How to make a Glitter Texture in Photoshop

Updated in November 2017 for Adobe Photoshop CC.

Adding glitter to my designs has never been easier since I learned how to make it using Photoshop. Before that, I used glitter textures offered by other designers and photographers. Here’s how you can make a glitter texture in Photoshop from scratch using filters and also learn how to add glitter to text.

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How to create a glitter texture in Photoshop

Open a new document. I’m using a square canvas that’s 800x800px at 72ppi in RGB color mode. This type of texture looks good on screen, but it doesn’t work that well when it’s printed. Make sure the background content is set to white.

Double-click on the background layer to unlock it.

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Add Uniform noise and move the slider to around 50%. Check the box next to Monochromatic to create gray glitter. Click OK to add the noise.

The next step is to crystallize the noise. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Crystallize. I usually use a small Cell Count of 5 or 6. You can use a different size if you have a larger canvas or want to have large glitter.

This looks more like glitter, but we have a few steps left. Go to the Layers panel (Window > Layers), right-click on the background layer, and duplicate it. Change the blending mode to Multiply.

Then go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° CW (or rotate 180° if you don’t have a square canvas).

Duplicate the last layer and rotate it again. This will darken the texture and make it look like real glitter.

Select the 3 layers, right-click on them, and choose Merge from the menu.

How to make a seamless glitter texture in Photoshop

If you want to make a seamless texture, go to Filter > Other > Offset. Make sure Wrap > Around is selected, and enter half the width of your canvas in the horizontal box, and half the height of the canvas in the vertical box. Click OK to save.

If you zoom in, you might see very thin lines in the middle of the canvas. They aren’t easy to spot because of the texture, but it’s better to remove them.

You can remove them using the Clone Stamp tool. Select the Clone Stamp tool, use a small brush (mine is set to 40px) and set the hardness to 90%. Hold down the Alt or Option key to copy an area of glitter that doesn’t have lines, then click on the lines to cover them. Do this until there are no lines left.

To save your texture, go to Edit > Define Pattern and give your texture a new name. You can use it with the Fill tool or add it to a new layer by going to Edit > Fill.

How to recolor your glitter texture

You can use this silver glitter texture to create hundreds of new textures. All you have to do is recolor it.

Go to the Layers panel and add a new Solid Color adjustment layer. Use the color picker to select a new color or enter the hex code of the color you want. The gold I use is #b3984e.

Change the blending mode of the solid color layer to Color Burn.

If you want to change the color again, you can double-click on the solid color layer and pick a new color.

How to add glitter to text

The easiest way to add glitter to text or any other shape is by using a clipping mask.

When you are happy with the color, merge the two layers.

Use the Type tool to enter your text. Add the glitter texture layer above the type layer, then go to Layer > Create Clipping Mask.

Please let me know if you have any questions!