Photoshop Tutorial: How to Create a Powerful, Monogram Emblem

Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to create a powerful, shiny emblem of your initials.
This is an update of a tutorial I did quite awhile ago on a much earlier version of Photoshop.
This update is more streamlined, easier and flexible.
Make a new document by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + N. Make its Width and Height 1000 pixels each.
The Resolution is 150 pixels per inch.
The Color Mode is RGB Color and 8 bits per Channel.
If the color box isn't black, click it and in the Color Picker, pick black.
Click OK and click "Create" or "OK".
To fit your document onto your canvas, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0.
Next, we'll create guidelines that will give us the exact center.
Go to View.
If your using version CC or later, click "New Guide Layout".
If you're using an earlier version, I'll show you a work around in a minute.
In the "Number" fields, type in 2 in both Columns and Rows.
Then, click OK or press Enter or Return.
If you don’t see the guidelines, press Ctrl or Cmd + H.
For earlier versions, click "New Guide".
Whichever the Orientation is ticked, in its Position, type in 50%.
Go to back to View and "New Guide".
Tick the other Orientation and again, type in 50%.
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
Open your Ellipse Tool and choose "Shape".
If you're using an earlier version of Photoshop, the Shape icon is here.
For its width, type in 70 "px" for pixels.
We want the "Fill" to be empty, so make sure this icon is active.
Click the "Stroke" icon and the "Color Picker" icon.
Pick a color for your ring.
Since I already know the color I want, I'll type it into the hexadecimal field: 187AFF.
Click the gear icon, tick "Circle" and check "From Center".
Place your cursor on the cross-hairs of the guides lines and drag out a circle approximately this size.
Then, release.
To hide the path and the guide lines, press Ctrl or Cmd + H. Click the "fx" icon and click "Bevel Emboss".
The Style is "Inner Bevel, the Technique is "Chisel Hard and the Depth is 100%.
The Direction is Down, the Size is 177 pixels and the Soften is 0.
Uncheck "Global Light".
The Angle is 110 degrees and the Altitude is 30 degrees.
The Gloss Contour is "Linear", the Highlight Mode is Color Dodge,
the color is white and the Opacity is 50%.
The Shadow Mode is Multiply, the color is black and its opacity is 75%.
Click Stroke.
Click the color box and pick a lighter version of the color you picked for your ring.
I'll type in: 28CAFF.
The Size is 3 pixels, the Position is Inside, the Blend Mode is Linear Dodge and the Opacity is 100%.
Then, click OK.
Next, we'll add our initials.
Click the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
Open your Horizontal Type Tool and pick a font.
I'm using "Copperplate Gothic Bold".
If you'd like to use it, its link is in my video's description or project files below.
I'll make its size 270 points, however, if you're using a different font, you may want
to use a different point size.
I'll make its aliasing: Sharp and Center Alignment.
Click the color box and pick white.
Click on your document and type your first initial.
Press Enter or Return and type your second initial.
If your initials are too close or too far apart, we need to adjust the spacing between them.
Click the "Character/Paragraph" icon or go to Window and Character.
In the Character panel, make the "Leading" temporarily 10 points.
Leading is the space between 2 characters.
It's also called "kerning".
Make the "Tracking": 0.
Tracking is the spacing between all of your characters in a line of text.
Make the Vertical and the Horizontal Scales: 100%.
These scales adjust your font's shape.
The Baseline Shift controls the spacing above and below your characters.
Highlight your text.
Go to the Baseline Shift icon and drag it to the left to separate your characters.
If you want to bring them closer together, drag the icon to the right.
When you're happy with the spacing, close the Character panels.
To center your initials on the document,
open your Move Tool and press Ctrl or Cmd + A to select your canvas.
Click the Align Horizontal Centers icon and the Align Vertical Centers icon.
Deselect it by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + D.
We'll convert our text into a Smart Object, which will allow us to replace our initials
or change the font without having to redo most of the effects that we'll be adding to it.
