How to Create a Liquid Text Effect in Photoshop

To create a liquid text effect, you’ll need:

• Adobe Photoshop
• WallowHmkBold font

Step 1

Create a new document with a white background and RGB color mode. Then, write your text using the WallowHmkBold font with the color #666666. You can use any other font you want that has rounded letters. Use the settings shown below for the text.

Step 2

Right-click on text layer and select Rasterize Type. Then, using the Brush Tool, paint some dots around the text.

Step 3

Switch to the Channels palette, select one of the channels and duplicate it. Then, go Image > Adjustments > Invert.

Step 4

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and use the settings shown below.

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur again, but this time use a 15px radius.

Step 5

Click on the RGB channel to turn on all of the other layers. Don’t delete the Blue copy yet since we will need it in a moment.

Step 6

Now, go to Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and use the settings shown below.

Step 7

Duplicate the text layer, go to Filter > Filter Gallery, choose Chrome from the Sketch folder and use the settings shown below.

Step 8

It’s now time to apply a layer style. Double-click on the text layer and use the settings shown below. For the color, use #666666 and use Cone as the Gloss Contour.

Step 9

Go to Image > Adjustments > Curves and use the settings shown below.

Then, go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and use the settings shown below.

Step 10

The shine really comes out against a black background.

Step 11

Hide the background layer and merge all the other layers together.

Then, go to Filter > Liquify and use the Bloat Tool to warp areas of the text.

You can now use any background on the text to give it a good effect. Here, I’m using a background I already had, placed the text over it and then placed a duplicate of the background layer over the text. I changed the blending mode of the top layer to Soft Light to achieve the effect shown below.