Create a 3D text Effect Using Smart Objects in Photoshop

Beautiful Text Made Simple

In this tutorial, i will show you how to create a 3D text effect using 1 single Photoshop Smart Object (that you can use an unlimited number of times just updating the text), and multiple layers of the same object with different layer effects applied to them.

Step 1 

Open Photoshop and create a new document at 900 x 650 pixels, set the resolution at 72dpi and the color mode to RGB at 8bit.

Step 2

Make a new layer and name it "My Design". Go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object.

Step 3

Double click in the "My Design" layer thumbnail. This will open a new document where we will draw our design.

Step 4

In this new document, write your design text with any typeface you like (i will be using Pacifico). There is no need to choose your final design color in this step, because we will add some nice colors and gradients in the following ones.

Step 5

Save this new document and close it. As you see, your text design is now in the original document as part of the “My Design” smart object.

Step 6

With the “My Design” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Depth VI”.

Step 7

Select the layer “Depth VI” and duplicate the layer again. Name this layer as “Depth V”. Select the Move Tool (V) and press the left arrow in your keyboard to move this layer 1 px to the left. Now press the up arrow in your keyboard in order to move this layer 1px to the top.
Note: We will repeat this process 6 more times.

Step 8

With the “Depth V” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Depth IV”. Select the Move Tool (V) and press the left arrow in your keyboard to move this layer 1 px to the left. Now press the up arrow in your keyboard in order to move this layer 1px to the top.

Step 9

With the “Depth IV” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Depth III”. Select the Move Tool (V) and press the left arrow in your keyboard to move this layer 1 px to the left. Now press the up arrow in your keyboard in order to move this layer 1px to the top.

Step 10

With the “Depth III” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Depth II”. Select the Move Tool (V) and press the left arrow in your keyboard to move this layer 1 px to the left. Now press the up arrow in your keyboard in order to move this layer 1px to the top.

Step 11

With the “Depth II” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Depth I”. Select the Move Tool (V) and press the left arrow in your keyboard to move this layer 1 px to the left. Now press the up arrow in your keyboard in order to move this layer 1px to the top.

Step 12

With the “Depth I” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Stroke Contour”. Select the Move Tool (V) and press the left arrow in your keyboard to move this layer 1 px to the left. Now press the up arrow in your keyboard in order to move this layer 1px to the top.

Step 13

With the “Stroke Contour” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Gradient”. Select the Move Tool (V) and press the left arrow in your keyboard to move this layer 1 px to the left. Now press the up arrow in your keyboard in order to move this layer 1px to the top.

Step 14

With the “Gradient” layer selected, duplicate this layer and name it “Brights”.

Step 15

In the layers panel, select the layer “Depth VI”. Hold down the Shift key and select the layer “Depth I”.

Step 16

Go to Layer > New > Group from Layers. Name this group as “Depth Color” and click Ok.

Step 17

Make all layers invisible (except the “My Design” layer) by clicking on the eye icon next to each layer name. Select the layer “My Design”. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Stroke and apply the following settings:

Step 18

Select the “Depth Color” layer group and make it visible by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer group. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Color Overlay and apply the following settings:

Step 19

Select the “Stroke Contour” layer and make it visible by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer name. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Color Overlay and apply the following settings:

Step 20

Select the layer “Gradient” and make it visible by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer name. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Gradient Overlay and apply the following settings:

Click on the Gradient thumbnail and set the gradient colors (from left to right) to #ff00ff > #ffffc7

Step 21

Select the layer “Brights” and make it visible by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer name. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and set the Fill Opacity of this layer to 0.

Step 22

Check the Inner Shadow at the left of the Layer Style Panel and apply the following settings:

Step 23

With the “Brights” layer selected, hold down the Shift key in your keyboard and select the layer “My Design”.

Step 24

Go to Layer > New > Group from Layers. Name this group as “3D Effect” and click Ok.

Step 25

With the “3D Effect” layer group selected, go to Layer > Layer Style > Stroke and apply the following settings:

Step 26

While you are still in the Layer Style Panel, check the Drop Shadow effect and apply the following settings:

Step 27

Create a new layer over the “3D Effect” layer group and name this new layer as “Sparkles”.

Step 28

Select the Brush Tool (B). Click in the small down arrow next to the tool options and click on the gear icon. From the dropdown list select “Assorted brushes”.

Step 29

Select the “Crosshatch 4” brush and with a white color paint a few sparkles to give your design a bit of shine. Try to play with the brush size and rotate it to create sparkles in different angles.

Step 30

Now you can change your design by editing the smart object. To do it, just double click in the thumbnail of the “My Design” layer. Place your new design in the new opened document, save it and close it. Now your new design will be visible in the original document with all the effects we just did applied to it.