3D graphic elements are awesome. Many assume that you need to use something complicated like Maya or Blender if you want to make something like 3D text, but there are plenty of other more approachable systems that are just as capable of doing so.

Adobe Photoshop just so happens to be one of them. Photoshop's 3D features are slowly being phased out, but, for now, they work just fine. Here's how you can create 3D text in Photoshop for your own projects.

How to Create 3D Text in Photoshop

To begin, open up Photoshop. Use the Text tool to create a text field on your canvas. Add a test word in the font and color of your choosing. You don't need to rasterize it; in fact, if you neglect to do so, you'll actually be able to edit your text with effects applied after.

An ordinary text layer in Photoshop.

If the 3D panel is not already docked into the Layers and Channels panel group, use the Window dropdown and select 3D from the list of panels to enable it. The 3D panel offers a few options in regard to your text layer.

Creating a 3D extrusion in Photoshop.

Use Selected Layer(s) as your 3D object source. We're going to perform a simple extrusion; you can see that we have 3D Extrusion selected accordingly.

After hitting the Create button, you should be able to see your extrusion on the canvas.

A new 3D text layer in Photoshop.

Well, it's certainly something, but it's not exactly what we had in mind.

At the top, next to 3D Mode, you'll find a few controls to help you examine and work with your 3D text layer; you can Rotate, Roll, Drag, Slide, and Scale the 3D object using these tools.

Your camera controls can be found in the lower left-hand corner of the canvas panel, right next to the toolbar. You have three options here: you can Orbit the camera around your subject, Pan the camera to and from, and Dolly the camera in and out of the "scene".

Let's try to make this 3D text extrusion a little less…boring. Right-clicking on the canvas area reveals a huge menu full of other options. We're not going to delve too deeply into things such as lighting for now—instead, we'll turn our attention to some of these other, more object-centric settings.

Related: How to Create 3D Buttons in Photoshop

The Presets dropdown is one tool that gives you a lot of control over your 3D text layer. Unlit Texture, for example, gives us this cool, graphic sort of look.

The Unlit Texture preset in Photoshop.

Wireframe gives us a wireframe rendering of the 3D text.

The Wireframe preset in Photoshop.

The Normals preset, admittedly, did not give us what we were expecting. It is, however, the most visually stunning of the bunch. We're going to let it fly for now.

The Normals preset in Photoshop.

Right-clicking on the 3D object itself prompts a different menu—the tabs at the top all correspond to Materials, Mesh, Deform, Cap, and Coordinates.

The Deform tab in the 3D object's context menu.

Arguably, the most useful among these for beginners will be the Deform tab. Here, you'll find a couple of sliders that let you Twist or Taper the tail of the extrusion, as well as a couple of angle and offset controls for the extrusion itself.

Adding a twist to a 3D text layer in Photoshop.

It's a bold look, and there's a lot of directions that we could take this design in. Plunk around, do some exploring, and see what you can come up with from here. We've just barely scratched the surface.

Related: How to Use Photoshop and After Effects to Create Animated Graphics

Pushing Text to the Limit

In our post-pandemic, vaporwave world, people want to be dazzled by visual presentations. If you're a graphic designer looking to shake things up, 3D text effects can be used to create engaging, lively layouts that speak volumes.

This is only one extremely simple example of what you can do with this neat little tool in Photoshop. 3D text is charming, attention-grabbing, and a great way to highlight something important.