Filling Text with an Image with Pixlr

Kyle Kipfer
26 Mar 202007:24

TLDRThis tutorial demonstrates how to create an image-filled text effect with a glow in Pixlr. The process begins by creating a new document, filling it with black, and adding a text layer using a bold, solid font. The text is then merged with the background layer, making it non-editable. An image is selected and pasted onto the project, resized to cover the text, and the transparency is temporarily lowered to 50% to help position the image. Using the magic wand tool, the black areas are selected, and the image layer is erased to match the text shape. The opacity is then restored, and a glow effect is added using the filter menu. The final step is to clean up any stray areas and save the work in JPEG format, ensuring it's accessible through Google Drive and Google Classroom.

Takeaways

  • 🎨 Start by creating a new image in Pixlr with a black background.
  • 🔑 Choose a bold and solid font for the text to ensure the effect works well.
  • ✍️ Write your text in white to contrast with the black background.
  • 🔍 Merge the text layer with the background layer to prepare for the next steps.
  • 🔍 Search for an image that you want to use to fill your text.
  • 📸 Paste the image into your project and adjust its size to cover the text.
  • 👀 Lower the image's transparency to help align the image with the text.
  • ✂️ Use the magic wand tool to select the black areas around the text.
  • 🖋️ Erase parts of the image layer that are not within the text selection.
  • ✨ Add a glow effect to the image to enhance the visual appeal.
  • 🧹 Clean up any stray areas that may have been missed during the erasure process.
  • 💾 Save your work in a high-quality JPEG format and ensure it's accessible for sharing or submission.

Q & A

  • What is the main focus of the tutorial?

    -The tutorial focuses on creating text effects in Pixlr, specifically filling text with an image and adding a glow effect.

  • What is the recommended number of words for the text effect?

    -The recommended number of words is one or two to keep the letters few and bold.

  • How do you fill the background with black color in Pixlr?

    -You drag the color picker to the corner for black and use the paint bucket tool to fill the background.

  • What should be the color of the text for better visibility during the process?

    -The text color should be white for better visibility.

  • What type of font is suggested for the text effect?

    -A very bold and solid font is suggested to avoid textures that may not work well for the effect.

  • How do you merge the text and image layers in Pixlr?

    -You can merge the layers together by clicking on the three dots and selecting 'Merge Down'.

  • What is the purpose of lowering the image's transparency temporarily?

    -Lowering the transparency allows you to see the text through the image, making it easier to align and position the image within the text.

  • How do you ensure the image only fills the text and not the background?

    -You use the magic wand tool to select the black area around the text and then erase the unselected parts of the image layer.

  • What is the final step to enhance the text effect?

    -The final step is to add a glow effect to the text by going to the 'Filter' menu and selecting 'Glow'.

  • How do you remove stray areas from the glow effect?

    -You can use the eraser tool to manually clean up any stray areas or dots that may have occurred outside the text.

  • What file format is recommended for saving the final image?

    -The recommended file format is JPEG for saving the final image with high quality.

  • How can you share your work with others, as mentioned in the tutorial?

    -You can save the image to your Google Drive and then share it on Google Classroom or other platforms as needed.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Creating Image-Filled Text with a Glow Effect in Pixlr

The first paragraph of the video script details a tutorial on using Pixlr to create text effects. The process involves creating bold text, filling it with an image, and adding a glow effect. The user is guided to start a new project in Pixlr, fill the background with black, add a text layer with a large, solid font (in this case, 'UConn' for the University of Connecticut), and ensure the text is white for visibility. The font chosen should be without texture to achieve the desired effect. The text is then merged with the background layer, and an image relevant to the text (UConn basketball players) is pasted and resized to cover the text. The transparency is temporarily reduced to adjust the image so that parts of it align with the text letters. The image is then clipped to the text using the magic wand tool and erasing technique, leaving only the desired parts visible within the text. The final step is to merge the layers and proceed with the tutorial.

