How to Create Glitch Effects in Photoshop
Photoshop lets you create scores of effects on your photos and images. The glitch effect is one of them and it’s one of the most creative effects you can create on your images and text. By applying this effect, you can display your image or text with distortion.
The cool thing about this effect is that it gives you the impression that your image had a glitch or distortion while it was being processed. And the best part is that your viewers will be drawn in with the aesthetic of the glitch effect.
Suggested Article– Photoshop Actions for Creating Drawing Effects.
How to Create Glitch Effects in Photoshop
You can create glitch effects with dozens of tools. But Photoshop outperforms all these tools to create a glitch effect. You can create glitch effects with Photoshop effortlessly.
1. Open Photoshop and Create a New Document
Right at the get-go, open your latest Photoshop version and create a new document. Make sure to set your document parameters correctly, especially, your “Color Mode” should be set to RGB Color and Background Contents to Black.
2. Write down Text or Choose an Image and Set its Parameters
You can create glitch effects on both text and other images. Here, we will create glitch effects on text. Before you create text, unlock your background layer.
Then, select “Horizontal Type Tool” and type your text. Set your font, font size, and text color from the “Options” bar above.
3. Convert the Text Layer into Smart Object
Now, right-click the text layer and select “Convert to Smart Object” from the menu to convert the layer into a smart object.
4. Set the Layer’s Channel Colors
Now, double-click the layer which will open a window showing various options and parameters. Move to the “Advanced Blending” section and uncheck green and blue colors.
5. Duplicate the Layer and Set its Channel Colors
Now, press Ctrl + J to duplicate the layer. After that, double-click the duplicate layer that will open a window showing options and parameters like before. Move to the “Advanced Blending” section and uncheck the red color.
6. Activate the Move Tool
Now, navigate to the toolbar and select the Move tool from there. You can also press “V” as a keyboard shortcut to activate the Move tool. Now, press and hold the “Shift” key and move the duplicate layer slightly to the right.
Then, select both the layers on the Layers panel by holding the “Shift” key and convert them to a smart object like before.
7. Activate the Rectangular Marquee Tool
Now, move to the toolbar again and select the “Rectangular Marquee Tool” from there. After that, draw 4 rectangular selections on the text horizontally from the left to the right. Make sure to hold the “Shift” key after drawing the first selection to draw the next 3.
8. Create a Layer Mask and Duplicate the Layer
After that, move to the Layers panel and click the Layer Mask icon to add a mask to the layer. Then, hit Ctrl + J to duplicate the layer.
9. Inverse the Layer Mask
Once you are done duplicating the layer, select the mask on the duplicate layer and revert it by pressing Ctrl + I. Your text appearance will change thereafter.
10. Activate the Move Tool Again
Now, go ahead and select the Move tool again. Hold the “Shift” key move the layer towards the left slightly. After that, select both layers by holding the “Shift” key and convert them to a smart object.
11. Apply Filter on the Layer
At this point, move to the “Filter” tab and select “Distort” followed by “Wave” to apply the filter on the layer.
Make sure to keep the Vertical Scale to 1% on the Wave window and hit the “Ok” button.
12. Duplicate the Filter and Apply Filter Again
Press Ctrl + J and duplicate the layer. Move to the “Filter” tab and select “Pixelate” followed by Mezzotint to apply the filter on the layer.
Make sure to keep the “Type” to Short Lines on the Mezzotint window. Then, hit the “Ok” button.
13. Apply Filter on the Bottom Layer Again
Again, move to the “Filter” tab and then, select “Blur” followed by “Motion Blur” to apply the filter on the layer.
A window will pop up where keep Angle to 0 and the Distance less than 50. Then, click the “Ok” button.
14. Convert Both Layers to Smart Object, Duplicate it, and Apply Filter Again
Once again, you have to convert both the layers into a smart object and then, duplicate the layer in the same way as shown before. After that, apply the filter again by selecting “Blur” followed by “Motion Blur” from the Filter tab.
A window will show up instantly where keep Angle to 0 and Distance less than 50. Then, click the “Ok” button.
15. Select “Multiply” from the Blending Mode
Now, click the Blending Mode on the Layers panel and select “Multiply” from the menu to create a final glitch effect on your text.
16. Final Output
With that, your final output will show up on the canvas with an amazing glitch effect.
This is how you can create a glitch effect on text or any other image. Hope that you found the tutorial easy to learn and that it will come in handy for you in your Photoshop projects.
