Special Thanks to: Colin Smith www.photoshopcafe.com, the original creator of this technique.

This Tutorial will show you how to create this "Classic" text popularized by many low-riders.

1.) Open Photoshop and create a new file. Go to File > New. Make it 400 X 150 pixels on a white background at 72 dpi then hit OK.

2.) In the Tool palette, click on the Foreground color to launch the Color Picker. At the bottom enter #666666 and hit OK. Next, select the Text tool and add some text, something bold preferably. (I used Arial Black at 100pt.)

In the Layers palette, Right-click on text layer and choose Rasterize Layer. (This will allow for filter effects to be applied.)

3.) Now, to add the diamonds! Go to Filter > Distort > Glass. Be sure to select Tiny Lens, then make adjustments to settings to bring out the diamond effect. Below are the settings I used.

Image after filter applied.

4.) Now, let's add some stroke. In the bottom of Layers palette, click on the icon with an "F" and choose Stroke... in the pop-up menu that appears. Follow settings below then hit OK. (The gradient used is Copper, from the default set.)

Image should now appear similar.

5.) Click the "F" again, this time choose Bevel and Emboss. Select Stroke Emboss and follow settings below then hit OK.

Now, press D on the keyboard to set the Foreground color back to black. Click the background layer (located bottom in Layers palette) and use (Alt + Backspace) to fill.

Image should now look similar to this:

6.) Go to Layer > Flatten Image. Next, on for the Gold! Go to Image > Adjustments... > Hue/Saturation or (Ctrl + U). Make adjustments to the first two controls to bring out a nice gold shine.

7.) Add a few star effects in white to produce a little flash with the Starburst brush below (located in the Assorted Brushes set). If not using PS7, you may substitute with something similar.

*Finish by making a few extra diamonds to pay the rent!

About the Author - Glenn Schemenauer

Thanks for reading.