3D Typewriter Text Tutorial

Before we get started you'll need to gather some materials below:

Dirt Brush Set - download

Stroke Brush Set - download

Paper Texture - download

Another Typewriter - download

Bulky Refuse - download

Uncle Typewriter - download

Step 1

Open a new Photoshop document with a width of 1280 pixels and a height of 800 pixels. Since this is intended to be used as a wallpaper set the Resolution to 72 pixels/inch and the Color Mode to RGB color.

Step 2

Download and install all three fonts needed for this project onto your system.

Step 3

Open a new document in Illustrator. On "Layer 1" select the Rectangle Tool, with a black fill and no outline and draw a rectangle over the surface of the work area. Then lock the layer.

Step 4

Create a new layer above the first and title it "hammer keys". With the Rectangle Tool still selected, change the fill to white and draw a rectangle similar to the one in the example.

Step 5

Now we need to add the 3d to the hammer key. Go to: Effect>3D>Extrude & Bevel. Make sure Preview is checked so you can see the object in real time as you change the settings.

This step requires a bit of foresight since we'll base the rest of the composition off the angle of the hammer keys. Rotate the block so it is facing to the left, angled slightly backwards and increase the Extrude Depth to 125pts. Click "More Options" and move the light source to the upper left hand corner.

*Take note of the degree of rotation around the X, Y and Z axis to apply to the text later.

When all finished press "OK" and you should now have something that looks like this below.

Step 6

With the Selection Tool select the hammer key. Press Ctrl+C to copy the object and then press Ctrl+V twice to paste the object into the same layer two times.

Line all three objects up and then offset them each slightly.

Once they're in place, with the Selection Tool hold the Shift key and select all three blocks. To group them press Ctrl+G or go to: Object>Group

Step 7

Next we need to create the text which will go on the face of the blocks. Create a new layer above the "hammer keys" layer and name it by whatever letter you plan to start with. Mine will be titled "k".

With the fill still set to white select "Another Typewriter" as the type and set it to 100pt to start. Type the letter.

While the letter is selected we need to reverse the direction by going to: Object>Transform>Reflect. Check the radio button next to Vertical to flip the letter on the vertical axis.

Step 8

Now once again we need to apply some 3D to the text like we did to the rectangle in Step 5. Make sure to enter the same degree for the X, Y and Z axis as in Step 5. Reduce the Extrude Depth to 25 pts.

Click "More Options" and adjust the angle of the lighting as before and then press "OK".

Step 9

Position the letter on the face of the far right hammer key. Since the current size of the text at 100pt appears to be a little small for the block, increase it to fit. I set mine to 150pt.

Step 10

Now the easiest way to insure that the same settings are applied to the next two letters is to copy the "k" and paste it into two new separate layers. Change the "k" copies to the appropriate letters ( in this case an "a" and a "p") and name the layers with their associative names.


Step 11

Select the "hammer keys" in Illustrator and copy them. Now switch over to the open document in Photoshop and paste them in as a "Smart Object". Position them somewhere in the upper left hand corner of the canvas.

Create a new folder just above the new "Smart Object" and title it "hammer keys". Place the object in the folder.

Step 12

Now to make painting a little easier we'll create some masking templates. Create a new layer above the vector object and name it "face". With the vector object layer selected choose the Magic Wand Tool and Shift+click on the areas that make up the face.

Select the "face" layer and fill the selection with black then turn the visibility off by clicking the eye icon on the left of the layer.

Create two more layers the same way. One for the "side" and one for the "top" of the hammer keys. Turn off the visibility of the "side" and "top" layers when done.

Step 13

Now create a new folder above the "hammer keys" folder and name it "hammer key type".

Switch back over to Illustrator, copy and paste each of the letters into the new folder you just created in Photoshop, like you did for the hammer keys in Step 11.

Just as before, paste them as Smart Objects and position them on the face of their appropriate hammer key. Change the of each vector object to it's letter name.

Step 14

Create a new folder above the previous folder and title it "inked text". In this folder we need to create to separate layers with text using slightly different typewriter fonts.

The first, select "bulkyRefuse Type" at 72pt with a color of black and type the word "design".

Then on a new text layer switch the type to "uncletypewriter" at 125pt with the color black still selected and type the word "studio : :".

Step 15

With the "design" text layer selected press Ctrl+J to Copy the layer. Lock the first layer and turn the visibility off, should you need it encase a mistake is made.

Repeat the process for the "studio : :" text.

Step 16

Select the "design copy" layer and rasterize the type by going to: Layer>Rasterize>Type

With the text rasterized select the Rectangular Marquee Tool and draw a rectangle around the text. Press Ctrl+X to cut the text.


Step 17

Now we need to add some perspective to our composition using the Vanishing Point Filter. Press Alt+Ctrl+V or go to: Filter>Vanishing Point.

Once Vanishing Point is open we'll need to create a new plane to paste our text onto. Using the bottom of the closest hammer keys as a guide for the angles of the plane click on all three visible corners. The fourth point should be opposite the second corner, but pulled slightly inward. This may take a couple tries to get a plane which is suitable to your needs.

Now that all for corners of the plane are drawn click and drag the middle points in all four directions until you have something that looks similar to whats below.

*As you stretch the plan pay attention to how it lines up to the bottom of the hammer keys.