How to Create a 'Hellraiser' Inspired Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

This tutorial will show you how to create a text effect inspired by the Pinhead character from the Hellraiser movie, using textures, shapes, layer styles, and a couple of other tools and tricks. Let's get started!
This text effect was inspired by the many Layer Styles available on GraphicRiver.

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial:

Kingthings Organica font
texture stock blue 000 by redwolf518stock
Texture 90 by NinjaRabbit-Stock
Arterial Spray by pendlestock
Green Dust & Scratches pattern by Atle Mo

1. How to Create a Textured Background

Step 1

Create a new 1250 x 600 px document, and then place the texture stock blue 000 image on top of the Background layer.
Resize and position the image as needed, and change its layer's name to BG Fill.

Step 2

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels, and then change the Gamma value to 1.10 and the Highlights value to 230.

Step 3

Place the Texture 90 image on top of the BG Fill layer, rename its layer to BG Texture, and change its Blend Mode to Divide.
Resize and position the texture as you like.

Step 4

Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Hue/Saturation.

Step 5

Change the Hue/Saturation layer's Blend Mode to Color, and check the Colorize box. Change the Hue value to 215, the Saturation to 50, and the Lightness to 5.

Step 6

Add the Arterial Spray image on top of the BG Texture layer, rename its layer to Blood Texture, and go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° Clockwise.
Change the Blood Texture layer's Blend Mode to Multiply, and its Opacity to 35%, and then resize and position it as you like.

2. How to Create the Text Layers

Step 1

Create the text using the font Kingthings Organica. The Size is 300 pt and the Color is #e6eff4.

Step 2

Duplicate the text layer, and change the copy's Fill value to 0.

3. How to Style the Original Text Layer

Double-click the original text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Size: 10
Highlight Mode: Screen
Color: #7ec6ed
Opacity: 100%
Shadow Mode: Multiply
Color: #021c33
Opacity: 85%

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

Contour: Half Round
Check the Anti-aliased box
Range: 100%

Step 3

Add a Texture with these settings:

Pattern: Green Dust & Scratches
Check the Invert box

Step 4

Add an Inner Glow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Linear Burn
Opacity: 50%
Color: #e6dfd0
Technique: Precise
Source: Center
Size: 117
Contour: Cove - Deep

Step 5

Add a Gradient Overlay with these settings:

Check the Dither box
Blend Mode: Linear Burn
Opacity: 50%
Angle: -106
Scale: 150%
Create the gradient fill using the colors #6389a8 to the left and #f9f3f8 to the right

You can then click-drag inside the text to move the gradient as you like.

Step 6

Add a Drop Shadow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Linear Burn
Color: #00182a
Opacity: 15%
Distance: 10
Spread: 10
Size: 30

This will style the textured part of the text.

4. How to Style the 3D Part of the Text

Double-click the copy text layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Size: 27
Soften: 16
Uncheck the Use Global Light box
Angle: -122
Altitude: 42
Check the Anti-aliased box
Highlight Mode: Screen
Color: #d7e9f3
Opacity: 65%
Shadow Mode: Multiply
Color: #021c33
Opacity: 55%

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

Check the Anti-aliased box
Range: 100%

Step 3

Add an Inner Shadow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Color Burn
Color: #0a3652
Opacity: 63%
Size: 43

This will add the 3D look to the text.

5. How to Create the Grid

Step 1

Next, we are going to create a grid to section the text. So create a new layer on top of all layers, and call it Lines.
Then, set the Foreground Color to Black, pick the Brush Tool, and choose a 3 px hard round tip.
Depending on the width of each section you're going to create, click above the text to create the first vertical line.

Step 2

Hold the Shift key, and then click below the text to draw the line.

Step 3

Repeat that process to divide the rest of the text.

Step 4

Once you're done with the vertical lines, create the horizontal ones.

6. How to Create a Selection-Based Work Path

Step 1

Command-click the Lines layer's thumbnail to create a selection.

Step 2

Press-hold the Command-Option-Shift keys, and click the text layer's thumbnail to get rid of the outer parts of the selection.

Step 3

Right-click anywhere near the selection, and choose Make Work Path.

Step 4

Set the Tolerance to 1 and click OK.

Step 5

Make the Lines layer invisible by clicking the eye icon next to it, and then create a new layer on top of it and call it Edges.

7. How to Stroke the Work Path

Step 1

Pick the Brush Tool, and then open the Brush panel (Window > Brush).
Under the Brush Tip Shape tab, choose the Chalk 11 pixels tip, and change its Size to 5 px.
Under the Shape Dynamics tab, set both the Size and Angle Jitter to 100%.

Step 2

Hit the Return key once to stroke the path with the modified brush tip.

Step 3

Right-click the text layer and choose Create Work Path.

Step 4

Pick the Eraser Tool, choose a round 5 px tip with a Hardness value of 80%, and then hit the Return key to erase the outer parts of the stroke.
Once you do so, pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), and hit the Return key one more time to get rid of the work path.

8. How to Style the Lines

Double-click the Edges layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Size: 5
Check the Anti-aliased box
Highlight Mode: Screen
Color: #7ec6ed
Opacity: 100%
Shadow Mode: Multiply
Color: #021c33
Opacity: 100%

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

Contour: Cone
Check the Anti-aliased box

Step 3

Add a Color Overlay with these settings:

Color: #06304c
Blend Mode: Linear Burn

Step 4

Add a Drop Shadow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Color Burn
Color: #ee1516
Opacity: 100%
Distance: 0
Size: 5

Step 5

Change the Edges layer's Fill value to 0.

