How to Create a Seal (Stamp) Effect

Step 1: Create a new canvas

Open Online PS and choose File → New.

• Width: 800 px
• Height: 800 px (adjust to taste)
• Resolution: 72 ppi (web) or 300 ppi (print)
• Background Contents: Transparent

Confirm and click Create — you get a workspace with a transparent background.

Step 2: Draw a circular selection

From the toolbox on the left, pick the Elliptical Marquee Tool (shortcut M) and make sure the mode in the options bar is set to “New selection”.

Hold Alt (Option on Mac) and drag from the centre of the canvas to draw a perfect circle. Add Shift to lock the 1:1 ratio — Alt+Shift grows the circle outward from the centre.

Step 3: Fill the selection (create the circle layer)

Click the New Layer icon in the Layers panel to add an empty layer.

Take the Paint Bucket tool (G) and choose any non-white colour (it only has to be visible; you will make it transparent later), then click inside the selection to fill it.

Name the layer “Circle base”.

Step 4: Add a stroke (the outer ring)

Double-click the circle layer to open the Layer Style dialog and choose Stroke on the left.

Click OK and the circle now carries a red stroke along its inside edge.

Step 5: Set the circle's Fill to 0% (transparent)

In the Layers panel, find the layer's Fill value and set it to 0 % — not Opacity.

All that remains is a red ring: the outer frame of the seal.

Step 6: Create the path for the text ring

In the toolbox choose the Ellipse Tool (same key as the marquee) and switch the mode in the options bar to Path — not Shape.

Hold Alt and draw a circular path from the centre of the canvas, then use Ctrl+T (⌘+T) Free Transform to match it to the outer ring, centred.

Step 7: Set up the type on the path

Pick the Horizontal Type Tool (T), move the cursor onto the circular path — it turns into the type-on-path icon — and click once.

Type the seal text, for example: SHANGHAI XX CO., LTD..

Then set the following in the options bar:

• Font: a solid serif or Hei-style face (for Chinese text: Song, Hei, Microsoft YaHei)
• Size: fit it to the path (30 pt–50 pt)
• Color: red #E60012
• Baseline Shift: 0 % (nudge it if the spacing looks tight)

Once the text flows along the path, use the Path Selection Tool (A) to nudge where the text starts.

Step 8: Draw the five-point star

Back in the toolbox, choose the Polygon Tool.

In the options bar at the top, set:

• Mode: Shape
• Sides: 5
• Star Ratio: 0.5 (adjust for sharper or blunter points)
• Star Inverted: unchecked

Hold Alt and draw the star from its centre, then use Ctrl+T to size and place it inside the ring — top or bottom, whichever you prefer.

Fill the star with the same red, and optionally add a 2 px inner stroke for a little more depth.

Step 9: Add the aging texture (black-and-white grunge)

Find a black-and-white grunge texture — search for paper texture or grunge texture, or shoot your own.

Open it in PS (File → Open), then drag the texture layer into your seal document and put it above every seal layer.

If you only want the texture inside the seal, select all the seal layers first and choose Create Clipping Mask from the right-click menu, so the texture shows only within those layers.

Step 10: Age it with the Screen blending mode

Select the texture layer and set its blending mode in the Layers panel to Screen.

Screen keeps the bright parts of the texture: white areas show up as faint speckles and black areas drop out entirely, which is exactly how an old seal wears away.

Step 11: Fine-tune the aging for realism

These tweaks bring the seal closer to a real one:

• More contrast: push the texture contrast up a little so the mottling reads clearly.
• Color Overlay: add a Color Overlay to the texture layer in deep red or dark brown to mimic aged ink.
• Layer opacity: drop the texture layer to 30 %–50 % so the colour does not jump out.
• Noise: run Filter → Noise → Add Noise on the texture layer; a little grain sells the pressed-in look.
• Reposition: nudge the texture with the Move tool (V) so the speckles fall unevenly — nothing gives a fake away faster than a perfectly centred pattern.

You should end up with something like the image below:

To export, choose File → Export As → PNG and keep the background transparent, so the seal can be dropped straight into a document or a web page.