Creating editable text effects

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Mattlamp

Mattlamp

Hello everyone, In this tutorial, I will share some techniques and tips you can use when creating text designs.

I will focus on creating custom editable text effects using file objects, but also how to use them as a base to achieve more creative results by mixing different layers types and techniques.

Also, I will try to show you how to combine the editable effects with the animation features in clip studio paint ex. to easily create text animations we can share in social media.

Ok, let's have some fun!

■Note: I will be using the latest version of Clip Studio Paint Ex. (1.9.9). It has an updated interface with different icons compared to some older versions and all the complete fuctions. so please keep that in mind when following the tutorial.

You can watch the video version of this tutorial here▼

I shared some useful techniques and creative text effects I will use in this tutorial in one of my previous Tips. Feel free to give it a look first to get familiar with my workflow. ▼

1. Quick introduction to the text tool

Ok first lets quickly review how the text tool works.

▼ [1] To create a text layer we select the Text tool (Shortcut T)

In the [Tool Property] palette we can choose our basics settings:

■[1.1] Here we choose our font, the size and the word spacing.

■[1.2] We choose the style, the color and the justification

■[1.3] We can add a background or edge effect.

■NOTE: All the settings can be modified later using the Object tool (Shortcut O)

▼ [2] To edit the text we double click using the text tool. and make any changes we need.

We can also use the object tool to change the size,rotation, the color, the font, etc.

▼ [3] Here are the basic operations

■[3.1] Word spacing and character spacing modify the space between letters.

■[3.2] Line space changes the distance between lines.

■[3.3] Justify changes how the text block aligns

■[3.4] We can add edge and background color

▼ [4] Other cool functions are:

■[4.1] Using the different styles, we can add an italic underline or cross line

■[4.2] we can assign a User color, and then when we create new text it will ignore the main color we have selected and always type in the color we defined.

▼ [5] Custom settings

■[5.1] If we click the gear icon when selecting a font, we can create a custom font list, this is really useful when we have a couple of favorites fonts or a particular font for a project and we don't want to scroll through the whole system fonts.

■[5.2] If we want to see the full list of settings we can click the gear icon in the [Tool Property] palette

Those are the basics of the text tool.

Try to get familiar with the different settings.

2. File Objects

▼ File objects allow us to reference and external file as a layer, this is really powerful feature.

We can edit the original file, and any change will update in the referenced instance.

Using file objects we can create base editable designs we can use to quickly achieve multiple results.

▼ [1] Lets create a file object from our text layer.

First we right click the layer and choose [File object (X)] > [Convert layer to file object]

Then we choose drawing area and keep original layer

Save it to a safe location.

■NOTE: The software will use this file we created to render the instance in the project.

Please remember where you save it and don't delete it.

▼ [2] Now we can edit the content of the original file and it will auto-update on all the instances.

First i change the canvas size to give me some margins when editing the text.

Go to [Edit] > [Canvas properties] and make it bigger.

▼ [3] Then i edit the text and it updates in the project

▼ [4] The advantages of using file objects:

■ They are editable and Non-destructive

 

■ We can apply transformations and it will retain the original information

 

■ We can create duplicates of the same layer and it will update on all the instances

 

■ They are Tileable

 

■ We can use layer effects such as borders and layer color

 

■ We can have multiple layers inside the original file givin' us additional hierarchy

▼ [5] The cons of this type of layer are:

■ We Cant draw directly on the layer

■ We cant apply the mesh transformation

■ We cant apply Filters

If we want to use these features we need to rasterize the layers first. I recommend duplicating the file object layer first to maintain the original information if we need it.

3. Basic Effects

Now that we understand how the file objects work, we can start creating our editable text effects.

 

▼ [1]As a general workflow, I like to create a different layer folder for the elements. Then I will create duplicates and use the layer effects such as color and border to give me a solid base I can further edit to achieve different results.

I move the Shadow layer and lower its opacity to achieve a quick drop shadow effect.

 

▼ [2] Then I can edit the original file and I have a solid editable effect I can use as a base.

We can edit the colors of the border and the layer color effect in the layer property pallet.

We can also change the font if we want.

 

▼ This is the result I achieved, as you can see is really simple but it offers us a lot of possibilities

▼ [3] If we want a soft shadow first we need to duplicate de shadow folder and merge it to rasterize it.

Then we can go to [Filter] menu > [Blur] > [Gaussian Blur]. and play with the settings until we like the result.

▼ [4] Using the same techniques and playing with the different transformations settings & blending modes we can make a lot of effects.

■Here is a long shadow using the same steps but changing the perspective of the shadow ▼

▼ [5] To create a glow I follow the same steps as with the shadow, but this time I have a layer on top in the add (glow) blending mode. I duplicate it rasterize and then apply a gaussian blur.

To finish the design I added some light particles.▼

▼ [6] The last basic technique is using a clipping mask to add color gradients or image textures.

4. Mixing techniques to create 3d text

Now I will show you how to combine the basics techniques to create 3d retro effects we can use for posters and Titles.

Most of the effects use the same workflow, but we can combine them. Then we can rasterize the whole text to apply filters or the mesh transform tool. Also, we could always draw on top later.

▼ [1] This time I duplicate the main text folder, so we have the color layer and the drop shadow.

Now if I move it I get a shadow between each color. this results In a cool retro effect.

I can further edit it by rasterizing and using the mesh transform, and also by creating clipping gradients and playing with hue & saturation.

▼ [2] To create a pop effect I use a layer with a border, a layer with a gradient and one with a clipped texture.

Then I duplicate the whole effect, merge, set it to add glow and apply a motion blur.

This is the final result ▼

▼ [3] I combined all the techniques to create a 3d title for a comic.

Then I created an editable issue number :)

5. Animation

We can use file objects, layer masks & keyframes to create editable animations.

I explain the basics in the video but The animation features go beyond this tutorial so please Read this first if you need to understand the basics. ▼

Here are the examples i made for the video. I hope you get the idea ▼

Closing thoughts

Well, this is the end of the tutorial. I hope it wasn't too complex.

Try to create your own editable designs.

I hope you can apply some of my tips to your own work.

The most important thing is to be creative. Please don't be afraid to try new things.

See you next time. Thank you for watching.

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