1. First let's open a new document by pressing Crtl+N:
As you can see I have made it quite big (500x300). It's always a
good idea to start out with a big canvas so we can see what we are doing. Later
we can size it down.
2. Using the TYPE tool (by pressing 'T' on the keyboard), write
Google (first 'g' capital). The original font is called Catull. This is a
commercial font, which means you have to pay for it!. However, the Times New
Roman font is amazingly similiar and free.
3. Click the numbers in the type size box (circled red). Then
simply press the up arrow until you have just about filled the area. Don't
forget you must have the text selected in order to do this. Double click it and
it should turn inverted.
4. You may have noticed that the edges of the text aren't very
smooth. We'll fix that now.
On the menu Go->Layer->Type->Anti-alias Sharp.
5a. Now for the colors. With the type tool selected, click just
after the capital G and drag to select it.
5b. Click the colored rectangle at the
top (A) and a new screen will pop up. Now double click the text box (B) and the
numbers will turn blue. Now type this: 1645AE. Click ok.
6. The same procedure for the first 'o'. Select it, click the
colored rectangle, but this time we type 'D62408'. We could just select a nice
red color from the screen, but this way it gives us exactly the same shade that is
used on the google logo.
7. Same again, this time use 'EFBA00'.
8. The second g is the same color as the first so just repeat
step 5.
9. Now we select green for the 'l' using '007D08'.
10. And repeat step 6 to finish the 'e'. We should now have
something like this:
11a. Now we come to the good bit. Click the 'Add Layer Style' icon
(circled in red). From the drop down menu choose 'drop shadow'.
11b. Up pops a
screen with lots of options. The best way to learn what each option does is to
change it. The great advantage here is that the modifications can be seen in
real time. I wanted to get as close to the original drop shadow as possible so
I used these values:
Opacity: 50%
Angle: 116
Distance: 7
Spread: 0
Size: 4
12. Almost finished. Now we have to do the bevel. This really
brings the logo to life. Again, experimenting with all the options is the best
way to learn. I used these:
Style: Inner Bevel
Technique: Smooth
Depth: 80%
Direction: up
Size: 8
Click the gloss contour button and select 'rounded steps' from
the menu (circled in red). This gives our logo that little shine that you can
see on the original.
13. There's a little too much white around the image so let's get
rid of it. Select the crop tool (C on the keyboard) and drag it around our
logo. Don't worry about trying to do a perfect job as you can always adjust the
selection. When you're happy with it press 'Enter' on the keyboard.
14. Now it's time to resize our work. Go Image->Image Size. In
the pop up window change the width to 300. If you have 'Constrain Proportions'
checked the height will automatically change too.
15. Here's our logo next to the original. Pretty close.
16. But not close enough. our drop shadow is a tad too big.
That's an easy fix. Click the 'Add Layer Style' icon again and from the drop
down menu choose 'Drop Shadow'. Now just change the 'Distance' to 5. Much
better.
17. While we have the layer Styles box opened, let's save the
style for future use. Click the 'New Styles' button. When the text box pops up
type 'google' and click ok.
18. To see and use our new style go Window->Styles.
19. The style window opens and we can see our style added at the
bottom. If we move our mouse cursor over the last it should say 'google'. Now
we can use it whenever we like.
20. There's just one more little correction to make. If you look at the original Google, the letters are much closer together than ours. But that's an easy fix. Select the Type tool (T on the keyboard) and we are presented with a few options at the top of the screen. Click the Character palette (circled red-A). When the pop up screen appears, we have to change the tracking to -25 (circled red-B). That's it! Our logo is now finished.
