Simple Grafix

How to create a Blood Text Effect

By Gigolo

First we will start out with a new document 450×200

Next add in a background if desired, for this tutorial I chose a plain portion of a wall from a stock

Now add the text you want to use this effect on. I recommend a sans serif font with rounded edges because it leads to better results than other fonts. For this tutorial I used “Arial Rounded MT Bold” with a size of 70pt. Select a color that is a deep blood-like red.. I used #660000.

Next make a new layer and brush vertical lines using the same color as your text. Use the pencil tool with a 6-7px size. To make straight lines click in the letter where the line begin and hold shift while you drag downward until you have the length you want. Draw as many or as few as you think looks good. Also mix the length up a bit so it doesn’t look so uniform.

Next step is where the magic starts. This effect is mainly achieved using the Liquify filter. While the vertical line layer is selected go to Filter>Liquify (or Ctrl+Shift+X). Select the Expand option and using a 4px brush make small circles at the bottom of each of your drawn lines. Try to make the ends seem like realistic oval-shaped ends.

Now merge the two layers of your text and the vertical lines (Ctrl+E) Then go back to the Liquify filter (Shift+Ctrl+X). Using the same expand tool, slightly enlarge the line where it meets the base of the text. I find the best effect comes from slightly moving the brush back and forth in the direction of the letter.

Now either stay in the Liquify filter edit box, or go back to it if you’ve already exited. This time select the Contract tool . Using this tool, go up and down the vertical lines to get more realistic strands of blood. Make sure that each strand is uneven and irregular to give it another feel of realism.

Now if you are satisfied with the effect that you have now then you can leave it how it is. Otherwise there are a few more effects to make it even more realistic.

Optional: Add a slight bevel to give it a shine. Go to the layer properties and add a bevel and emboss and a contour with these settings.

Result:

You can tinker around with the bevel and the contour settings, but these are what I felt gave the best results.

I hope you enjoyed this bloody text effect tutorial. I enjoyed making it.