and rename it, Stroke.
- In the Menu Bar, choose Edit > Stroke (Outline) Selection. (Photoshop: Choose Edit > Stroke.)
- In the dialog box, set the Width to 5. The Color Chip should be black. Set the Location to Inside, the Mode to Normal, and the Opacity to 100%. Click OK.
- Press Ctrl D (Mac: Cmd D) to deselect.
- Get the Move tool.
- Press the Arrow keys to nudge the outline up and to the left to give it an offset look.
Step Five: Clip Paper to the Title
- In the Layers panel, activate the merged letters layer.
- Open a patterned paper (File > Open) that you would like to clip to the title. Small dark patterns will look best with this technique. I’m using PaperBiggie-Chev2 from Just Peachy by Syndee Rogers.
- Get the Move tool.
- On the document, hold down the Shift key and click and drag the paper onto the scrapbook page.
- In the Menu Bar, choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask.
Step Six: Use the Title
To use the title on a project:
- In the Layers panel, click on the Stroke layer to activate it.
- Holding down the Shift key, click on the merged type layer.
- Get the Move tool.
- On the document, click and drag the title onto a new document.
To save the title as a layered document:
- Save the title document (File > Save) as a layered PSD document.
Here is how Syndee used the title she created:
Credits:
Page & Photo: Syndee Rogers, BlueOrange Studio
Kit: Hello Summertime by Digilicious Designs
Fonts: Akenaten, Caviar Dreams
Software: Photoshop Elements 12, Adobe Photoshop CC 2014
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Author: Syndee Rogers | Contact Us
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This is such a cute/fun idea!! 🙂
This title has so much movement in it . . . great for a summertime layout. Thanks for the tutorial, Syndee.
I am so glad you like it Donna!
This tutorial is not working for me. When I try to nudge the stroke outline, I get the message “Could not nudge because no pixels are selected”. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Karen. So sorry. The instructions in the tutorial were slightly off…it was our fault, not yours. Please give it a try again using the updated instructions and PDF. Again, sorry for the inconvenience. xoxo
Wonderful tutorial! Such a cute idea. Thank you for sharing your creativity! And, thank you for providing a PDF file! Very awesome!
Thanks so much for this tutorial I always struggle looking for new
title ideas. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for the tutorial. I always struggle looking for new title ideas. Thanks again!!
Thanks for this great idea! I’ll have to try it.
Thanks for this cool tutorial. I will have to give it a try
this looks great. Gotta get busy and try it.
This is a great idea. Gotta get busy and try it.
Thank you! I think you were reading my mind because I was looking for a tutorial on this yesterday.
Love how the letters turned out! Thank you, Syndee.