To do this, open the fly-out list and click "Convert to Smart Object".
Click the "fx" icon and click "Bevel Emboss".
The Style is "Inner Bevel", the Technique is "Chisel Hard" and the "Depth" is 100%.
The Direction is "Up."
The Size is 8 pixels and "Soften" is 0.
The Angle is 110 degrees and the Altitude is 30 degrees.
Open the Gloss Contour list and click "Ring".
The Highlight Mode is "Color Dodge", the color is white and the Opacity is 50%.
The Shadow Mode is Multiply, the color is black and the Opacity is 75%.
Click Stroke.
Click the color box and pick a color.
I'll type in 6AAFF.
The Size is 2 pixels, the Position is Outside, the Blend Mode is Normal and the Opacity is 100%.
Click "Drop Shadow".
The color is black, the Blend mode is Multiply and the Opacity is 60%.
The Angle is 145 degrees, the Distance is 40 pixels, the Spread is 0 and the Size is 0.
Next, we'll add a gradient color to the face of our text.
Click the Adjustment Layer icon and click "Gradient".
Open the gradients and click the black and white thumbnail.
Click the gradient bar, which opens the Gradient Editor.
Click the lower, left Stop and the color box.
Pick a color for the top color of the Gradient.
I'll type in 0040D0.
Click the lower, right Stop and the color box.
Pick a color for the bottom of the gradient.
I'll type in 00BBFF.
The Style is Linear, the Angle is minus 90 degrees
and the Scale is 100%.
Make sure "Align with layer" is checked.
To place the gradient inside the face of your text,
we need to make the gradient into a clipping mask.
To do this press Ctrl + Alt + G on Windows or Cmd + Option + G on a Mac.
Another way of clipping it is to go to Layer and "Create Clipping Mask".
Next, we'll add darker and lighter gradients on the top and bottom of our initials.
Make a new layer.
Go to your initials layer and Ctrl-click or Cmd-click on its thumbnail to make a selection of its shape.
Go to Select, Modify and Contract.
Contract it 12 pixels.
Click the Layer mask icon to make a layer mask of the selection next to the active layer.
Reduce the opacity to 50% and make the empty layer active.
We'll brush black over the top initial.
But first, press "D" on your keyboard to make your foreground color black.
Open your Brush Tool and Brush picker.
Make the Brush Size 400 pixels and the Hardness: 0%.
The Opacity and Flow are both 100%.
Zoom out a bit by pressing Ctrl or Cmd and the minus key on your keyboard.
Brush once across the top of your initial.
Make a new a new layer.
This layer will contain the white brush stroke that we'll make across the bottom initial.
Go to the Layer Mask and press and hold Alt or Option as you drag a copy of the layer
mask next to the top layer.
Change its Blend Mode to Overlay and reduce its opacity to 45%.
If your foreground color isn't white, press "x" on your keyboard to invert your foreground
and background colors.
Now, white is now your foreground color.
Brush across the bottom of your bottom initial.
Next, we'll add a diagonal highlight over our emblem.
Make a new layer
and change its Blend Mode to "Overlay".
Reduce its opacity to 50%.
If you'd like to reduce the size of your brush, press the Left bracket key on your keyboard.
I'll press it twice.
If your brush size isn't changing,
make sure your CapsLock key is off before you press the bracket key.
Brush diagonally across your emblem.
Lastly, we'll add a lens flare.
Make a new layer and fill it with black.
Change its Blend Mode to "Linear Dodge".
Go to Filter, Render and Lens Flare.
The Brightness is 100% and the Lens Type is "105mm Prime".
Drag the lens flare in the Preview window to a location that approximates the position
on your document where you'd like it placed over your emblem.
To position the flare over the exact spot on your emblem,
press "v" to open your Move Tool and drag it over your emblem.
To ensure that the entire flare is covering your entire image, do the following: Open
your Transform Tool by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + T. Drag the Reference Point to the center
of the brightest part of your flare.
Go to a corner and when you see a diagonal, double-arrow, press and hold Alt or Option
+ Shift as you drag it out until all your entire Transform's bounding box is just outside
your document.
Then, press Enter or Return.
To fit your document back onto your canvas, press Ctrl or Cmd + 0.
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
Thanks for watching!

Photoshop Tutorial: How to Create a Powerful, Monogram Emblem

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