In this tutorial, we will use a combination of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create a realistic-looking ketchup text effect. We will also show how to smear or smudge the ketchup effect in an optional step at the end. Let's get started!
The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial. Please download them before you begin. If they are not available, please find alternatives.
1. Prepare the Text
First, we are going to need the text. If you're good at hand-lettering, you can simply draw the text that you want. If not, open up Illustrator, create a new file, add text using Type Tool (T). For this tutorial, I used a script font.
Use the Pen Tool (P) to manually draw text based on the actual font type. It won't be as clean as the real one. But that is OK because we want it to be as realistic as possible.
Add line under the type. Keep it as realistic as possible.
Select the path and then hit Control-C to copy it.
Open up Photoshop. Make new file (Control-N) with the size 2254 px by 964 px.
2. Modify the Text in Photoshop
While the text path is still active, click on the Add Adjustment Layer icon. Select Solid Color. In Color Picker dialog box, select
Double-click text layer and then apply following styles.
Here's the result after the Layer Styles were added.
Control-Click text to make new selection based on its shape. Make new layer. Click Edit > Stroke. Select
#ffdbbb for the color and set its width to 2 px.
Apply Gaussian Blur filter to smoothen the stroke line appearance.
Activate Move tool and then hit left and down arrow a few times. We want to have stroke on left side of the text.
Control-Click the text. Move the selection a few pixel left and down. Add layer mask onto the stroke layer. Right now, we should only have stroke on left side of the text.
Repeat Steps 3-6 to add another blurry stroke. But this time move a few pixel up and right.
Add another stroke with color
#ffe2c0 and add bigger Gaussian Blur. Control-Click text and move the selection right five pixels. Add Layer Mask onto the stroke layer.
Here's result on the text with highlight on its right side.
Control-Click the text. Make new layer and then fill selection with red color
#bb0c07. Activate Eraser Tool with low Opacity. Erase some of the red fill.
Reduce its layer Opacity to 10%.
Here's the result on the text.
Make a new layer and then activate the Brush Tool. Use following settings in the Brush panels (F5).
#be0c08 on top of the text.
Here's the result on full text.
Activate the Brush Tool and use following settings in Brush panel.
Make new layer and then paint white on the text edge.
Keep on doing this until we have lots of highlights on top of the text.
Reduce its layer Opacity to 50%. Make new layer and then paint another white on top of it.
Using the same brush, paint orange highlight on top of the text.
Again, pain another white highlight on top of the text.
Below is the result we have so far.
3. Add the Tomato
Grab the tomato from Photodune. Activate the Pen Tool (P). Select Path from Options Bar. Make new path covering the tomato.
Hit Control-Enter to convert path to selection. Drag tomato onto our ketchup text.
Resize the tomato, place in appropriate position and size.
Make new layer and then paint black on some part of the tomato.
Reduce the layer's Opacity.
Make a new layer underneath the tomato. Activate the Brush Tool and set foreground color to black. Paint a soft shadow using big soft brush.
#ce786d on top of the shadow. This will be reflection of the tomato onto its base.
Add bigger shadow with black and orange
#ce786d as its color.
Here's what we have so far.
4. Smear the Effect
Our text is too clean. We want to make it more realistic by adding a smear onto one of the characters. Start by making random shapes covering one of the characters. Here, we use "p". Apply Layer Style that we used earlier on the original text.
On the Blending Options dialog box, activate Layer Mask Hides Effects.
Paint some part of the shapes with black to hide them. Make sure you paint random areas to give it realistic effect.
Draw random selection using Polygonal Lasso Tool and then fill it with orange color
#b5621e. Erase some parts of it using big soft Eraser Tool. Paint a bit of brown
#973b1d to add realistic color.
Set foreground color to orange
#ecb877. Activate the Brush Tool and reduce its Opacity from the Option Bar. Paint some random lines across the character and random shape we made earlier.
Continue drawing more lines. This time use the darker color
#f46d15. Make sure you are still using the low opacity Brush.
Paint shadow and highlights onto the smear using the colors
#d25945. Feel free to experiment with other color.
And this is the result we have.
In this tutorial, I showed you how to use some of Photoshop's basic tools to create a ketchup text effect. I hope that you learned something from this tutorial and can use the techniques that I showed to create an exciting text effect of your own.