How to Create a Gold Text Effect in Affinity Photo

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to create a gold text effect. I'll show you how to edit text in Affinity Photo and how to add gradients and textures to create this shiny text effect. Let's get into it!

If you don't have the time to learn how to make a gold text effect, you can always try Envato Elements, where you will find a large selection of fonts, layer styles, and textures that are ready to be used for shiny text effects.

What You'll Learn in This Tutorial

How to add text in Affinity Photo
How to make a gold text effect with layer effects and filters
How to use textures in Affinity Photo

Tutorial Assets

You'll need the following resources in order to complete this project:

1. How to Open a New Document in Affinity Photo

Step 1

Launch Affinity Photo and go to File > New to open the New Document window. Type the dimensions of the new document and use the settings shown below; then hit Create.

Page size: 1920 x 1080 px
Document resolution: 72
Document units: Pixels
Color format: RGB

Step 2

When making a golden shiny text, a black background is definitely the perfect choice. It's a classic combo.

To make a black background, grab the Rectangle Tool (U) and draw a rectangle the same size as your artboard. Apply a black fill color or another dark color that you prefer.

How to make a black background with Rectangle Tool

2. How to Make a Gold Text Effect

Step 1

We will use the word Golden for this gold effect. To learn how to add text in Affinity Photo, we'll use the Artistic Text Tool to write the word on the artboard. Use the Evolve Regular font, with a size of about 607 pt. It's important to apply a fill color of around 50% gray.

Step 2

Use the Rectangle Tool (U) to draw another rectangle over the text, again making it the size of the artboard. Fill it with a white to black linear gradient, and then drag the Rectangle layer under the Golden text layer in the Layers panel in order to mask it. Now, the gradient will be visible only inside the text.

Use the Gradient Tool (G) to adjust the location of the gradient so that the black color starts at the bottom of the text.

Step 3

Let's create the appearance of a 3D gold text effect with the help of the Bevel/Emboss layer effect. While the Golden text layer stays selected in the Layers panel, open the Layer Effects window by going to View > Studio > Effects. Make sure to check the effect to activate it and apply the settings you see in the image below. Once you're done, hit Close.

Step 4

At the bottom of the Layers panel, click on the Adjustments icon and select Gradient Map from the list. This will add a default colored gradient over the entire artboard that you need to change into a gold gradient. To do so, add more stops and set the colors of the stops in the Gradient Map window as shown below:

Color: FCF2B1, Position: 0%
Color: F0E68B, Position: 8%
Color: D4A031, Position: 28%
Color: 4A3D18, Position: 42%
Color: 302E2E, Position: 46%
Color: E0C551, Position: 53%
Color: F5E7B5, Position: 67%
Color: FFFFFF, Position: 70%
Color: F5E7B5, Position: 77%
Color: F5E7B5, Position: 100%

Step 5

Select the Gradient Map Adjustment layer and the Golden text layer in the Layers panel, right-click, and choose Group (Control-G) from the menu. Name the resulting group Golden text. After this, the gradient map will be masked and only visible inside the text.

Step 6

Click on the Add Pixel Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel in order to add one above the Rectangle layer. Go to Filters > Noise > Perlin Noise and apply the settings shown.

Step 7

To soften the noise, click on the Live Filters icon at the bottom of the Layers panel while the Pixel layer is selected. Choose Gaussian Blur from the menu and apply a Radius of about 20 px. Also, check Preserve Alpha.

Once you're done, set the Pixel layer to 15% Opacity.

Step 8

You are learning how to make shiny text, but even so, pretty much any metal text effect needs some texture to look realistic. Let's achieve this in the following steps.

Insert a grunge texture photo into the document by going to File > Place and locating it on your computer. I've used the Grunge Texture on a Black Background photo. Scale it down until it's bigger than the artboard, and drag it under the Pixel layer in the Layers panel. Set the Blending mode to Darker Color and lower the Opacity to about 10%. You can see the result in the image below.

How to apply grunge texture on text effect

Step 9

Now, insert a metallic texture photo into the document by going to File > Place and locating it on your computer. I've used the Metallic Texture Background photo. Do not scale down the photo—just drag it under the grunge texture in the Layers panel. Set the Blending mode to Soft Light and reduce the Opacity to 20%. You can see the result in the image below.

How to apply metallic texture on text effect

Step 10

Learning how to make shiny text involves applying the Outer Glow effect most of the time. While the Golden text layer stays selected, click on the fx symbol to open the entire Layer Effects window. Check the Outer Glow effect to activate it and apply the settings shown.

Even if you are using a black outer glow, it will look golden because the text is under the Gradient Map Adjustment layer.

Step 11

Let's enhance the three-dimensional appearance of our 3D gold text effect. It will make a difference.

While the Golden text group is selected in the Layers panel, click on the Layer Effects icon at the bottom. In the Layer Effects window that opens, check the 3D effect to activate it, and then apply the settings shown. Under Profile, choose the fourth profile in the list. Notice the edges of the letters changing after applying the 3D effect.

Step 12

To improve the look of the golden shiny text, you will apply the Outer Glow effect one more time. While you are still on the Golden text group, open the Layer effects window and check the Outer Glow effect to activate it. Apply the settings shown in the image below. This will create a more obvious golden glow around the text, but make sure you never overdo the glow effects.

Step 13

The cool thing about this editable gold effect is that you can adjust the look of it by moving the handles of the black to white gradient applied at the beginning. Use the Gradient Tool (G) to achieve this, and feel free to test this further and make it your own.

How to adjust golden text effect with Gradient tool

Step 14

Wondering how to edit text in Affinity Photo? This gorgeous golden metal text effect is editable so you can easily do this with the Artistic Text Tool. Double-click on the text and start typing whatever you fancy. Awesome, right?

Congratulations! You're Done

Now you know how to make a golden metal text effect in Affinity Photo. Explore all the settings and options available and create a unique text effect that's perfect for your project. Make sure to check out Envato Elements, where you'll find plenty of other resources that might inspire you to create cool text effects, from fonts to textures, graphics, and so much more. Download them ready to use.

Black and gold is a classic color combination that's bound to catch the eye, so a black leather background is definitely the perfect choice. Find it here: 10 Leather Texture Backgrounds.

Affinity Photo gold text effect on black leather texture

Want to Learn More About Affinity Photo?

Did you like this tutorial and now you want to learn more? We have loads of tutorials on Envato Tuts+ that teach many other useful techniques. Here is a list of tutorials specially made for you. Take a look!