TECHNIQUE: Text Path Trick

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*Technique
TECHNIQUE: Text Path Trick
By Shelleyrae Cusbert 2007
Jul 14, 2007, 02:59

I couldn’t decide what technique to share until I remembered that one of the very common questions I see is about using text paths in Photoshop. It seems that many people are intimidated by them but it’s actually very simple!

You can force text to follow simple or elaborate paths. In this case I want the text to flow around the outside of the main layout.

I’ve duplicated and merged the two layers that give the layout its shape (the arrow and patterned paper) and dragged them beneath the rest of the layout. I couldn’t merge the entire layout in this case because of the various layers.

Hold CTRL and click on the layer image thumbnail to create a selection of that shape. Then create a new layer.

For this layout I want the text to sit away from the edge slightly so I have gone to Select>Modify> Expand and chosen a value of 20pixels. This enlarges the selection, so it is no longer tight around the shape.

Switch to the Path palette and use the icon at the bottom of the palette to “Make work path from selection”.

Now choose your type tool and your preferred font, size and color. Some fonts work better than others for these types of tasks. Position your type cursor where you wish to start from and click. The cursor will appear so you only need to start typing.

Once you have finished typing, deselect the work path in the Paths palette and switchback to your layers palette.

The text path layer is a normal text layer and you can edit the text or move the text as you wish.

I’ve moved the text path layer up the layers palette so the text overlaps the edges of the shapes and can now delete the layers I merged to initially create the selection path.