In this tutorial we'll use both Illustrator and Photoshop to place text into an environment.
Open a new document in Illustrator and make a text box.
Type your text in a large blocky font, and make it white.
With your text box selected, click on Extrude and Bevel under the 3D effect option.
At this point you'll want to have your landscape image open in Photoshop so you can make judgements about the angle and shading of the text, based on where you plan to position it in your image.
In the Extrude and Bevel box, adjust the angle settings and the shading settings. Tick the Preview box to see the effects your adjustments are making to your text.
You can now add some more words, and apply the extrude and bevel to them as well.
We will be positioning the 'ARE' word slightly higher than the previous word so have adjusted the angle accordingly.
The 'YOU' is positioned higher again, so I've adjusted the angle again, and also altered the position of the light source .
Once you are happy with your words, select them all and copy them.
Then paste them into your image as smart objects, then rasterize them.
Position all the words where you want them, and resize them accordingly.
Because the 'WHERE' is positioned over water we'll need a reflection for it. So, back in Illustrator, copy the word and reverse its x axis.
Copy and paste the word into Photoshop.
Rasterize it, position it below the first 'WHERE', and vertically flip it.
To distort the reflection, first go to the Filter menu and choose Ripple. Set the amount to 300%.
Then, apply a horizontal Motion Blur set to 25 pixels.
Duplicate the reflection layer so you have two.
Set the top one's blending mode to Overlay, and the bottom one's to Soft Light. Set both their opacity's to 50%.
Group both the reflection layers into a folder and give the folder a layer mask. Use a gradient to blend the reflection into the water.
We also need to give the 'ARE' a reflection, so duplicate the layer and vertically flip it.
Use the same Ripple effect and Motion Blur as before.
And, again, duplicate the layer, setting one to Soft Light and one to Overlay. Then group the layers and give the group a layer mask to fade in the reflection.
For the 'YOU' we need a shadow rather than a reflection. Duplicate the layer, flip it vertically and use Image>Adjustments>Threshold set to max to turn it black.
Use the Perspective and Scale Transform tools to make the shadow fall in the right direction.
Then Motion Blur the shadow in the same direction.
Add a Solid Color layer with a clipping mask above the shadow layer. use a blueish colour to match the other shadows in the image.
Set the shadow layer's Opacity to 75%.
Now click on your original image layer. We will be painting directly onto this layer now, so it might be a good idea to duplicate it so you have a backup in case you want to start again.
Click on the Burn tool and set the Exposure to about 7%. Switch between Midtones and Shadows to build up a dark shadow under the 'WHERE' text.
Do the same underneath the 'ARE' and 'YOU' text.
Next click on you 'WHERE' layer, and use the Burn tool to add more shading to your letters.
Add shading to all three of your words.
When you're done go back to your background layer, and apply a layer mask. We will be adding a Lens Blur to the background, but only the top area where the mountain is. So add a horizontal gradient in the layer mask going from black to white.
Go to Filter>Blur>Lens Blur and choose Layer Mask as the source, and use the settings shown above.
Click OK then go back and disable or delete the layer mask.
Now we'll add Lens Blurs to all the texts.
For the 'YOU' set the Radius to 8.
For the 'ARE' set the Radius to 6, and for the 'WHERE' set the Radius to 4.
We're almost done. Next we'll add some effects to strengthen the overall impact of the image.
Above all the other layers, add a Black and White adjustment layer. Set the blending mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 60%. I used the Maximum Black preset.
Finally we'll add a Lens Flare.
Add a new layer above all the others and fill it with black.
Go to Filter>Render>Lens Flare and position it in the preview box.
Set the layers blending mode to Screen and the Opacity to 50%.
