Gold Text Effect in Photoshop 7.0

By the Photoshop 7.0 Hub editorial team · Updated May 17, 2026 · 8-minute read

Setup

1. New document, 1920×1080 px, 72 dpi.
2. Background: a deep wine-red (#3a0a0a) or near-black — gold looks best on rich dark backgrounds.

Step 1: Type Your Text

1. T for Type tool. Pick a heavy serif font (Times New Roman Bold, Trajan Pro, Cinzel) or a heavy display font (Impact, Arial Black) — both work, but serifs read more "elegant gold" while sans-serifs read more "casino gold".
2. Size around 180 pt.
3. Colour: any mid-tone — we will override it with the gradient. Try #b8860b (dark gold) for a starting baseline.
4. Type a short word: GOLD, VIP, 2026.
5. Ctrl+Enter to commit.

Step 2: Layer Styles

Double-click the text layer to open Layer Styles.

Gradient Overlay (the gold itself)

1. Tick Gradient Overlay.
2. Blend Mode: Normal, Opacity 100%.
3. Click the gradient bar to open the Gradient Editor.
4. Build a 4-stop vertical gradient with the following colour stops, positioned at 0%, 35%, 65%, and 100%:

5. Style: Linear, Angle: 90° (vertical), Scale: 100%.

Bevel and Emboss (the dimension)

• Style: Inner Bevel, Technique: Chisel Hard (this is critical — Smooth bevel looks plasticky on gold).
• Depth: 200%
• Direction: Up
• Size: 5 px, Soften: 0 px.
• Angle: 120°, Altitude: 30° (low altitude gives stronger bevel shadows).
• Gloss Contour: choose the "Ring" or "Cove Deep" curve from the dropdown for a metallic sheen.
• Highlight Mode: Screen, white, 80%. Shadow Mode: Multiply, #3a2a00 (dark brown), 60%.

Inner Glow (subtle warmth)

• Blend Mode: Linear Light, Opacity 30%.
• Colour: warm yellow #ffd060.
• Source: Edge, Size: 5 px.

Stroke (the dark outline that makes gold pop)

• Size: 1–2 px.
• Position: Outside.
• Fill Type: Color, #3a2a00 (dark brown).

Drop Shadow

• Opacity: 60%
• Angle: 120°
• Distance: 10 px
• Spread: 5%, Size: 15 px.
• Colour: black.

Click OK. Your text now reads as solid gold.

Step 3: Add Sparkles (Optional)

1. Create a new layer above the text. Name it Sparkles.
2. Press B for Brush. Pick the "Star 70" or any starburst-shaped brush from the default set, sized 30–50 px. If no starburst is available, use a small (5–10 px) hard round brush.
3. Set foreground to white.
4. Click 5–10 times on different parts of the text — at corners and bright spots.
5. Add a tiny Outer Glow layer style to the Sparkles layer (size 20 px, white).

Step 4: Background Vignette

1. Create a new layer above the Background but below the text.
2. Fill with black.
3. Filter → Distort → there is no built-in vignette filter in 7.0, so instead: add a layer mask, press G for gradient, choose the Radial gradient style in the options bar, white-to-black.
4. Draw the gradient from the centre outward on the mask. The middle of the background becomes visible (any colour beneath shows through) and the edges darken.
5. Set this layer's opacity to 60%.

Save

1. Ctrl+Shift+S → PSD with layers.
2. Export PNG-24 with transparency if you need just the gold text over a different background.

Variations

• Rose gold: replace the gradient stops with #f5d6c8, #ffd6c2, #e2956a, #b6633b.
• White gold / platinum: use four shades of grey from light to dark with a slight blue tint.
• Antique gold (more worn): mix more brown into the bottom stops; reduce highlight intensity in Bevel and Emboss.

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