In this tutorial, I will show you how to produce a mirrored effect on your text and images. This can really give a sense of depth in the image, but use this sparingly though. Just a small use of it is effective enough to successfully establish a sense of depth without compromising the composition of the overall image you are producing.


We will start by creating a 400x200px transparent image at 72px/in. Press the letter D on your keyboard to reset your foreground and background colors. Now press Alt+Backspace to fill the layer with the foreground color, which should now be black.

Now select the Type Tool (T) and hit X on your keyboard to switch to white. For this example, I will be using Verdana at 18pt since chances are you already have this font. Type anything you want. Here's what I have so far:


Now, duplicate your layer (Ctrl/Command + J). Pull down the Edit menu tab, select Transform > Flip Verticle, and using the Move Tool (V) drag the new flipped text just under the original.


Now, pull down the Layer menu tab and select Layer Mask > Reveal All. Your layer now has a Reveal All layer Mask on it. Notice how your text hasn't changed in appearance. Now grab the Gradient Tool (G). (Click+Hold/Right+Click on the Paint Pucket Tool and select the Gradient Tool if you don't see it.)

Make sure your gradient is the default gradient:


Now apply the gradient. Click and drag from about the top of the original text to the bottom of the reflected text. Feel free to experiment with different applications of your gradient.


There you have it!


The great thing about this technique is that the text is still editable even though you have to edit both the original and the reflection. Implement this somewhere and it'll look great! You can even use this with images.


You have now completed this tutorial! Thank you for using our tutorials service. If you have any questions or comments, then please post your thoughts below.

| Written by: Haily | Added: Fri, Sep 19 2008 | Last Modified: Fri, Sep 19 2008 | Views: 457 |

Member Comments
Hamsterzfinch	Saturday, September 27, 12:57 pm PST - Quote -
:D Gender: Male	Awesome tutorial!
JoonDashBug	Monday, December 8, 10:22 pm PST - Quote -
I go by J.D.B Age: 16 Gender: Male	I'm personally obsessed with this mirror effect
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