How to Make a Wavy Line Text Effect in Photoshop

Photoshop Text Effects

While it might be simpler to achieve specific effects using one program over another, there might be specific occasions where the required application isn't accessible to us, and making a wavy line text effect is no exception to the rule. Although this particular effect is much easier to make in Illustrator, we can also recreate it in Photoshop following a few simple steps and with the advantage that we can later add additional effects to make it more appealing. So today, I will show you how easy is to make a Wavy Line Text Effect in Photoshop if you don't have access to Illustrator.

Step 1

Open Photoshop and make a new file at any size you want. In this case, I will make mine at 1800 x 1200 px using a black background.

Step 2

Select the Line Tool (U). In the top toolbar, be sure to have the tool mode set to "Shape", set the line Weight to 6 px and draw a line from side to side of your artboard.

Step 3

Hold the Alt key on your keyboard (to make a copy of the current layer) and drag the line down a bit, around 10-15 px.

Step 4

Repeat the last step until you cover the artboard from top to bottom.

Step 5

In the Layers Panel, select all the lines layers and go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object.

Step 6

Go to Filter > Liquify. Set any Brush Tool Options you like, deform the lines to your liking using the Forward Warp Tool (W) and click OK in the Liquify window.

Step 7

Select the Horizontal Type Tool (T) and type any text you want using any font you like. Here I will simply write "Wavy" using the Heavitas font at 450pt.

Step 8

Position your text over any part of the lines background you like. In this case, I will move mine a bit down and to the right.

Step 9

Hold the "Ctrl" key on your keyboard and click over your text layer thumbnail in order to make a selection.

Step 10

With the selection active, select your lines layer and click on the "Add Layer Mask" icon in the Layers Panel.

Step 11

Lastly, hide your text layer by clicking on the eye icon next to the layer's name and reposition the text anywhere you want.