Today I have another new title tip in the ongoing titles saga 😉 Okay, so maybe not all that new. Bi-color titles have been around for a while. Though, I do have to admit that I don’t see as many of them as in years past.

So, I am a bit excited to reintroduce you to a fun way to add some extra interest to a title simply by splitting the color. And I don’t mean using different colors for different words!

I think this fun technique will give your artistry a boost and help you think about a different way to make your title a bit more unique.

Note: The featured image at the top of this post was created using “Nature’s Beauty” by Heartstrings Scrap Art.

Color Split

There are actually multiple ways to achieve the color split look. The real trick is that no matter which method you choose, they all require perfect centering.

With that said, this time I will come right out and say DO NOT attempt this technique on an actual layout. It really is best to start with a separate 12×12 file (or whatever size will adequately accommodate the title). For me 12×12 is my “go to” size as it gives me plenty of room and I can make my title fairly large. I can always re-size things if it’s too large when I move it to my layout.

And as I always mention, I use Photoshop Elements (PSE) 2024. If you use a different version, some of my screen shots may not look the same as what you see on your screen.

I’m going to show you the three methods I’ve found to be the most useful; Clipping Method, Layer Mask Method and Gradient Method.

I know, I know. You’re questioning how a gradient will produce the clean line between the colors that you see in the featured image at the top of this post. Trust me…it’s a “trick” a lot of people don’t know about!

Clipping Method

This is by far the easiest method I’ve found to split a word’s color cleanly in half. The thing that takes the most time is just getting the workspace set up. Remember…all of these methods involve use of centering techniques!

Good thing is, the setup is almost identical for all three methods. So let’s get the workspace ready…

Method Set Up

Based on what I said earlier about working in a separate workspace, I’ve created a new 12×12 file with a white base (Layer 1). I ensure that my Foreground/Background color chips are set to the defaults (press D).

Given that all of the methods will require perfect centering, the very next thing I’m going to do is set up my Guides. If you read my “Journal Frames” post earlier this year, then you already know how to set those up. But I’ll run through it very quickly here.

I go to the top tool bar and select View->New Guide. Since this is a 12×12 file all I have to do is set both the Horizontal and Vertical Orientation to 6 inches:

Where these guides intersect is the exact center of my document! These guides are going to be very important in every method.

Note: I have my Guide color currently set to a deep aqua color (#1c7676). If you’re following along your Guide color may be different which is fine.

I’m going to be using a font from the Futura Now Headline family. If you’re following along feel free to use a similar bold, sans serif font.

I get the Horizontal Type tool:

I then set the font to Futura Now Headline Extra Bold. The Color defaulted to black because my Foreground color chip is set to the default. I set the Size to 220, the Leading to Auto and the Tracking to zero and click on the Center Text icon.

I then click once in the middle of the document to place the cursor and type the word COLOR in all uppercase. I click the check mark to confirm:

Even though I thought I had my cursor near the center, clearly the word COLOR is not centered on the document.

This is very easy to fix. I just go to the Layers Panel and activate both the white layer (Layer 1) and the text layer (COLOR). With both of these layers active I then select the Move tool.

In the Move Tool options I click on the Align Center icon, and then click on the Align Middle icon:

PSE then perfectly centers the word on the document:

Making The Split

Now, I go to the Layers Panel and deselect the white layer (Layer 1) making only the text layer active. I want the top half of the word to be a vibrant pink so I set my Foreground color chip to #ec008c. Then I select the Rectangular Tool (a shape tool not the Marquee tool):

The color is already set to my desired pink. I select Unconstrained for the geometry option and ensure that From Center and Snap are both unchecked. Then on the document I just drag out a rectangle that covers the top half of the word ensuring the bottom of the rectangle is perfectly aligned with the horizontal guide:

Note: It’s a good idea to zoom in fairly close on the word to be sure the bottom of the rectangle is exactly on the horizontal guide, not above or below it.

The pink rectangle (Shape 1 for me) is now the active layer and should be directly above the text layer in the Layers Panel. Now, all I have to do is clip that rectangle to the text layer and my word is now bi-color:

Generally speaking, I always link a clipped layer (the pink rectangle) with whatever layer is beneath (in this case, the text). This is very important if there’s a chance of moving the underlying layer to a different location.

But in this case, it’s almost doubly important because of the color split. So, I definitely link these two layers together in the Layers Panel 😊

So, how simple was that?!?

Now, if this was a “real” title for a layout I could do one of two things here. I can either crop the file to size, hide the guide lines (View-> uncheck Guides) and the white background then save the word as a PNG file. Or I could simply link the rectangle with the text and drag both layers onto an existing layout.

Just an extra pointer for you. Before I drag (copy) layers to another file, I always “cut” clipped layers to only the size required to cover the text/shape to which it is clipped. You can read more about this in my “Learning New Tricks” post from back in August of 2023.

