Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

By Greg Bowden

Chapter 26

Graffiti on a
Building

Guided Computer Tutorials

www.gct.com.au
PUBLISHED BY

GUIDED COMPUTER TUTORIALS

PO Box 311
Belmont, Victoria, 3216, Australia

www.gct.com.au

© Greg Bowden

This product is available in Single or Multi User versions.

Single-user versions are for single student or teacher use at any

particular time, just as a single text book would be used. If you intend
to use the notes with multiple students the single user version should
be upgraded to the multi-user version.

Multi-user versions allow the school or institution to print as many

copies as required, or to place the PDF files on the school network,
intranet and staff laptops. A certificate of authentication is provided
with multi-user versions. Bookmarks provide links to all headings and
sub-headings, and individual chapters are provided.

First published 2009

ISBN: Module 1 1 921217 69 3

Module 2: 1 921217 70 7
Module 3 1 921217 71 5

PDF document on CD-ROM

Every effort has been made to ensure that images used in this
publication are free of copyright, but there may be instances where
this has not been possible. Guided Computer Tutorials would
welcome any information that would redress this situation.
 Chapter

26
Graffiti on a Building
Rather than displaying graffiti on a flat surface, you can also display it on a photograph
and use perspective tools to make it look realistic. In this Exercise some graffiti will
be added to a building then moved behind the snow and branches as shown in the
following diagram:

Starting a New Document

1 Load Photoshop or close the current files then display the FILE menu and select
NEW.

2 Set the WIDTH to 800 pixels, the

HEIGHT to 600 pixels and the
BACKGROUND COLOUR to WHITE.

3 Select OK to start the document.

© Guided Computer Tutorials 2009 26-1

Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

Entering Some Text

Some text will be entered and the WARP transformation used to distort it.

1 Select the HORIZONTAL TYPE TOOL

and in the OPTIONS BAR select
an artistic FONT such as ADOBE
GARAMOND PRO (BOLD ITALIC) or
FORTE, set the SIZE to 48 pt and
select a TEXT COLOUR.

2 Click at the top left of the canvas and

enter a short word for the graffiti, for
example:
Chill

3 Select the MOVE TOOL, press

CTRL+T or COMMAND+T to display
the FREE TRANSFORM frame and
increase the size of the text.

4 Press <enter> or <return> to accept the transformation.

26-2 © Guided Computer Tutorials 2009
 Graffiti on a Building 26
Warping the Text
Rather that using the LIQUIFY filter to create the graffiti text, you can WARP the text.
Again, to do this text must be rasterized.
1 Display the LAYER menu, highlight RASTERIZE and select LAYER.
2 Display the EDIT menu, highlight TRANSFORM and select WARP.

3 Drag the numerous ‘handles’ that are

placed around the text to create the
effect that you want.

4 Press <enter> or <return> to accept the transformation.

NOTE: No effects will be applied to the text at this stage. The text
will be made to look like graffiti once it has been added to the
photo.

5 Save the document in your STORAGE folder as a PHOTOSHOP file under the file
name:
Warped Text

Loading the Photograph

A photo of a house has been prepared for you and the graffiti text will be placed on one
of its walls.

1 Display the FILE menu and select OPEN.

2 Access the PScs4 SUPPORT FILES, open the CHAPTER 26 folder and open the
BUILDING photo.
3 The graffiti will be added below the right window.

© Guided Computer Tutorials 2009 26-3

Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

Inserting the Warped Text

The warped text needs to be added to the BUILDING file.

1 Select the MOVE TOOL from the

TOOLS panel and drag the WARPED
TEXT file tab down to view both files.

2 Drag the CHILL (or text) layer from

the WARPED TEXT file onto the
BUILDING photo.

3 Select OK if you receive a message

about converting colours.

4 Close the WARPED TEXT file.

5 Press CTRL+T or COMMAND+T to

display the FREE TRANSFORM frame
around the text and adjust its size so
that it fits beneath the right window.

26-4 © Guided Computer Tutorials 2009
 Graffiti on a Building 26
6 Press <enter> or <return> to accept the transformation.

Setting the Vanishing Point

In order to make the text look more realistic, it needs to slant in the same perspective as
the side of the building. The VANISHING POINT filter can be used to achieve this.

A Starting a New layer

The text will be copied into a vanishing point frame in a new layer.

1 Move the text to the top left of the

photo and select the BACKGROUND
layer in the LAYERS panel.

2 Create a new layer above the

BACKGROUND layer and rename it:
Vanishing Point

© Guided Computer Tutorials 2009 26-5

Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

B Copying the Text

The text path can be copied then pasted into the Vanishing Point frame.

1 Click on the CHILL (or text) layer in

the LAYERS panel, hold down the
CTRL or COMMAND key and click on
its thumbnail to select the path of
the text.

2 Press CTRL+C or COMMAND+C to copy the path.

3 Turn off the CHILL (or text) layer,

select the VANISHING POINT layer
and press CTRL+D or COMMAND+D
to deselect the text.

Note: The path of the text should not be visible on the screen.

26-6 © Guided Computer Tutorials 2009
 Graffiti on a Building 26
C Setting the Vanishing Point Text
1 Display the FILTER menu and select VANISHING POINT to open the VANISHING
POINT dialogue box.

2 Click a vanishing point frame along

the edges of the brick work under the
right window including a little of the
snow at the base of the wall.

3 Press CTRL+V or COMMAND+V to

paste the text into the vanishing point
dialogue box.

4 Drag the text into the vanishing point

frame.

© Guided Computer Tutorials 2009 26-7