BECASSO TUTORIAL 3


Aqua Text Effect (bumpmap tutorial)



This tutorial shows how you can make a quite good-looking text effect rather easily using

a single add-on and some selection tricks.



Step 1

Pick a suitable background image. In the example we have simply used

the Generate > Tile add-on to fill a blank new canvas with a cloud pattern,

although you could just as well have loaded an existing image.



Step 2

Switch to selection mode and use the text tool to make type your text.

For this particular effect, a "round" font gives the best-looking results (we've used

VAG Rounded in the example). Note that the bumpmap add-on (which we'll use later on to

create the effect) is by

no means limited to text selections, but its effect is easiest to demonstrate using text.



Step 3

The bumpmap add-on uses the selection map as a "height map" and then "lights" the image under

an adjustable angle and elevation. The selection as it stands after Step 2 changes quite "abruptly"

(apart from anti-aliasing effects) so using it as a bumpmap directly would result in very

"sharp" transitions. To change this, we use the Gaussian Blur add-on to make the selection map more

"fuzzy". So after this step, the selection (to be used as a bump map) can be thought of as having

the "steep steps" smoothed out into gradual slopes.



Step 4

Switching back to Drawing mode and fiddling with the various parameters of the

bumpmap add-on yields the end result. The "Angle" and "Elevation" sliders in the add-on

are for positioning the position of the virtual light source; the "Specular" slider can be

thought of as controlling the type of "material" the canvas is made of - a matte material

(such as paper) has almost no specular reflection properties, whereas a "shiny" material (such as

glass or plastic) has a high specular reflection. The particular "translucent" effect is

achieved by setting the "Translucent" slider to a nonzero value, and setting the light

color to light cyan.