|
Select an Outline
Create your text. Make sure that you have the font size, color and kerning/spacing
set as you require for the final result. Render the layer.
Select the Magic Wand from the Toolbox. In the Tool Options window,
set the Tolerance to 1 and make sure Feather is set to 0. Click on the
background area around your text to select the  background.
With your SHIFT key pressed, click on the interior areas of any letters
to add to the selection. We use the background selection to eventually
select the text since the text anti-aliasing adds several grays and
it can be hard to select. See the close-up sample of the letter "O"
with the selection boundaries on the inside and outside of the letter,
and excluding the anti-aliasing.
From the Main Menu, choose Selection>Modify>Expand and set the
value to the size you want for your edge. The samples on this page use
a value of 2.
 The
final step is to remove the background area from your selection. With
the CTRL key pressed, click in the background area and the internal
areas of the characters. You should now have a selection that looks
like the selection here. Note the selection borders on the outside and
inside edges of the character as well as the internal areas forming
the edge area.
Apply Filter
You will have to do some experimenting with filters for this effect,
since it is hard to predict exactly how a filter effect will appear
when it is only affecting a 2 pixel area. I have included three samples,
complete with settings, to get you started.
Turn off your selection boundaries so you can preview the effect as
you change settings (Selections>Hide Marquee or CTRL+ SHIFT+ M).
You should also have your view set to 1:1 before you apply the effect,
as the effect will be quite different in a close-up view.
Choose Image>Effects from the Main Menu to access the filters. I
found the Texture filter provided the best selection of effects, but
there are many combinations in the other filters that I did not test.
 If
you are using colored text, you will find that you must try many different
combinations to prevent unwanted colors from being introduced in the
effect. In this dark brown sample, I filled the outline area with black
before applying the Sculpture filter. When the outline was the same
as the text color, the filter was introducing very bright colors. Perhaps
you can create the look you desire by filling the outline with a new
color.
 In
this sample, I made no changes to the outline color. When I initially
tried the Texture filter, there were a number of black dots in the edge
pattern. It was actually a nice effect, but not what I had started out
to do. Simply adjusting the filter settings removed the black dots.
If you like the ragged text look, spend some time experimenting with
various filters, or create your own textures. Of course, there is nothing
to stop you from applying more than one filter. One thing is certain—no
two looks will be the same.
|
