How to Create a Displacement Map
- 1
Download an image of wavy water you can use. Then open Photoshop. Select "File" and click "Open." Create a second copy of the document by right-clicking on the layer and selecting "Duplicate." In the dialog that opens, change the "Destination" to "New." - 2
Select "Filter" and click "Gaussian Blur" and set the "Radius" to 1. Save this document as a PSD file named "displacement map 1." - 3
Go back to the first document and use the "Text" tool to add whatever text you want. Then select "Layer" and click "Rasterize Type." Click on the text layer. Select "Filter," then "Distort" and click "Displace." A dialog will open. - 4
Use the default settings and click "OK." Then browse to the file "displacement map 1" and open it. The text should now be rather wavy like the water under it. - 5
Select the text layer and change the blending mode from "Normal" to "Overlay." Then click on the "FX" icon and apply a "Drop Shadow" and a "Stroke." In the dialog that opens, adjust the settings to suit your image.
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