Text on a Curve Made Easy

My thanks as always to the fabulous girls at Forcefantastic for testing this tutorial for me.

This tutorial is entirely my own work and any resemblance to any other is purely coincidental. Please do not copy, duplicate, translate, script or use in any groups without my permission.

Text on a Curve Made Easy

The tube I have used is by Patries from an image Tonya by James Brown©

Many people have said how difficult they find the process of Text on a Curve so I have written this tutorial to try and de-mystify it a little. This tutorial will show you how to make this stat as a welcome letter for your groups and give you the confidence to try some other examples and how to achieve perfect curved text every time.

You will need:

PSP 9, X or X1

Riot Squad Font Here Download directly into your Windows Fonts Folder or place in a folder and double click to open, minimize and it will show in PSP.

Filters Unlimited 2

A Tube

Let's begin!

1. Open your tube in PSP, duplicate and close the original. Resize to no more than 400 pixels in height.

2. Choose two colours from your tube. A mid-dark colour for your foreground and a lighter tone of the same colour for your background.

3. Minimize your tube and open a new raster image 600 x 600 pixels, transparent. This seems large but the completed image is no more than 500 x 500 the remainder being background.

4. Tool Bar/Click on the preset Shape Tool and from the selection box select Ellipse.

5. Materials Palette/null your background colour by clicking on the null icon.

6. Using the following settings move your cursor to the top left corner of your blank canvas.

Now holding down the shift key (this will change the ellipse into a circle) press the left mouse button and drag out a circle 400 x 400 pixels. You can watch the measurements on the bottom left of your PSP screen. (If you are working with a split screen you may need to open up PSP fully to see the figures)

7. On you top taskbar go to Objects/Align/Center in Canvas

8. Layer Palette/right click on your Vector 1 layer and select Duplicate.

9. Layer Palette/Right click on your Copy of Vector 1 Layer and Select duplicate.

10. You now have 3 Vector layers. Close the top 2 layers by clicking on the eyes in your layer palette.

11. Highlight your Vector 1 Layer (if your nodes have vanished just click back on the preset shape tool and they should re-appear)

12. Text Tool using the following settings:-

Using font Riot Squad (provided)/Size 65 ( if you use another font then you may have to adjust the size)/Units Pixels/Bold Selected/Alignment Centre/Direction Horizontal and Down/Anti-Alias Sharp/Stroke Width 2.0/Create as Vector/Leading, Kerning and Tracking all at 0/Auto Kern Checked/Line Style +Solid/Join Miter Join/Miter Limit 1.0/Warp Text Checked/Offset +20. The offset is what sets the amount of space between the text and the circle. Kerning will increase or decrease the amount of space between each letter but for this font it's OK at 0. When you use a different font and message you may have to adjust both of these to allow for different forms of lettering but you will soon get the hang of which way to adjust.

13. Materials Palette/Re-open your Background Colour by clicking on the null icon. Now move your cursor up to just off center top of your circle (see below)

You will see your cursor icon change when you move onto the circle so when this happens, left click to bring up your text box. Type Welcome to our World or whatever message you want.

14. Now you should have the node box around your text so that you can adjust it if necessary.

The first and last letters of our text should be sitting on or just above the node box baseline. As you can see our first letter is too high and we need to adjust it. Look in the centre of the node box and you will see a lever. On the end of the lever is a square. Move your cursor over the square and watch it change to up and down arrows. At this point left click and nudge the square upwards to move the text round to the left or downwards to move it to the right.

15. Layer Palette. To the left side of the Highlighted Vector 1 Layer you will see a small plus sign. Click on it.

You will now see two sub-layers that make up your Vector 1 Layer. One containing the text and one the Ellipse Shape. Move your cursor to the Ellipse Shape sub layer and close it by clicking on the Eye at the left.

Now move your cursor back to your Vector 1 Layer. Right Click and select Convert to Raster Layer

Your Vector 1 Layer has now become Raster 2.

16. With your Raster 2 Layer highlighted Effects/3D Effects/Inner Bevel using the following settings:

17. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings:

That is your first text layer completed.

