Photoshop Character Panel: A Comprehensive Guide
Understanding and Utilizing the Photoshop Character Panel
If you appreciate the sophisticated typography found on book covers, magazine titles, packaging, and posters, and are interested in learning how these effects are achieved, exploring the Character Panel in Photoshop (or Adobe InDesign) is a great starting point. While mastering professional design takes considerable practice, this article will demonstrate how to move beyond Photoshop’s default type style settings.
In Photoshop, text is created on individual layers. These text layers can be freely manipulated – moved, flipped, rotated, and scaled – and positioned on top of images without altering the original image data. For those new to Photoshop, introductory tips can be found here on MakeUseOf.
Preparing the Character Panel in Photoshop
To begin this tutorial on the Character Panel, create a new document within Photoshop. You will primarily be working with two essential tools: the Type and Move tools, located in the tool palette. The Type tool is used for creating text, while the Move tool allows for the selection and repositioning of text layers on your canvas.
Familiarize yourself with the Layers palette as well. Each time you add text to a document, it is automatically placed on a new layer. Single-clicking a text layer selects it for movement, while double-clicking allows you to edit the font style, as we will explore shortly.
The Character Panel itself is the key to advanced text control in Photoshop. Access it by navigating to Window>Character in the menu bar. Click this menu item to open the panel and begin experimenting.
To ensure a consistent starting point, click the upper right triangle within the Character Panel and select Reset Character from the drop-down menu. This will revert the settings to their defaults, mirroring many of the options available directly within the panel.
Key Components of the Character Panel
This tutorial is designed for users who are not necessarily design students, so we will focus on a few fundamental elements of the Character Panel without delving into highly technical details. The goal is to demonstrate the possibilities, allowing you to explore and experiment independently. Comprehensive resources on type design are readily available for those seeking more in-depth knowledge.
Photoshop offers multiple ways to adjust type settings, but the Character Panel consolidates most tools in one convenient location. You can modify the font type, size, color, and styles – such as bold, underline, and capitalization. While these features are common in many word processing and image editing programs, the Character Panel also provides advanced controls like Leading, Tracking, Kerning, and Vertical scaling. Hovering over each tool will reveal its name.
Creating Text
Let's begin by creating some text. Select the Type tool from the Photoshop toolbar. A blinking cursor will appear on your document, and a new text layer will be created automatically. Type two lines of text, and if you wish to follow along with this example, use the same font type and size as shown here. With the text selected, make adjustments either within the Character Panel or via the menu bar. I am using Myriad Pro, 40pt size.
Remember that all adjustments require the text to be selected. The darkened area surrounding the text in some screenshots indicates that it is currently selected for editing.
Leading
Leading refers to the vertical space between lines of text. This is particularly useful for titles or paragraphs where you want to customize line spacing beyond the standard single or double spacing. Adjust the leading by selecting both lines of text, clicking on the corresponding triangle, and moving the cursor left or right to modify the spacing. For greater control, consider placing each line of text on a separate layer.
Tracking & Kerning
Tracking adjusts the space between all selected letters, a feature not typically found in basic word processing programs. Altering the spacing can enhance readability or aesthetic appeal. Kerning functions similarly, but is a more advanced technique that varies depending on the font type.
Vertical Scale
Vertical scaling allows you to stretch or compress fonts, creating a unique stylistic effect. However, use this tool cautiously, as excessive scaling can distort the original font design and produce an undesirable result. Select the tool and move the cursor left or right to adjust the scaling.
Font Styles
At the bottom of the Character Panel, you'll find buttons for applying various font styles, including bold, capitalization, small caps, underlining, and strikethroughs.
Color Selection
You can select any portion of text – from a single letter to an entire phrase – and change its color. Simply click the color tool and choose a color from the color palette.
Warp Text
As a bonus, explore the Warp Text tool. Select the Type tool in the Toolbar, and locate the Warp Text option in the menu bar. Experiment with the various shapes to create playful and dynamic text designs.
Remember that Photoshop allows you to undo changes using Edit>Step forward or Step backward. Each character tool can be reset to its original value, or you can revert all changes as described earlier.
We encourage you to experiment with the Character Panel in Photoshop and share your experiences. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below.
