Nousheen Aquil August 9th, 2012

3D Text Effects: Ultimate Collection of Photoshop Tutorials

Typography is not just about the arrangement and placement of letters and words, rather it has become a field of art where artists can express themselves solely through the use of different styles of fonts with varying sizes. Typography has continued to expand as an art, though one must always heed the design principles behind it. Then one finds themselves freer to explore the more artistic sides of this element. Many designers make use of Photoshop to generate some stunning text effects that bring their typography to life or to make their text more down-to-earth. In this round up, we have compiled an exciting collection of more than 40 brilliantly dazzling 3D text effects Photoshop tutorials with a little help from Illustrator. Enjoy!

3D Text Effects

3D Type with Repoussé in Photoshop CS5 Extended
In this tutorial you will learn how to create some stylish 3D Type with Repousse via the talented crew at Abduzeedo.

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Create Glossy, Plastic, 3D Text in Photoshop CS5 Extended
This tutorial will explain how to use Repoussé inside Photoshop CS5 to create an amazing 3D text effect without the need for any other 3D software. Many different material values will be modified to accomplish the final result, and some adjustment layers will be used to enhance the outcome as well. Let’s get started!

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3D Ribbon Wrapped Text Effect
This tutorial will explain how to use the Opacity texture map to create a ribbon-wrapped 3D text effect in a Photoshop CS5 environment. Then, it will explain how to create the confetti brush and its layer styles.

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Create a Realistic Wooden 3D Text Image
There is a lot of typography-based artwork recently with more people getting their hands on 3D programs. However, creating 3D text with just Photoshop takes a certain amount of craftsmanship and skill. Leaving all the little details in your hands instead of letting the computer do all the work. So, in this tutorial we are going to take a few 2D textures as well as a few Photoshop techniques to create a realistic 3D text image.

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Create a Tasty 3D Typographic Illustration
In this tutorial, author Mark Mayers will show you how Photoshop CS6 Extended’s new 3D tools can be utilized to create a typographic illustration that includes lots of sugary treats.

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How to Create Glowing TRON-Inspired 3D Text in Photoshop Extended
Create glowing 3D text and beautiful effects using only non-destructive Photoshop techniques. This tutorial will show you how to create 3D text, give it a futuristic blue glow, and finish it off with a modern bokeh and grid background. There are also a few really cool Photoshop tricks scattered in this tutorial.

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Create 3D Style Lettering
In this tutorial, Marcelo Schultz will explain how to create "awesome" 3D-style typography using illustrative techniques in Photoshop. This tutorial does not utilize any 3D apps or tools and relies heavily on a good sketch as well as your ability to apply proper light and shadow. Tip for our readers: Did you know that you can load your design software such as Photoshop on a Cloud desktop by CloudDesktopOnline.com and access it from anywhere on PCs/Macs/iOS/Android devices? And for online collaboration, you can rely on SharePoint from CloudAppsPortal.com.

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Colorful Plexi Text Effect using Photoshop
In this Awesome Photoshop tutorial, we are going to show you how to create a cool looking colorful Plexi text effect. Throughout this tutorial we’ll create letters separately, getting some help from the Actions. Have Fun.

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How to Create High Quality Metal 3D Text
This tutorial will show you how to create the 3D text shape and give it a high quality metal look using pure Photoshop. Check it out!

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Create Awesome Text Made of 3D Blocks
In this Awesome Photoshop tutorial, we are showing you how to create a cool 3D effect. We’ll create a 3D object from a 2D depth map texture first and then create diffuse and self illumination textures. You will need Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended for this one. Have fun.

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Create Convincing Text-Shaped Buildings
Creating convincing buildings that appear like text in a cityscape can be a challenging task. In this tutorial we will learn how to create building-shaped typography in Photoshop using photos that you have taken yourself. Let’s get started!

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Cool Dots Text Effect
This Photoshop tutorial explains how to design a three-dimensional text, which consists of dots and a blurred extension.

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Create Earthy 3D Typography
In this tutorial, author Ed Lopez will demonstrate how to create an earthy 3D typographic piece using Photoshop’s 3D tools.

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Create a Spectacular Style Text Effect
In this tutorial we’ll create a cool looking 3D Style text effect that will come in handy for any number of projects.

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Create Super Glossy 3D Typography
In this tutorial we will demonstrate how to create a glossy 3D typographic image using both Photoshop and Illustrator.

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Unique 3D Text
In this tutorial you will learn how to create a unique 3d text effect. Definitely one you will be wanting to dive in to.

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Use Google Sketchup and Photoshop to Create 3D Typography
Photoshop is a powerful application on its own merits. Its power, however, can be significantly increased by using it in tandem with another application like Illustrator, Cinema 4D, or in this case, Google Sketchup. Today, we will create some cool 3D text using this free architectural application.

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Create Elegant, Glassy, 3D Typography
In this tutorial, we will demonstrate how to create elegant, glassy, 3D typography using Photoshop and Illustrator. Feel free to apply this effect to any logo, text, or shape. Let’s get started!

