Step One
To begin you can do one of a couple of things. The first would be to create a new Photshop document and add your own type. The second would be to download one of my originals shown in figures 1 and 2 and follow along with the lessons pixel for pixel. For the second option, you can click on either image in figure 1 or 2 to open the full size version in your browser window. Save or copy the image and use your browsers back button to return here. Open the image in Photoshop, convert it to RGB (Image>Mode>RGB Color) and save it as a Water.PSD
If you have shoosen option one, then create a new document in Photoshop about 8 inches by 8 inches, 72dpi, RGB. Call it Water.PSD. We are going to work in screen mode here, so, if you wish to use this effect for print, you will need to adapt it to higher resolutions.
Next, add some type. Make sure you leave yourself about an inch or so on all sides so that you can add a few drip and droplets and also compensate for the image spreading out a bit. Once you have your type, flatten the image (Layer>Flatten Image).
I started with some type that I created in Illustrator (figure 1) and then opened in Photoshop. The next thing I did was to add some drips and droplets using the paintbrush tool  and a couple of round brushes. I used a size 20 brush with a hardness of 100% and a spacing of 25% for the drips and the smaller drops. For the larger drops and the ends of the drips, I used a size 30 brush. I have found that the best results come from not being overly artistic at this point. Just point and click. Use more then one splotch for the water droplets. They look better if they have an irregular shape. To size your brush, simply click on the brush in the Brushes Pallete to bring up the Brush Option Dialog Box. There you can set all of your brush options such as size and hardness.
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Figure 1
Imported letter forms from Adobe Illustrator. Give yourself plenty of room on all sides of your type. Click on this thumbnail image to view and download a full size version.
| Water.psd |
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Figure 2
Use the brush tool to add drips and droplets to your type to further enhance the watery effect. Click on this thumbnail image to view and download a full size version.
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