"Chiseled" Effect WITHOUT Using Fonts

**gwpriester** · 13 October 2014, 12:35 PM

The trick with a bevel is to adjust the Light Angle. By default when you apply a bevel the light angle is set for left center. To give the impression of a recessed shape or text the light angle needs to be pointing downwards.

**angelize** · 14 October 2014, 05:30 AM

If you are wanting to chisel a design out of a background and easy way to do it freehand is to apply a bevel to your background as has been described here already and then use the eraser tool on the background and you can carve out your design.

**puw** · 14 December 2014, 12:36 PM

The trick with a bevel is to adjust the Light Angle. By default when you apply a bevel the light angle is set for left center. To give the impression of a recessed shape or text the light angle needs to be pointing downwards.

Hi Gary - is this a 'solid' rule of thumb (and can I ask why please to understand more), or if your light source is from another angle, follow the light source for the shadow side/s?

I use the bevel tool for non-text uses all the time, creating hills, mountains, valleys, cliffs

Do you have any basic snapshots of these please?

I just made an odd shaped triangle and kept driving the points inwards, allowing me to see the beginnings of a mountain.

@ Angelize

use the eraser tool

I began to apply the eraser to the bevelled mountain shape and began to get some potentially great effects running up the mountainside (the bevel), from cutting in at the bottom with the eraser. Thanks, would never have found/thought of trying.

**gwpriester** · 14 December 2014, 12:54 PM

Hi Gary - is this a 'solid' rule of thumb (and can I ask why please to understand more), or if your light source is from another angle, follow the light source for the shadow side/s?

Probably more an observation. Light generally comes from overhead or from the side. So when you use this with a bevel, you provide a visual cue which logically seems to the viewer that the object is raised off the surface.

**puw** · 14 December 2014, 01:35 PM

Thank you, makes perfect sense

(ps - not a single pm made yet!!)

**gwpriester** · 15 December 2014, 12:14 AM

Well, at least you can send one now, should the urge strike.

**Egg Bramhill** · 15 December 2014, 04:51 AM

Never really been able to create a satisfactory chiselled effect. Bevels work so far but never seem to quite make the grade. I think the problem is I look to close at the chiselled effect at to large a zoom which is of course something you don't normally do.

Anyway here's my best effort so far.