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Note: This tutorial is written for Photoshop CS on a Windows XP platform and assumes you have a basic knowledge of Photoshop. However, this technique will work on most versions of Photoshop or similar graphics package.

In this tutorial we will create a metal panel from scratch (with no imported graphics) and create the effect of etched metal text like this:

1. Create a new canvas 250 x 100 with background colour #353535.

2. We’ll start by making the base of the metal plate; select the Rounded Rectangle Tool and set the radius to 10px. Draw the base of the metal like this:

3. Apply a Stroke layer style like this:

4. We need the metal plate to look like it has rounded edges – apply a Bevel and Emboss layer style like this:

5. Apply an Outer Glow layer style like this:

6.Right-click the Layer 1 layer and choose Rasterize Layer.

7.Double click the Layer 1 label and rename the layer to Base. Your Base layer should like like this:

8. Ctrl + click the Base layer to select the layer transparency. Choose Filter > Noise > Add Noise and Amount to 10% and Distribution to Uniform; ensure Monochromatic is checked.

9. Choose Filter > Blur > Motion Blur; set Angle to 0 degrees and Distance to 10 pixels. It will look like this:

10. Choose Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen. Click Ctrl + F – this will apply the effect again.

11. Duplicate layer Base and rename it Worn. Right-click the Worn layer and choose Clear Layer Style. Ctrl-click layer Base to select the layer transparency. Choose #353535 for the foreground layer and white (#FFFFFF) as the background layer. Then choose Filter > Render > Clouds. It will look like this:

12. Choose Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and set the Contrast to 50. Leave the Brightness as it is; your image should like this:

13. Choose Filter > Mosaic > Pixelate and set the Square size to 3 and you’ll end up with this:

14. Change the Blending Mode of the Worn layer to Overlay and set the Opacity to 60%:

15. Choose Filter > Add Noise > Noise and set Amount to 10%, Distribution to Uniform and ensure Monochromatic is checked:

16. Choose Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and set the Contrast to 35. It should look like this:

17 .Now it’s time to write the etch the text! Choose the Horizontal Text Tool, set the font to Arial Black and size to 18 pt and the text colour to #353535. Select Center Align and type DR QUINCY so your canvas looks like this:

18. Now apply these Stroke settings to the text layer:

19. Your etched metal text is finished and should look like this:

This tutorial works well with any “bold” font. If you don’t have Arial Black or you feel like experimenting try some other “bold” fonts.