How to Create Glass Effect Text in Photoshop

STEP 1

Create a new document of 600x600 px in RGB color mode at 72 dpi (File > New...).

STEP 2

Grab the Type Tool (T), draw a rectangle large enough to fit a letter. Then type a letter of your choice. If you want a longer text, just create a larger document in STEP 1 (e.g. 1608x1050 px).
Set it to Minion Pro, 370 px and Sharp. For color, set it to #e5e5e5 - a light gray tone.

STEP 3

Open the Layers palette (F7) and set Fill to 0%. Select the Type layer (the thumb with a "T" in the center) and click the "fx" button. Select Blending Options.

STEP 4

In this window, check the boxes shown below. It will look nasty at the moment, but don't worry. We'll fix it.

STEP 5

Click on each line and use the settings below. To see better what your results look like, select the "Background" layer, grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill it with a dark gray.

STEP 6

Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer (CTRL+J). Select the original layer and right-click on the effects list in the Layers palette. Select "Create layers". Hit OK on the popup window.

STEP 7

In the Layers palette, select all the layers resulting from STEP 6 (SHIFT+click), except "D's Outer Stroke", then click on the "Delete Layer" button - the one looking like a trash can.

STEP 8

In the Layers palette, CTRL+click the "D copy" layer to load a selection (it will appear like a marching ants contour), select the "D's Outer Stroke" layer and hit Delete.

STEP 9

Go to Layers palette, set Fill to 0% and open the Blending Options like in STEP 3. Use the settings below.

Done!

How to use it:
Simply place it over an image and if you like, add some adjustment layers to give it a nice tint.
Here are a few examples.