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How To Make Transparent Text In Photoshop – 4 Must-Try Methods

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Creating transparent text in Photoshop can offer a variety of great effects for your images, video thumbnails, or even watermarks. Each method I’ll go over involves minimal knowledge of Photoshop and requires only a couple of layers. Most of the work will be done with the help of the Layer Style Panel! Let’s jump into how to make transparent text in Photoshop!

Video Tutorial

How To Create Transparent Text In Photoshop (Method 1)

Step 1: Draw Your Shape Using A Shape Tool

Draw your shape using the Shape Tool in Photoshop. To access the shape tool, press U on your keyboard or find it in your Toolbar. In this case, I’ll choose the Rectangle Shape Tool.

Choose your fill and stroke options for your shape. Then, draw your shape as you want it to appear in your image. Press V for the Move Tool to change the position and size of your shape.

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Step 2: Add A Text Box And Place It Over The Shape

With your shape created, grab the Type Tool by pressing T or find it in your Toolbar. Choose a font that you like, bold fonts tend to look better for this effect.

Click outside of your shape to create a new text layer and type your text in. After selecting the text layer, press V to access the Move Tool and position your text within your shape.

Step 3: Open The Layer Styles Panel

With your shape and text layer overlapping, double-click on your text layer to open the Layer Styles Panel.

Step 4: Adjust The Advanced Blending Options Settings

A new window will open up, and make sure you’re in Blending Options.

Under Advanced Blending, set your Knockout to Shallow. Make sure the Blend clipped layers as group and Transparency shapes layer options are enabled.

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Next, set your Fill Opacity to 0% and click OK to save your changes.

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Step 5: Group The Text And Shape Layers

Hold Shift and select both the text and shape layer within your Layers Panel. Press Control + G (Win) or Command + G (Mac) to group your highlighted layers. Rename this group to Transparent Text.

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How To Make The Text Fill Color Transparent (Method 2)

Step 1: Open The Layer Styles Panel On Your Text Layer

First, select the Type Tool by pressing T. Set the font, size, and color of your text using the Options Bar. Type the text you want to apply this transparent effect to.

With your text typed out, double-click on your text layer to open the Layer Styles Panel.

Step 2: Set The Fill Opacity To 0% Under Advanced Blending Options

In the Blending Options tab under Advanced Blending, bring the Fill Opacity down to 0%.

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Step 3: Adjust The Settings Under The Stroke Tab

Next, select the Stroke tab. Set the size of your stroke to whatever best suits your text. The amount will depend on the size and font you are using.

Set the Position to Inside, Blend Mode to Normal, and Opacity to 100%.

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Step 4: Change The Fill Type And Color

Next, make sure the Fill Type is set to Color, and choose any color you’d like for your stroke. Once you’re happy with the stroke adjustments, click OK to save your changes.

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How To Create Transparent Bevel Text In Photoshop (Method 3)

Step 1: Open The Layer Styles Panel On The Text Layer

First, activate the Type Tool by pressing T. Set the font, size, and color of your text at the top of your screen. Click anywhere on your image and type the text you want.

With your text written out, double-click on your text layer to open the Layer Styles Panel.

Step 2: Set The Fill Opacity To 0% Under The Advanced Blending Options

Under the Blending Options tab, bring the Fill Opacity down to 0%. This will make your text completely invisible.

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Step 3: Adjust The Bevel And Emboss Settings

Click on the Bevel and Emboss tab in your Layer Styles Panel and adjust the settings as follows.

  • Set the Style to Inner Bevel, Technique to Smooth, and Direction to Up
  • Set the Depth between 85% and 250%
  • Choose a size between 1px and 25px, depending on how obvious you want the transparent text to be
  • Leave the soften setting between 1px and 10px
  • Enable Use Global Light and set your angle by clicking within the angle circle to set the direction of the shading
  • Set your Gloss Contour to Linear and enable Anti-aliased
  • Set your Highlight Mode to Normal and choose a white color. Pick an Opacity between 30% – 50%
  • Set the Shadow Mode to Normal, and choose a black color. Set your Opacity between 40% – 70%

Click OK to save your changes and exit the Layer Style Panel.

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How To Create Transparent Outline Text In Photoshop (Method 4)

Step 1: Add A Shape To The Image Using A Shape Tool

Grab your Shape Tool by pressing U or click and hold over the shape tool icon. Choose any shape you want to use as your background shape. For this example, I will use a circle.

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Set the color and stroke values for your shape. This effect will work best if you have a transparent shape stroke represented by the white box with a red line.

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Click anywhere on your screen to draw out your shape.

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Step 2: Add A Text Layer Over The Shape

With your shape made, grab your Type Tool by pressing T. Pick your font and size settings, then click anywhere outside your shape to create a new set of text.

Once your text is written, grab your Move Tool by pressing V and reposition it to fit over your shape. Rescale your text so it is overflowing from the shape, as shown below.

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Step 3: Open The Layer Styles Panel

Double-click on your text layer to open the Layer Styles Panel.

Step 4: Adjust The Blending Options Settings

Under Blending Options, set your Fill Opacity to 0% and set the Knockout to Shallow.

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Step 5: Adjust The Stroke Tab Settings

Next, click on the Stroke tab to add a stroke to your text. Set your Size to 5px, Position to Outside, Blend Mode to Normal, and Opacity to 100%.

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Make sure your Fill Type is set to Color, and choose a stroke color to match your shape. In this case, that will be white.

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Click OK to save your changes.

Step 6: Group The Shape And Text Layers

Shift-click your shape and text layers, then press Control + G (Win) or Command + G (Mac) to group the layers. Rename this group to Knockout Stroke Text.

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So those were four great ways you can make transparent text in Photoshop in a variety of styles. With these options, you’ll be able to utilize the perfect transparent text effect for your photo. You can get creative and merge different versions of these transparent text effects to get even more variety.

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I'm a Canadian photographer and photo retoucher turned founder of bwillcreative.com. Around here I help you to decode the mystery of photo editing with no-fluff videos and written guides to help you achieve your creative goals. Outside of shooting photos and my passion for educating, you'll find me mountain biking or on the trails with my dog, Sunny!

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