Gold Effect Text in Photoshop

The final text

Step 1: Setting up the Text

In this tutorial we'll be transforming plain text into metallic gold text. This tutorial can also be useful for any metallic text that you'd want to create, just changing the colours can give you silver and bronze text. 

 

You can use any colour background but this effect looks better on black

First, open a new Photoshop file and click on the Edit tab and then Fill the entire background with black so that we can see our text clearly. Make sure that when the window appears that the Mode is set to Normal and the Opacity is 100%.  

Make sure that the colour is set to white, as it won't turn out on any other colour

Next, select the Text tool from the sidebar. Choose whatever font you like, but I've chosen Times New Roman. Don't worry about the size for now, as we'll be changing that later. Set the colour of the text to white. 

You can scale it as big as you want it

Click on the document and add whatever text you like and then accept by clicking the check mark in the upper bar once you're satisfied. If you want your text to be bigger, upscale it with the Transform tool and hold Shift so that it retains its shape. 

Make sure the background and original are on separate layers

Step 2: Adding Colour and Gradient

Duplicate the Text layer and make sure it's placed above the original. While the Copy layer is selected, click on the Layers Icon (fx) and choose Gradient Overlay.   

The direction of the gradient isn't important for now

While in the Gradient window, click on the black and white gradient to edit the colours. Double-click on the black tab, change the colour to R247 G238 B173 and then change the white tab to R193 G172 B81.  

Alternatively, you could use any other colours for silver, bronze, etc 

This has to be darker than the previous colour

We'll be needing this same gradient later so save it as a pre-set by clicking New after you've named it. A thumbnail will appear in the Gradient tab when you open it. Click OK to close the Gradient Editor but keep the Layer Style window open.   

Name it whatever you like

The gradient we've just made has been added on the bottom right

Change the Style of the gradient to Reflected. This will give the text more of a metallic shine. 

This will make the gradient look reflective like shiny metal

Step 3: Creating the 3-D Effect

Now select the Bevel and Emboss Layer Style and click into its options. 

Just ticking the box beside the tab won't open the options panel. You need to click on the actual text

Change the Technique to Chisel Hard, and then change the Gloss Contour to Ring Double. After you've done that, turn on Anti-aliased to smooth out any sharp edges.

This will give the text a solid outline to mold the 3-D effect from

Here's what your text should look like so far; 

It doesn't look like much now but we'll be using those edges to create a better effect

Next, you should size the Bevel and Emboss up until the edges of the text join together. The value for this differs from text to text but for this one a value of 26 is fine. 

The size also depends on the size of your text. The bigger the text the higher the size

Then increase the Depth of the text to about 170% to create a more solid texture. 

This will make it look 3-D

Now our text should look somewhat like this: 

Now it's beginning to take shape

Next, click on the Contour tab in the Layer Style window and just click the checkbox to turn it on, as we don't need to change anything. 

Just ticking the box is enough

Then add an Inner Glow by clicking onto it on the window. Go change the Blend Mode to Multiply and put the Opacity as 50%. Now change the colour of the glow by clicking on the colour swatch located underneath Noise. Set the colour to R232 G128 B31, and then increase the Glow size to about 75px. 

This will give it more of a golden sheen

Now your text should have a more golden sheen to it. 

Now it looks more like gold

Step 4: Creating the Stroke

When you're done, click on the original layer to make it active.  

Make sure the original is on a separate layer underneath the copy

Once it's selected, click on the Layer Styles (fx) icon again and add a Stroke to that layer. Change the Fill type to Gradient and change the Style to Reflected. Next, increase the Size of the stroke to about 8px and make sure the Position is set to Outside. Click on the gradient to change the colour and select the gold pre-set that we created a while ago. 

The stroke will make the text more eye catching

Next, we'll apply a Bevel and Emboss to the Stroke we just made. Click onto the Bevel and Emboss tab and change the Style to Stroke Emboss. Then change Technique to Chisel Hard, the size to about 8px and change the Gloss Contour to Ring - Double. Finally, click on the Anti-aliased box to smoothen the effect. 

This will strengthen the effect of the stroke

After this, just tick on the Contour box underneath Bevel and Emboss to add a contour to the stroke. 

Again, you just need to tick the box

Step 5: Adding a Glow

Now we just have to add one more Layer Style before we're done and that's an Outer Glow. Click on the Outer Glow tab and put the Opacity to 40%, then click on the Colour Swatch underneath Noise and change the colour to R232 G128 B31. When that's done, increase the Size to about 20-40px depending on the size of your text. 

This needs to be a more intense colour than your actual text. Orange will make it look more golden

Now to soften it so that it give the text a subtle glow

Once you've finished applying the Outer Glow click OK. 

You can also add optional sparkles if you'd like or change the colour to give a different effect

Now, we're finished our gold text. This can also be used for any other shiny/metallic effect like silver or bronze, just change the colours of the text and that should give you different results.