How to Make a Faux 3D Wood Text Effect in Photoshop

Sometimes, complex effects can be made quickly and easily simply by using the correct method and tools. And sometimes, those methods can be improved by making things even easier. Today, I would like to show you a quick and effective method to simulate a 3D Wood Text by using a single text layer with a layer style applied to simulate that 3D effect and another layer which will contain the wood texture, that you can later change to use this effect as many times as you want without taking too much of your hard drive space.

But before we begin, and if you want to follow this tutorial exactly as described, please download the following free texture from Pexels: Download.

Step 1

Open Photoshop and make a new file at any size you want. In this case, i will setup mine to 900 x 900 px.

Step 2

Using the Horizontal Type Tool (T), type your text using any font and color you want. I will be using "HWT Artz" at 390 pt.

Step 3

Go to File > Place. Locate the wood texture on your computer and click the Place button.

Step 4

Adjust the texture to cover the whole text as shown and hit the Enter key on your keyboard to commit the changes.

Step 5

With the wood texture layer selected, go to Layer > Create Clipping Mask.

Step 6

Select the text layer and go to Layer > Layer Style > Bevel & Emboss.

Step 7

In the Bevel & Emboss window apply the following settings.

Step 8

Check the "Inner Shadow" effect in the Layer Style window and apply the following settings.

Step 9

Next, check the "Inner Glow" effect and apply the following settings.

Step 10

Now, check the "Gradient Overlay" effect and click over the gradient thumbnail.

Step 11

In the Gradient Editor, set the left color stop to #444444 the right color stop to #999999 and click OK.

Step 12

Back in the Gradient Overlay Effect apply the following settings.

Step 13

Lastly, check the "Drop Shadow" effect, apply the following settings and click OK in the Layer Style window.

Some Final Words

By using this method, you do not have to save many different layer styles with all the different wood textures (which takes a lot of space). If you want to change the wood texture, simply place another wood texture on the top layer and apply a clipping mask (Layer > Create Clipping Mask) like in the examples below.