5.6. Paths and Text

Figure 7.14. Text converted to a path

Text converted to a path and then transformed using the Perspective tool.

The path shown above, stroked with a fuzzy brush and then gradient-mapped using the Gradient Map filter with the “Yellow Contrast” gradient.

A text item created using the Text tool can be transformed into a path using the Path from Text command in the context menu of the Text tool. This can be useful for several purposes, including:

• Stroking the path, which gives you many possibilities for fancy text.

• More importantly, transforming the text. Converting text into a path, then transforming the path, and finally either stroking the path or converting it to a selection and filling it, often leads to much higher-quality results than rendering the text as a layer and transforming the pixel data.