18. Open and Highlight Layer Copy of Vector 1

19. Image Flip. By flipping the image your text will automatically appear right way up. If you didn't do this it would be written back to front and upside down!

20. Text Tool. You need to make a minor adjustment to the settings. Change the Offset to MINUS 65 (-65). This is to bring the text under the circle.

21. Move your cursor to the underside centre bottom of the circle and when the cursor changes left click to bring up your text box and type Come and Join us...........or whatever text you want.

22. Adjust using the lever to level but remember this time the settings are reversed so it is up for right and down for left!

23. Layer Palette/Copy of Vector 1/Click on the plus sign to reveal the sub layers. Close the Ellipse sub layer by clicking on the eye then right click on Copy of Vector 1 and convert to Raster Layer. (The name of the layer will not change this time)

24. Inner Bevel using the same settings as before

25. Drop Shadow using the same settings as before

You have now completed your curved text! Now let's finish our letter.

26. Highlight and open your top layer (Copy 2 of Vector 1)/Right click and Select Convert to Raster Layer

27. Materials Palette/Foreground/Gradient Tab/Select Foreground-Background/Style Linear/Angle 45/Repeats 3/Invert NOT checked.

28. Preset Shape Tool/Ellipse

29. Materials Palette/Null your background colour.

30. Holding down the Shift Key drag out a circle in your gradient 390 x 390 pixels. (Watch the measurements again)

31. Objects/Align/Center in Canvas.

32. Layer Palette/Right Click on your Top Layer/Gradient Circle and Select Convert to Raster Layer.

33. Close the Gradient Circle Layer by Clicking on the Eye in your Layer Palette.

34. Highlight the Layer beneath this. Copy 2 of Vector 1

35. Selection Tool/Magic Wand using the following settings:

36. Click with the Magic Wand in the Centre of the Circle.

37. Materials Palette/Foreground/Change from Gradient to Colour.

38. Flood Fill Tool/Flood fill your selected area with your foreground colour.

39. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited 2/Paper Textures/Canvas Fine/Intensity and Lightness at 87.

40. Selections/Select None. There will be a slight gap showing but don't worry about it your top gradient circle will cover it.

41. Close this layer by clicking on the eye in your Layer Palette and open and highlight your top (Raster 3) Gradient Circle Layer.

42. Selection Tool/Magic Wand using the same settings click in the centre of the circle area.

43. Effects/3D Effects/Cutout using the following settings:-

44. Selections/Select None

45. Maximise your Tube/Edit/Copy and close the tube.

46. Edit/Paste as New Layer onto your main image

47. Position to choice. Use the pick tool to adjust the size if necessary.

48. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the following settings:-

49. Close your 3 bottom layers (two text layers and blank bottom layer)

50. Open the closed circle layer and Merge Visible your top three layers.

51. Effects/3D Effects/Drop Shadow using the same settings.

52. Repeat Drop Shadow with Minus 3 (-3) Vertical and Horizontal Settings.

53. Open all Layers

54. Highlight your blank Raster 1 bottom layer.

55. Flood Fill Tool/Flood fill this layer with a complimentary colour of your choice.

56. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited 2/Paper Textures/Canvas Fine/Intensity and Lightness at 87.

57. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tiling/Default. (Corner/Bi-directional)

58. That's it. You're main image is complete. Export as a Jpeg with the compression at 25 and close this image. Now we just need to make the background tile.

59. Open a New Raster/Transparent Image 200 x 200 Pixels

60. Flood Fill Tool/Flood Fill with the same complimentary colour you used for your main image background.

61. Effects/Plugins/Filters Unlimited 2/Paper Textures/Canvas Fine/Intensity and Lightness at 87.

62. Effects/Image Effects/Seamless Tiling/Default. (Corner/Bi-directional)

63. Export as a Jpeg with the compression at 25.

Assemble in Letter Creator.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and that it has helped you to understand more about Text on a Curve.

If you have any questions about this tutorial or just want to share your result with me click here

The tube I have used is by KKat47. With Thanks.

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