Continued From ..

2. Select the Type Tool in toolbar. Click inside the document window with type tool active.
3. Enter your site's title, select font size, leading, color, other preferences. Position the title on the canvas in the document window and hit enter.
4. Select type layer in the layers palette
5. Command-Select/Right Click the type layer and you will see a marquee selection of your type area.
6. Select New Layer from palette menu or click the new layer button at palette bottom.
7. Select Select -> Feather. When prompted, enter numerical value for feather, such as 3: experiment to taste
8. Click the Foreground Swatch in the toolbar and choose fill color for your dropshadow.
9. Select Edit -> Fill.
10. Drag Layer Beneath type layer in layer palette window and position to taste
11. Select and hold the marquee tool in the toolbar to get that cropping tool!
12. Click and drag the cropping area and double-click to get rid of any unnecessary canvas.
13. Select File -> Save As to save file as .psd or preferred file format.

Glowing Text

1. Follow steps 1-6 from above.
2. Choose Select -> Expand. Enter value such as 2: experiment to taste.
3. Choose Select -> Feather. When prompted, enter numerical value for feather, such as 3 - experiment to taste.
4. Click the Foreground Swatch in the toolbar and choose fill color for your glow.
5. Choose Edit -> Fill
6. Drag glow layer beneath type layer in layer palette window. Position to taste.
7. Select and hold the marquee tool in the toolbar to get that cropping tool!
8. Click and drag the cropping area and double-click to get rid of any unnecessary canvas.
9. Select File -> Save As to save file as .psd or preferred file format.

Image in Text

1. Choose File -> New to create new document roughly 300 pixels x 300 pixels.
2. Select Type Tool in toolbar. Click inside the document window with type tool active.
3. Enter your site's title, select font size, leading, color, other preferences. Position the title on the canvas in the document window and hit enter.
4. Select type layer in the layers palette
5. Command-Select/Right Click the type layer and you will see a marquee selection of your type area.
6. Select new layer from pallete menu or click the new layer button at palette bottom.
7. Select File -> Open and locate the image you want to paste into your text selection.
8. Select Select -> All. Close this document and return to the newly created document.
9. With our text layer marquee selected from steps 5 & 6 above, select Edit -> Paste Into.
10. Drag type layer beneath image layer in layer palette window. Position to taste
11. Select and hold the marquee tool in the toolbar to get that cropping tool!

12. Click and drag the cropping area and double-click to get rid of any unnecessary canvas.
13. Select File -> Save As to save file as .psd or preferred file format.

Layers are cool
The layers palette allows you to control all your graphic elements separately. With multiple files open you can copy layers between documents by simply dragging the layer into any open document window. With a type layer (as denoted by the small "T" icon in the layer palette), it is possible to edit the type's entire specifications by double clicking. Layers can be made visible by clicking the box on the far left of the layer tab, where layers can be linked together to move as a unit by clicking in the box to the right. Additionally, you can perform actions such as merging layers into single layers by using the command arrow at the top right of the layer palette window.

Bonus! - Applying a filter or effect

Many graphics applications come with effects that are applied to your image by complex algorithms resulting in some interesting visual mutations. In order to apply a filter or third party plug-in type of effect to a type layer, it is necessary to render the layer. You will not be able to re-edit the type after doing so. Let's apply a ripple or zig zag filter to our third title.
1. Select File -> Open and locate the previously saved working file for the third title.
2. Select the type layer in the layers palette window.
3. Select Layer -> Type -> Render Layer.
4. Link the layers by clicking on the link boxes for all title layers.
5. Select Merge Linked from the layer palette window
6. Select Filter -> Distort -> Ripple and choose amount of ripple with the sliding button. Select Enter/OK.
7. Crop excess as above.
8. Select File -> Save As to save file as .psd or preferred file format.

Well, I am quite sure few readers have followed my rather complicated instructions (I can barely follow myself), but I hope our little journey to the swamp at least stimulates you to open up your paint program and see if any of this stuff works for you! Hold on to your heads, my friends (and your working files), we'll see the magic of the swamp blooming in springtime yet!

Next week: our gold and silver surfers will meet ultimate peril as we optimize our titles for our websites and silhouette naked girls for profit! Thanks everybody!

Some Useful Links

Photoshop Stuff - Tutorials, Actions, Hotkeys
Planet Photoshop - Everything Photoshop
Graphics Production Tips and Resources - Reference/source for tips and tricks
GIMP Tutorials - Try all this nonsense without Photoshop. :)