Easily Make a Distressed Bleed Text Effect in Photoshop

Photoshop Text Effects

When you want to give your text a distressed look, there are many different methods that you can use. However, there is an easy and effective way to achieve a stylish distressed bleed text effect in Photoshop using a very simple technique that combines the power of the Field Blur filter with some Filter Gallery options. Today, I will show you how easily you can make a distressed text effect in Photoshop to use on your designs and give them a vintage/grunge vibe.

Step 1

Open Photoshop and make a new file at any size you want. In this case I will make mine at 4800 x 3200 px.

Step 2

Select the "Horizontal Type Tool" (T) and type your text using a black color with any font you want. Here I will be using a combination of "Gobold Lowplus" and "Georgia" at 190 pt.

Step 3

In the Layers Panel select both layers (text + background) and go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object.

Step 4

Go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Field Blur.

Step 5

Move the pin blur location to the top middle of your text and set the Blur amount to about 55 px.

Step 6

Click on the bottom right part of your text to add a new blur pin, and set the Blur amount to about 4 px.

Step 7

Now, click on the left bottom part of your text to add another blur pin. Set the blur amount to 1 px and click OK in the Blur Gallery window.

Step 8

Go to Filter > Filter Gallery. From the "Sketch" group select the "Graphic Pen" effect and apply the following values.

Step 9

Click on the "New Effect Layer" icon. Select the "Torn Edges" effect, apply the following values and click OK in the Filter Gallery window.

Step 10

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise, apply the following values and click OK in the Add Noise window.

Step 11

Lastly, (this step is optional) press Ctrl+I on your keyboard to invert the image colors.

Some Final Notes

Now you know how to easily make a distressed bleed text effect, you can change the text even after the effect was made. To do that, just double click on the smart object thumbnail, edit your text and save the changes. Your new text will appear in the original file with all the effects applied. Also, you can expand the smart object filters and jusy by double clicking on the filter you can change the values and get a whole new effect on your text.