Make text go round in circles

The tricky thing about placing text around a circle in Adobe® Photoshop® CS is to get the text at the bottom of the circle to the legible. If you just click a circle path and add type to stretch around the whole circle, the type at the bottom of the circle is upside down. In this technique, you’ll make two sets of type. One will arc around the top of the circle, and one will arc around the bottom of the circle.

1. Select the ellipse tool in the toolbox. Draw a circle by Shift-dragging until it is the size you want. You can create a circle path or a circle shape layer, depending on your preference. In the following example, a circle shape layer was created.

   

   Create a circle path or shape layer.

2. Select the type tool in the toolbox. Position the type tool over the circle path at the point where you want the type to begin. Click and enter the type that will appear on the top half of the circle.

3. After you have entered the type, click anywhere in the type and choose Select > All. Press Command/Ctrl+T to display the Character palette. Adjust the size and tracking if necessary.

   

   Add the type that will appear at the top part of the circle.

4. To adjust the position of the type along the circle, select the path selection tool in the toolbox. Move the tool close to the X on the path that marks the beginning of the type. the pointer changes to an I-beam with a black arrow. Click and drag the beginning of the type to the desired position.

   If you want to move the type to the inside of the circle, continue with step 5. If you want to leave the type on the outside of the circle, skip to step 6.

   

   Adjust the position of the type.

5. To create the bottom type, drag the type layer thumbnail to the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette to duplicate the layer. Hide the original type layer.

6. With the type tool, click anywhere in the type and choose Select > All. Enter the type you want at the bottom of the circle. Press Return/Enter to complete the entry.

   

   Duplicate the type layer Enter the bottom text.

7. To move the type down to the bottom and flip it so that it reads right side up, select the path selection tool in the toolbox. Move the pointer close to the X on the path that marks the beginning of the type. When the pointer changes to an I-beam with an arrow, drag it to the inside of the circle. Once the type is on the inside of the circle, release the mouse button. Click and drag the beginning of the type to the desired position. In the Layers palette, show the original type layer.

   

   Flip the type.

8. With the type tool, click anywhere in the bottom type and choose Select > All. Display the Character palette and adjust the baseline shift. Use a positive number to move the type above the circle path. Use a negative number to move it inside the circle path.

   In the following example, the top type has a baseline shift of –10. the bottom type has a baseline shift of +3.

   

   Adjust the baseline shift of both bottom and top type layers.

9. Once the type layers are in position, complete the image. Change the color of the type, add a layer effect, or add other graphics and images. the following example shows a border, graphic, and layer effect added; the color changed; and the image placed on top of another image.

   

   Add graphics and layer effects to complete the image

Shortcut: Rotate type around a circle

Sometimes dragging the type along a circular path can the a bit tricky. Try this instead:

1. With the type layer selected, press Command/Ctrl to display the type’s bound­ing box. Because the type is wrapped around the circle path, the circle is also included in the bounding box.

2. Move the pointer outside the bounding box to get the rotate icon. Click and drag to rotate the type in a circle.

   The rotation uses the center point of the bounding box. Because this point also happens to the center point of the circle path, the type rotates perfectly around the circle.

Excerpted from “Adobe Photoshop CS Creative Studio,” copyright © 2004 by Luanne Seymour Cohen. Published by Peachpit Press. Used with the permission of Pearson Education and Peachpit Press. To buy this book, visit www.peachpit.com.