How to Outline Text in Photoshop

By Tata Rossi 7 days ago, Photoshop Tips

It is important to know how to outline text in Photoshop if you are involved in typographic design, creating logos and digital publications. This technique will help you make the text easily readable on any background.

In this article, I will share three simple and proven methods of adding an outline to text in Photoshop. Each step of the tutorial is described in detail so everyone can follow through.

Method 1. Outline Typing Text by Using the Stroke Option

One of the simplest ways to outline text in Photoshop is to tweak the “Stroke” parameter of the text. In fact, Stroke gives you numerous variations of how to customize text in pictures.

STEP 1. Type Your Text

Find the Horizontal Type Tool or Vertical Type Tool and add text to the picture using it. Drag the cursor on the canvas to create a text box and type in the text.

how to outline text in photoshop typing tool

STEP 2. Edit with Stroke Menu

At the bottom of the Layers panel, click the “Fx” button. You will see a pop-up menu where you should choose “Stroke”. Now the Layer Style window will appear, and the Stroke layer style will be selected already.

how to outline text in photoshop layer style

STEP 3. Adjust Layer Style Options

Now it is time to pick the color of Photoshop text outline via the Color Picker window. Once you settle on the color, play around with the thickness of the outline using the “Size” slider. To alter the Blend Mode, Opacity and Fill Type, take advantage of extra options within the Layer Style window.

STEP 4. Customize Outlined Text

With the Layer Style window being still open, pick some of the extra Layer Styles for the text. For instance, try adding an Inner Glow to the area within the border or a Drop Shadow beyond the text. Once you are satisfied with the outcome, click “OK”.

how to outline text in photoshop customize

Method 2. Create an Inscription with a Few Outlined Letters

The second method of how to outline text in Photoshop is rather widespread – you must have seen such a nice text effect in web banners and social media posts. Many texts on pictures apps are capable of outlining text this way. However, with Photoshop, you are free to customize the resulting effect even further, even creating a new font each time.

STEP 1. Type a Text on Background

Import the picture to Photoshop. With a monochrome color background layer, you may sort of move the picture to the side and have some portion of the text fall on the picture while the rest will be on the colored background.

how to outline text in photoshop background

STEP 2. Create a "Transparent" Layer

Type in the text on the picture or background. Then create a copy of the text layer with the name “Transparent”.

how to outline text in photoshop transparent

STEP 3. Adjust Your Inscription

Convert one text layer into an outline. The other text layer should remain with the fill inside. Now proceed to the “Transparent” text layer and add the outlined text effect to it. The instructions are given in the next step.

how to outline text in photoshop blending

STEP 4. Edit with Blending Options

Right-click on the text layer and choose Blending Options. Navigate to Layer Style > Stroke. Set the Position option to Outside. Opacity should be set to 100. Besides, adjust the Size slider to your liking. To confirm changes, click OK.

how to outline text in photoshop blending settings

STEP 5. Rasterize a Layer

Once again, right-click on the filled layer and choose Rasterize Type. The text layer will be converted to a regular bitmap picture made of pixels.

how to outline text in photoshop rasterize

STEP 6. Select the Part of Filled Text

Select a portion of the filled-in text you wish to conceal using the rectangular marquee tool.

how to outline text in photoshop filled

STEP 7. Clear Inner Fill

Press the Delete button to get rid of the selected filled-in part of the text. As a result, the lower text layer with the outline text Photoshop will become visible. Then set the Opacity to 0% in the Layers tab.

how to outline text in photoshop zero filled

STEP 8. Finish Your Work in Layer Menu

Lastly, combine all visible layers or flatten the picture with the help of the dedicated options in the Layer menu.

how to outline text in photoshop layer menu

Method 3. Make Any Photoshop Font Outlined

Another effective way of how to outline text Photoshop is to make the fill of the letters invisible. Only the border will be surrounding the text while the letters will be “empty”. To pick a perfect object for customization, try font management software. Such a method of outlining the text will definitely catch the eye of viewers.

STEP 1. Type Your Text

Pick the desired font and enter the text you need to outline. Ensure that the text outline complements well the background of the picture. Ideally, the background should be of monochrome color.

how to outline text in photoshop typing

STEP 2. Edit the Text Layer

When the text is ready, right-click on the text layer in the Layers panel and select Blending Options. Look to the left of the pop-up window and check the box next to the Stroke option.

how to outline text in photoshop layer

STEP 3. Customize Text Borders

Fiddle with the Stroke settings – set the Position option to Outside. Also, adjust the Size slider to your liking. As for Opacity, the recommended setting is 100. To confirm changes, click OK.

how to outline text in photoshop border

STEP 4. Delete the Text Filling

Locate the Fill option at the upper right corner of the Layers tab – it is usually found below the Opacity setting. Select the text layers and set Fill to 0%. This way, the solid fill of text or any object will disappear.

how to outline text in photoshop zero filling

Adobe Photoshop Freebies: Fonts

adobe photoshop freebies font

All three described methods allow you to learn how to add outline to text in Photoshop, a well-known picture editing software. However, for a quicker result, you may try simple serif fonts. The only task here is to add a font to Photoshop that is outlined and not filled with color inside.

You will come across such outlined fonts in numerous signs, logos, etc. Click on the link above to download top-notch free outline fonts generously provided by FixThePhoto and enjoy nicely outlined letters in your pictures and projects.

SAVE UP TO 65% OFF SAVE UP TO 65% OFF