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3D Layered Text Effect
In this Awesome Photoshop tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a 3D text effect using actions, basic transform operations and filters. This is an intermediate level, approximately 2 cups of coffee long tutorial.

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Create an Extruded Glossy 3D Text Effect
People love 3D effects. They also love the look of shiny, glossy, graphics as well. Here, we will combine those two popular styles and create an extruded 3D glossy text effect in Photoshop.

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Create a 3D Text Scene Using Photoshop
In this tutorial we’ll create a realistic 3D text scene using Photoshop with a little help from Illustrator for the 3D text.

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Create an Awesome 3D Text Effect with Abstract Brush Decoration
In the tutorial, the artist will show you the processes he used to create an awesome 3D Text Effect with Photoshop. This is an intermediate tutorial so some steps can be tricky, but why not have a try.

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How to Create A Realistic 3D Typography
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a really smooth looking 3D text in any version of Photoshop. This tutorial will create the illusion of 3D without the use of any 3D programs; we will only use the raw power of Photoshop.

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How to Create Abstract New Year Illustration with 3D Typography
In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to create an abstract New Year illustration with 3D typography using new 3D tools that Adobe has included in Photoshop CS5 Extended. Let’s get going.

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Create 3D Type Art Using Photoshop CS5
The 3D tools in Photoshop CS5 are more advanced than ever. In this tutorial we will use the new Repoussé tool to extrude some text in a way previously only possible in a full 3D application.

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3D Text on Fire
In this tutorial we will create a fire effect 3D text with Illustrator and Photoshop.

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Floral 3D Text Effect
Learn how to turn a simple 3D text into a beautiful yet simple floral design. This tutorial will show you how to retouch and apply effects to 3D text and use floral Photoshop brushes as a quick way of enhancing the look.

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Stunning 3D effects in 30 minutes
In this Photoshop tutorial you will learn how to create stunning 3D effects in 30 minutes.

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Design Soft Stylized 3D Type
The use of 3D type is an increasing trend in design today. In this tutorial, we will teach you the basics of creating polished 3D type using Illustrator and Photoshop. Let’s get to work.

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Create a Dream Design with 3D Typography
In this tutorial, we’re going to create a 3D Typography based design. All the elements will revolve around the centerpiece and theme: dreaming. The word will dictate the entire layout and control the space by allowing everything else to emerge from within.

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Create a Spectacular Flaming Meteor Effect on Text
Take typography one step further by having text falling from the sky in a burning inferno. Yes, this is the text-on-fire tutorial to end all tutorials. It uses a little Illustrator for the text and a lot of Photoshop to burn up the screen!

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Create 3D Text with some Extreme Lighting
Here we are going to take an object/text, change it from 2-D to 3-D and give it some realistic effects. We are going to use Illustrator to create the object, and then bring it into Photoshop to add highlights and shadows.

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Create Stunning 3D Text in a Grungy Landscape
The more you can learn about blending images and different elements together in Photoshop, the more freedom you will have in creating whatever pops up in your imagination. In this Photoshop tutorial, we are going to go over different digital-image-editing techniques in order to create a beautiful grungy and grainy composition that has 3D text as its centerpiece.

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Create a Dark Grunge 3D Text Scene
In this Photoshop tutorial, you are going to learn how to create some 3D text using only Photoshop. The mood we will strive to incorporate in our piece is dark and grungy. We are going to use consistent lighting, layer styles to create shadows for our type, Photoshop filters, and more.

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How to Create Remarkable 3D Text
In this quick and easy graphic design tutorial, you’ll discover a handy process for generating attention-grabbing three-dimensional typography with the help of Photoshop and some creative techniques.

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How to Quickly Create a Stylish Retro Text Effect
In this tutorial we will be designing a cool retro text effect, which is growing more and more popular in today’s design. Here you will learn how to use the Perspective tool to create depth and how designers can use default gradients in unusual ways!

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3D Text effect
This tutorial shows you how to create a nice 3D text using only Photoshop 7.

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Create Astonishing Nightclub Themed 3D Typography
3D graphics are often created using several applications. Here, we will use Photoshop, Illustrator, and Cinema 4D to create a stunning nightclub themed 3D composite. Let’s get started!

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Create Dazzling 3D Text Effect
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create 3D text in Illustrator then transfer it to Photoshop to apply the effects. You’ll learn how to apply styles to regular 3D text to create a stunning design.

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Kaboom! Exploding Text
Explosions are always nice to watch, but it’s even better to blow up stuff yourself. This is why we are going to teach you how to make your own exploding text that you can show off to your friends.

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Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed browsing through this amazing and fun collection of 40 excellent 3D text effect Photoshop tutorials, and will have more fun using the techniques in your work. If we have missed out some useful tutorials, then drop us a line letting us know and we will try to include those tutorials in our next collection. Enjoy! (rb)

Nousheen Aquil

Nousheen Aquil is a web graphic designer. She loves photography, drawing and painting. She also is a contributing member of WebdesignCore , a platform that focuses on free web resources and inspiration for designers and developers.

19 comments

  1. Hi Nousheen !!! You have listed very great tutorials in this posts.

    I followed 3 of these . really helpfull to learn the 3D Text rendering

    Thanks

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