WarpGuides
How to curve text in Photoshop: Warp Text and text on a path
Type > Warp Text bends a type layer into an arc, arch, flag or wave and keeps it editable; type on a path runs it round a circle. Or make it as an SVG here.
To curve text in Photoshop, select the text with the Type tool, choose Type > Warp Text, pick a style such as Arc or Arch and set the Bend. The text stays editable: you can still change the words, the font and the colour. For text running round a circle, type it on a circular path instead.
Warp Text, step by step
- Select the Horizontal Type tool (or the Vertical Type tool) and select the text you want to warp.
- Choose Type > Warp Text.
- Pick a Style: Arc, Arc Lower, Arc Upper, Arch, Bulge, Shell Lower, Shell Upper, Flag, Wave, Fish, Rise, Fisheye, Inflate, Squeeze or Twist.
- Choose Horizontal or Vertical, then drag Bend to set how strong the warp is. Horizontal Distortion and Vertical Distortion add perspective.
- Click OK.
To undo it, select the type layer, choose Type > Warp Text again and set the Style to None.
Arc or Arch?
Arc bends the whole word along a circle, like a badge or a team crest. Arch curves the baseline but keeps every letter upright and the same height, the varsity jersey look. For a shirt, Arch is usually the one; for a round logo, Arc.
Text round a circle: type on a path
Warp Text bends a word but cannot take it all the way round. For that:
- Pick the Ellipse tool, set it to Path in the options bar, and drag a circle (hold Shift to keep it round).
- Pick the Type tool and move it over the path until the pointer changes, then click and type.
- Use the Path Selection tool to slide the text along the circle, or drag it across the path to move it to the inside.
Taking it to a cutting machine or the web
Photoshop is a pixel editor, and a warped type layer is something only Photoshop draws. A Cricut, a Silhouette or a laser needs the outlines of the letters, and a website needs a file it can show.
The generator below uses the same fifteen warp names as Photoshop with the same Bend and Distortion sliders, and adds Perspective and Skew. It downloads the result as a single-path SVG sized in inches, a transparent PNG, or code for a web page. So a look you made in Photoshop is quick to remake: same style name, then Bend by eye.