Photoshop Tutorial: Outlines

Published

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to add a cool outline effect to the text or objects in your designs.

Note: This tutorial is for versions of Photoshop before version 6—if you’re using a newer version of Photoshop, this technique can be done quickly and easily using Layer Styles.

Step 1

Type your text, making sure it remains on it’s own separate layer.

Example 1

Step 2

Hold Cmd (PC: Ctrl) on your keyboard and click on the text layer, and it will load a selection around your text. Choose Select » Modify » Expand and set it to about 2 pixels (you can try different settings to get various effects). Click the Background layer and then click the New Layer icon to make a new layer under your text layer (see sample of layer palette below). Select the color you wish to use for the inner part of the outline and press Option+Delete (PC: Alt+Delete) to fill the selection with your foreground color.

Example 2

Example 3

Step 3

Now, click the Background layer again, and then click the New Layer icon to make another layer under the layer you just made. Choose Select » Modify » Expand and set it to about 1 pixel (again, you can try other settings). Choose another color to be the external part of the outline and fill your selection with that color. Press Cmd+D (PC: Ctrl+D) to deselect.

Example 4

Step 4

If you’d like, you can continue by adding glow or shadow below the text, or any other effect that may be appropriate.

Example 5

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