1. First create a new document by pressing Ctrl+N. I set the dimensions 220 by 100 pixels, and the contents transparent for this tutorial, but make the document as big as possible in dimensions for best results.

2. Set the foreground color to dark blue (or whatever color you prefer). You can use the swatches palette (Window > Show Swatches) for quick color picking. Then press Shift+F5, and click OK to fill the workspace with the foreground color.

3. Change the foreground color to green (or whatever color you prefer). Select the Type Tool by pressing T. Click on the workspace and type something, then select Layer > Type > Render to render this layer. If you are using Photoshop 6.0, use Layer > Rasterize > Type instead.

4. Press Ctrl+T to select Free Transform, and increase the height of the font a little bit. If you are already using a tall font, you may skip this step.

5. Select Edit > Transform > Perspective and drag one of the upper corner handles to get the transformation seen on the left. If you wish to get the reverse effect (perspective down), drag one of the bottom handles.

6. Duplicate the layer Perspective by dragging it to the New Layer icon () in the layers palette (if you typed something else the layer's name will be different). First click on layer Perspective (not copy) to select it and then check the Preserve Transparency box (in Photoshop 6.0, Lock Transparent Pixels). Now fill the layer with a darker color (in this case dark green) by pressing Shift+F5.

   Press V to select the Move Tool, and move the layer a few pixels down with the down arrow key (count how many times you pressed the down arrow. We will need the number in the next step).

7. Now while holding the Alt key move the layer back to its original location by pressing the up arrow key n+2 times, n being the number of times we pressed the down key in the previous step. You should see lots of new layers in the Layers palette. Click inside the small box right next to each layer (except the very top and very bottom levels): a chain icon should appear. Now press Ctrl+E to merge all the linked layers (the ones that have that chain icon right next to them) into a single layer.

8. Now you might be thinking that choosing a dark green bevel color on a dark blue background isn't a very good idea since it is visually really hard to separate the text from the background, and you are right. But we will fix that in a second.

   Set the foreground color to black, and apply Edit > Stroke on the bevel layer with the following settings:

   Width: 1
   Location: Outside
   Opacity: 100%
   Mode: Normal

   Looks much better now. Doesn't it? You may increase the width field according to your needs.

   In the meantime, have you noticed something? Our text looks more vivid now, and there are no tricks here. Compare the last three screenshots to the earlier ones, and you will see that the green colors get brighter and brighter. If you use a desktop color picker like Huey to compare colors, you will see that they are all the same. So, shouldn't we believe our very own eyes? The answer is a resounding no! This is an universal psychological illusion. Since we have increased the contrast between the foreground (our text) and background more and more in the last three steps, our brains somehow assume that the foreground must look more vibrant.

Here is a spiced up version with a plaque holding our type and a little airbrushing on both text and bevel layers.

Note: This tutorial is a streamlined and more compatible version of jlswebsource's 3D Perspective Text tutorial.

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