Step 1


Open a new file 600 x 300 at 72dpi and fill the background with black.
Select the text tool (T) and type the lettering you want to effect on the stage. I’m using Helvetica 80pt Bold in this example. Now right click on this type layer in the layers palette and select Rasterize Text. This turns our text into a graphic (*note: the text will no longer be editable). Rename this layer Wind by double clicking on the name of the layer. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Step 2


Duplicate the Wind layer by pressing Command+J (CTRL+J on PC) and call this new layer Text. (*note: the Text layer should be above the Wind layer in the layers palette.)
Hide the new Text layer by clicking the little eye icon in the box to the left on the layers paette and click back to the Wind layer. Rotate the contents of the layer 90° (Edit>Transform>Rotate 90° CCW). (*note: The Wind filter that we’ll be using next only blows Right or Left, which is why we rotated the layer. Some of your text may be outside the visible area of our stage but not to worry, effects will be applied to those areas as well.) [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Step 3


Next we are going to apply the Wind filter to our Wind layer by selecting it from the filters menu (Filter>Stylize>Wind) and choosing the Wind and From The Right options. Click OK and you will see that the wind filter has blown pixels from left to right on our layer. The wind filter is a little weak on the first pass so let’s apply the filter again. This can be done easily by pressing the "Last Filter" quick key Command+F (CTRL+F on PC) . Next lets re-open the Wind Filter dialog box Filter>Stylize>Wind and repeat the process blowing the wind From The Left twice.
Now rotate the layer back to normal (Edit>Transform>Rotate 90° CCW) and repeat the previous steps blowing wind in each direction twice.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Step 4


While still on the Wind layer apply the Ripple filter (Filter>Distort>Ripple). The default 100 and Medium settings are fine so click OK.
Merge the Wind layer with the black Background layer by pressing Command+E (CTRL+E on PC) and create a new layer above that merged layer by clicking the New Layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette or by pressing Controll+Option+Shift+N (CTLR+ALT+SHIFT+N on PC). Call the new layer Blue.
Click on the foreground color in the tools palette and pick a nice shade of blue, I used #1942aa for this example. Change the blend mode in the layers palette to Color and drop the Fill opacity to around 60 percent.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Step 5


Next click on the Text layer that we hid earlier and un-hide it by clicking the empty box to the left in the layers palette. It’s possible that with our rotating and wind that the layer isn’t directly on top of our Wind layer anymore so go ahead and line them up. This can be done by either selecting the Move Tool (V) and moving the text with your mouse, or by selecting the Move Tool (V) and using the arrows on your keyboard.
Select the contents of this layer by holding down the Command key (CTRL on PC) and clicking on the layers thumbnail in the layers palette. We want to shrink the selection by 2 pixels so go to the Select menu (Select>Modify>Contract), choose 2 pixels and click OK.
Fill this selection with black by clicking on the foreground color in the Tool palette and dragging the selector to black or by simply pressing the (D) key on the keyboard which will reset the foreground/background colors to black and white. Fill the selection by holding the Command key and pressing Delete (CTRL+Delete on PC). Deselect the selection by pressing Command+D (CTRL+D on PC) and we’re finished! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Lesson Files + Additional Resources


Download the free .PSD file and other lesson files Right Here.]