Tutorial - Engraving a metal tag

This tutorial is written for Photoshop but I hope those of you using other programs will be able to translate this technique and figure a similar way to do the same thing in your program.

1. Open up your metal tag and save it under a new name.

2. Make a new layer above your tag (LAYER>NEW) and use the TEXT tool to type your word/words in black. For my tutorial I used Courier(T1) but other fonts work well, too.


3. Now make sure your text layer is selected. We are going to add a bevel and emboss layer style. Open the layer style dialog box (by clicking LAYER>LAYER STYLE>BEVEL AND EMBOSS).

4. If you're using a font similar to this one, you can leave everything as the default setting except change the direction from UP to DOWN...

...However, if you chose a different, bolder font, you may have to play with other settings to get a desired effect. Click OK.

5. Now, make sure your text layer is still selected and change the FILL value to anywhere from 0% to 30%. I used 30% for this font but other fonts look better with the fill value set to zero%.


When you are happy with your engraving, you can save your new engraved tag as a PNG and use it in your layouts! Let me know if you have any questions about this tutorial, my e-mail is at the top left corner.

ALSO: for a tutorial on attaching your tag to the collar, Misty Cato has a great tutorial that explains the technique HERE

Have Fun!