BUT if you’re following along, hold off on doing this until after you see another fun twist when I discuss the Gradient Method.

Basically, in this particular case, here’s what I would do. With the pink rectangle active in the Layers Panel, I Ctrl+Click on the text layer’s thumbnail in the Layers Panel to make a selection around the text.

Ensuring that the pink rectangle is still active, I then click the “Add layer mask” icon in the Layers Panel. Next, I right click on the pink rectangle’s thumbnail and select “Simplify Layer”. Now the Layers Panel looks like this:

That big pink rectangle is gone, just the pink top half of the word is shown!

Note: You certainly don’t have to do that extra step. It’s just a habit of mine (yeah…it’s that OCD, Type A personality again 😊). For me, it’s all about keeping things tidy and the file size as small as possible. But it is totally optional!

Now, let’s take a look at the Layer Mask Method…

Layer Mask Method

This method is similar to the clipping method but uses more precise measurements. And I’ve already completed the same “Method Set Up” that I used above for the clipping method. Except this time, I set the color of my font to a nice royal blue (#1400ad):

For this option, I’m going to change my Foreground color chip to a bright red (#ff0305). Now, I’m going to ensure that my text layer (COLOR) is active.

Then I click on the Create a new fill or adjustment layer icon (looks like a circle that is half white and half black) in the Layers Panel and choose Solid Color.

PSE displays the Color Picker dialog box and I just click OK (the red color was already selected). PSE creates the solid red fill layer (Color Fill 1) and I clip this layer to my text:

Now, I select the Rectangular Marque tool:

I click on the New Selection icon, set Feather to zero, the Aspect to Fixed Size, the width (W) to 12 inches and the height (H) to 4 inches.

Note: If you’re using a different sized word than mine, feel free to create a selection rectangle that covers the top half of your word simply by using an Aspect set to Normal (no height or width measurement required).

As soon as I click on the document the selection box is displayed:

I want the top half of the word to remain blue. So, all I have to do is click and drag the selection upward until the bottom of the selection box is perfectly aligned with the horizontal guide:

I zoomed in really close so I could ensure that the marching ants appear to have replaced the horizontal guide.

If I wanted the bottom half of the word to remain blue I would have positioned the top of the selection box so it was perfectly aligned with the horizontal guide.

Now, in the Layers Panel I click on the layer mask of the solid fill layer to activate the mask.

Note: If your solid fill layer does not have a layer mask, click on the Add layer mask icon in the Layers Panel.

I reset my Foreground/Background color chips to the defaults (press D). I then press Alt+Backspace and PSE fills the selection within the layer mask with black. And this is what my layer mask looks like in the Layers Panel:

Remember, when using a layer mask white reveals and black conceals. So that means at this point the top half of the red fill over my word should be hidden. I cancel the selection (Ctrl+D or Esc) and here’s the bi-color word:

Again, I will link the solid fill layer with the text layer. As I said earlier, this is particularly important because of the color split.

Are these results any different from what I accomplished in the clipping method? Other than the colors…no difference at all. Did it take longer? In my opinion that’s a resounding YES!

To me this seems a lot more complicated than just creating a rectangular shape that covers either the top or bottom half of the word and clipping that rectangle to the text layer.

Is there a distinct advantage to using this method…none that comes to mind immediately. Sure, I can easily go in and change the color of the solid fill. But I can equally as easily change the color of the rectangle in the clipping method.

You can play with both methods and let me know what you think 😉

And you have the same “cutting” clipped layers, save as PNG or move layers to layout options I discussed above.

I still need to show you the Gradient Method. But this post is starting to get waaaaaaaaay longer than I anticipated. And the Gradient Method does have a lot more steps. So, rather than turning this into another in a string of long posts I’m going to save that method for next week.

Between now and then I hope you’ll play around with this technique in anticipation of the next method. A little hint here…the Gradient Method is my favorite 😉

More Tips

This is another technique that works best with heavier (wider) serif or sans serif fonts. Fonts that may fall into the “block type” category.

I do not believe this technique is well suited for script fonts. One, we generally don’t want our script words to be in all uppercase. So, executing a “split” with lowercase letters tends to just look “off”…if you know what I mean.

Script letters usually have no gaps between them (other than perhaps between the first and second letter). This could lead to the “connecting” points remaining a single color. Perhaps not a bad thing but it still may look odd.

You can certainly experiment with scrip fonts if you’d like. If you do, I’d recommend using a fairly chunky script font like “Chunky Retro“.

I highly recommend that you only “cut” clipped layers to just the size required if you are 100% positive you won’t need the full-sized version for anything else.

It’s always a good idea to link any clipped layers to the object to which it is clipped. Otherwise in this case, you could move the text and lose the color split

Thanks for reading this week’s Tuesday Tip. Remember, if you have any suggestions or questions please don’t hesitate to “Message Me“. Check back next week for the Gradient Color Split. Click “Follow Me” to stay in touch. I hope you have a wonderful week!