PS Tutorial: 3D Ice Block Text Effect

Ice gets its look from translucency and fractures. Here 3D extrusion supplies the thickness, an ice texture goes over the top, Curves pull out the see-through quality, and Bevel & Emboss catches light along the crystal edges. Every value is listed, so you can follow along and land the same result.

Getting set up

1. New canvas
   Open Online PS, press Ctrl+N → set:
   • Width: 1200 px
   • Height: 800 px
   • Resolution: 72 ppi
   • Background contents: White (it gets covered later)
2. Fill with a pale blue background
   Click the foreground colour → #97b9cc (pale blue)
   Press Alt+Delete to fill the Background layer with the foreground colour.
   
3. Type your text
   Pick the Horizontal Type tool (T) from the toolbox and choose a rounder typeface in the options bar (e.g. Montserrat Rounded, Noto Sans Rounded). Set the colour to black and type your word (e.g. “ICE”).
   
4. Duplicate the type layer
   Select the type layer and press Ctrl+J to duplicate it.
   Hide the duplicate (click the eye icon).
   
5. Build the 3D text model
   With the original type layer still selected → menu 3D → New 3D Extrusion from Selected Layer.
   In the panel that appears, click the second icon (Extrude), then double-click the 3D icon in front of the text to open the Properties panel and fine-tune:
   
   • Depth (Extrude Depth): about 40‑60 px, depending on what you need
   • Rotation / perspective: use the Orbit and Pan tools to tilt the text to the angle you want.
6. Set the colour of the extruded faces
   Open the 3D panel (Window → 3D) → select the first icon (Material) → double-click the icon in front of “Extrusion Material” to bring up the material properties.
   Under Diffuse, change the colour to pale blue (e.g. #b3e5ff) and confirm.
   Close the 3D panel; you now have the basic 3D look.
   
7. Prepare the ice texture
   Make the hidden type copy visible again, press Ctrl+J a few more times (3‑4 layers is a good number), then hide all the copies for now (leave the eye icons off).
   Open your ice texture (e.g. PNG, JPG) and drag it into the main document with the Move tool (V).
   Place the texture layer above the type copy, select the texture layer and press Ctrl+Alt+G to create a clipping mask (so it only shows inside the letters).
   Adjust the texture's position and scale until it covers the text exactly.
   
8. Shadow curve — darken the ice
   Add a Curves adjustment layer (Layer → New Adjustment Layer → Curves) and double-click it to open the properties.
   Select the RGB channel and drag the lower-left point up slightly to darken (example points: 0,0 → 0.3,0.2 → 1,1; adjust the numbers to taste).
   Confirm, then press Ctrl+Alt+G to clip the curve to the type copy.
   
9. Highlight curve — bring up the gloss
   Add another Curves adjustment layer, this time lifting the RGB channel a little (example points: 0.2,0.3 → 1,0.9) so the highlights on the ice read brighter.
   Clip it to the type copy with Ctrl+Alt+G as well.
   
10. Linear gradient mask — depth across the ice
    Select the Gradient tool (G), set foreground to black → white (linear), and drag once from top to bottom across the text to build a black-to-white gradient mask.
    Now show the hidden type copy again and add a layer style to it (double-click the layer → “Blending Options”).
    
    • Bevel and Emboss: depth 5‑10 px, size 100%, soften 0‑5 px, light angle 120°, highlight colour white, shadow colour dark blue.
    • Contour: use the default curve and tick “Invert”.
    • Fill: set to 0 % (style effects only).
11. Style another type copy (more depth)
    Show another hidden type copy and repeat the Bevel and Emboss + Contour settings from the previous step, again with Fill at 0 %.
    
12. Rasterize the 3D layer
    Select the 3D text layer and right-click its thumbnail → Rasterize 3D.
    Hold Ctrl and click the layer thumbnail to load the text shape as a selection.
    
13. Make a group and a mask
    Click the group button to create a new group, drag that selection into the group, then click the mask button to add a mask to the group.
    Drag the ice texture into the group (below the mask) and set Opacity to 40 %, then hide the 3D text layer underneath.
    
14. Deepen the shadows inside the letters
    Add a Curves adjustment layer and lift the brightness slightly (move the lower-left point up a little). Load the text selection (Ctrl+click layer), add a blank layer, fill it with black using Fill (Shift+F5), then deselect (Ctrl+D).
    Give that layer a Bevel and Emboss + Contour style with Fill at 0 % for an inner shadow effect.
    
15. Paint the shadows and highlights
    
    • Add a layer, set the blending mode to Multiply (Multiply), set the foreground colour to a darker blue than the background (e.g. #557a9e), and brush lightly over the shadowed parts of the letters with a soft round brush at about 10 % opacity.
    • Add another layer with a white foreground, keep the blending mode at Normal, and paint highlights where the light falls on the letters with a soft round brush (about 15 % opacity).
16. Add small icicle details
    Use the Lasso tool to select a small icicle from your source image, copy (Ctrl+C) → paste (Ctrl+V) it onto the topmost layer.
    Use Free Transform (Ctrl+T) to match the angle and size so it sits naturally on the surface.
    If you need more, duplicate a few at different angles on separate layers for realism.
    
17. Final tweaks and shadow
    Adjust each layer's opacity, colour curves and bevel depth to suit the overall look.
    Finally add a soft drop shadow to the whole word: new layer, fill a black elliptical selection, Gaussian Blur (Filter → Blur → Gaussian Blur) about 15 px, place it under the text, offset it down 10‑15 px and set opacity to 30 %.
    

References

• Adobe Photoshop official documentation
• HTML5 and modern front-end image processing
• Online PS