05:02

✨ Adding a Glow Effect and Final Touches to the Text

The second paragraph continues the tutorial by focusing on adding a glow effect to the image-filled text. After ensuring the text is correctly filled with the desired image, the user is instructed to make the image layer invisible temporarily to select the black background with the magic wand tool. The selected area is then erased to leave only the image within the text. Any missed areas, such as the inner part of the letter 'O', are cleaned up. The image opacity is restored to 100% for review. To add the glow effect, the user applies a filter from the menu, adjusting the size and blur to achieve the desired glow. Stray areas outside the text are erased, and the final image is saved in JPEG format. The user is reminded to save their work and ensure it is uploaded to Google Drive and Google Classroom for distance learning purposes. The tutorial concludes with encouragement for viewers to be creative with their own projects.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Pixlr

Pixlr is an online photo editing tool that allows users to perform a variety of image manipulation tasks. In the context of the video, Pixlr is used to create text effects by filling words with an image and adding a glow effect. It's the primary software tool around which the tutorial is centered.

💡Text Effects

Text effects refer to the visual enhancements or alterations made to the text to make it more appealing or to convey a certain style or mood. In this video, the text effects involve filling text with an image and adding a glow, which are techniques used to make the text stand out in a graphic design.

💡Bold Font

A bold font is a typeface that has been darkened or thickened to increase legibility and to create emphasis. It is used in the video to ensure that the text is easily visible and impactful when it is filled with an image. The boldness of the font is important for the text to stand out once the image is applied.

💡Layer

In graphic design software like Pixlr, a layer is a transparent sheet that contains parts of an image. Layers allow for non-destructive editing, meaning that changes can be made without affecting the original image. In the video, the use of layers is crucial for merging text and image, and for editing them separately if needed.

💡Merge Down

Merging down is an action in Pixlr that combines two or more layers into one layer. This is done in the video after the text and image layers are aligned to create a single editable layer. It's an important step as it finalizes the text-image composition.

💡Transparency

Transparency in graphic design refers to the degree to which layers or objects allow light to pass through them. In the video, lowering the transparency of the image layer allows the text to be seen through the image, which is a key part of the effect being created.

💡Magic Wand

The Magic Wand is a selection tool in Pixlr used to select areas of the image based on color similarity. In the context of the video, the Magic Wand is used to select the black areas surrounding the text so that the image can be precisely fitted within the text.

💡Eraser Tool

The Eraser tool is used in Pixlr to remove or delete parts of an image or layer. In the video, it is used to clean up the image layer by erasing areas outside the text, ensuring that only the desired parts of the image appear within the text boundaries.

💡Glow Effect

A glow effect is a visual technique that creates the illusion of light emanating from an object. In the video, a glow effect is added to the text to enhance its visual appeal and to give it a more dynamic and professional look. It's an additional step to make the filled text stand out more.

💡Opacity

Opacity refers to the degree to which an object is transparent or opaque. In the video, adjusting the opacity of the image layer allows the creator to fine-tune how much of the image is visible and how much of the text shows through, which is essential for achieving the desired filled text effect.

💡Save Work

Saving work is the process of preserving the progress made in a project. In the video, the importance of saving the work is emphasized to ensure that the completed image-filled text effect is stored safely, ready for sharing or further use.

Highlights

The tutorial focuses on creating text effects in Pixlr by filling words with an image and adding a glow effect.

A new project is created with a black background and the text 'UConn' is added in a bold, white font.

The text size is adjusted to fill the page and a specific font is chosen for its solid appearance.

The text and background layers are merged, making the text non-editable.

An image related to 'UConn basketball' is selected and pasted into the project.

The image is resized to cover the text and its transparency is temporarily reduced to 50% for visibility.

The image is carefully positioned to align specific parts, like faces, with the text letters.

The visibility of the image layer is turned off to select the black area for the magic wand tool.

The selected area outside the text is erased, leaving only the image within the text boundaries.

The inner part of the letter 'O' is manually selected and cleaned up.

The image opacity is restored to 100% to review the filled text effect.

A glow effect is added to the text using the 'Glow' filter with adjustable size and blur.

Stray areas outside the text are cleaned up using the eraser tool.

The final image is saved in high quality as a JPEG file.

The file is uploaded to Google Drive and shared on Google Classroom for distance learning purposes.

The tutorial encourages creativity and provides a step-by-step guide for achieving the image-filled text effect.

The importance of selecting a font without texture for better effect visibility is emphasized.

The process includes merging layers, pasting images, and using selection tools for precise editing.

Tips are provided for adjusting the image size and transparency for better alignment with the text.

The tutorial concludes with a reminder to save work and share it through appropriate platforms.