9. How to Create the Nails

Step 1

Pick the Line Tool, and set the Width value in the Options bar to 3.
Make sure that the Foreground Color is set to #d1d1d1, and then create a line over one of the grid's intersection points.

Step 2

Click the Combine Shapes icon from the Path operations menu in the Options bar, to add more shapes to the same layer.
Next, start adding more lines over the rest of the grid's intersection pints.
In order to achieve a more realistic 3D look, create the lines so they are tilted upwards at the top, almost straight in the middle, and tilted downwards at the bottom.

Step 3

Play around with the sizes and angles of the lines created to make the effect look as realistic as possible.

Step 4

When you're done creating the nails, create a new layer below the Nails layer, call it Nails Shadow, and set its Blend Mode to Color Burn.
Change the Foreground Color to #acacac, and then pick the Brush Tool, and use a 10 px soft round tip to add dots at the base of each nail you have.

Step 5

Create a new layer on top of all layers, and call it Nail Tips.

10. How to Style the Nails

Double-click the Nails layer to apply the following layer style:

Step 1

Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Size: 5
Check the Anti-aliased box
Highlight Mode: Screen
Color: #7ec6ed
Opacity: 50%
Shadow Mode: Multiply
Color: #021c33
Opacity: 75%

Step 2

Add a Contour with these settings:

Contour: Cone - Inverted
Check the Anti-aliased box

Step 3

Right-click the Nails layer and choose Copy Layer Style.

Step 4

Right-click the Nail Tips layer and choose Paste Layer Style.

Step 5

Set the Foreground Color to #d1d1d1, pick a hard round 5 px brush tip, and start clicking to add tips to each of the nails you have.

11. How to Create the Gradient Shadows

Step 1

Pick the Ellipse Tool, and create a 57 x 16 px ellipse on top of all layers.

Step 2

Double-click the ellipse layer to apply a Gradient Overlay effect with these settings:

Style: Radial
Angle: 0
Click a fill color to transparent gradient fill using the colors #888888 to the left and #ffffff to the right.

Step 3

Move the gradient fill so that it starts on the ellipse's left and fades into transparency to its right.

Step 4

Duplicate the ellipse layer, and then make it invisible.
Right-click the copy ellipse layer and choose Rasterize Layer Style.

Step 5

Change the rasterized layer's Blend Mode to Linear Burn and its Opacity to 50%.

12. How to Transform the Shadows

Step 1

Press Command-T to enter Free Transform Mode.
Scale the shadow down if needed, until you get a size you like.

Step 2

With Free Transform Mode still active, you can right-click to access a number of other transform options whenever you need to.

Step 3

Move the shadow layer below the Nails Shadow layer, and then change its Blend Mode to Linear Burn and its Opacity to 50%.

Step 4

It is better to use those gradient shadows only for the center nails, as the ones near the edges shouldn't have long shadows over the text itself.
So duplicate the modified shadow layer, and transform each copy according to the nail you're placing it under.
Once you're done, group all the gradient shadow layers, and call the group Gradient Shadows.

13. How to Add Texture to the Text

Step 1

Place a new copy of the Arterial Spray texture on top of both text layers, and resize it to the text's width. Then move it down so that the text is covered by the upper part of the texture.
Rename the texture's layer to Text Texture, and then change its Blend Mode to Color Burn and its Opacity to 50%.

Step 2

Press Command-U to get the Hue/Saturation box, and then change the Saturation value to -100 and the Lightness to 55.

Step 3

Command-click the text layer's thumbnail to create a selection.

Step 4

Click the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to mask the Text Texture.

14. How to Create the Vignette

Step 1

Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to create an ellipse around the text.

Step 2

Go to Select > Modify > Feather, and then change the Feather Radius to 35.

Step 3

Go to Select > Inverse to invert the selection.
Then, create a new layer below the Blood Texture layer, call it Vignette, and fill it with the color #959595.

Step 4

Change the Vignette layer's Blend Mode to Linear Burn, and its Opacity to 35%.

15. How to Add a Final Texture Overlay

Step 1

Duplicate the BG Texture layer, rename the copy to Texture Overlay, and place it on top of all layers.
Change the Texture Overlay layer's Opacity value to 20%.

Step 2

We want to limit the texture's effect to the darker areas of the text only.
To do so, double-click the Texture Overlay layer, and locate the Blend If section near the bottom of the Layer Style box.
Press-hold the Option key, and drag the Underlying Layer Highlights slider to separate its ends and fade the effect.
After that, click-drag each slider's end to get a result you like.

That protects the highlights in the image from being affected by the texture overlay.

Congratulations! You're Done

In this tutorial, we created a background using a couple of textures and blend modes. Then, we created the text layers and styled them to achieve the basic text effect.
After that, we used the brush tool to create a simple grid, from which we created a selection, as well as a work path. We modified a brush tip to stroke the path, and then styled the resulting lines.
We also used a couple of shapes, and more layer styles, to create the nails and their shadows. Finally, we added a simple vignette, and used a texture to finish off the effect.
Please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions, and outcomes below.

Rose

Rose is a Graphic Designer who has been using Photoshop since 2007. Rose currently runs Textuts.com.

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