How to Create a Photoshop Peeling Sticker Text Effect

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

This quick tip tutorial will teach you how to create a sticker peeling effect mockup, using simple steps to transform text into a realistic sticker effect using Adobe Photoshop. The effects used to achieve this Photoshop sticker are Smart Objects, Transform, Layer Styles, and Blending Options.

What You Will Learn in This Peeling Sticker Text Effect Tutorial

How to make a text sticker
How to transform text into a mockup
How to apply texture and create a sticker fold effect
How to add highlight and create a glossy sticker effect
How to apply realistic shadows

After you learn how to make a sticker design in Photoshop, you'll probably want to stick it on something. Placeit comes with a massive collection of custom sticker mockups. With just a few clicks, you can check how your final Photoshop sticker would look on a custom sticker mockup like this one. Bur first, let's learn how to make stickers in Photoshop.

For more inspiration on how to turn a picture into a sticker, you can find plenty of resources at Envato Elements.

Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

What You Will Need for this Photoshop Sticker Tutorial

You will need the following resources in order to learn how to make a sticker design in Photoshop:

Clean Cardboard Textures
Richson Font

1. How to Set Up the Document and the Background

Step 1

Hit Control-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, enter 850 in the width box and 600 in the height box, and then click that More Settings button. Select RGB for the Color Mode, set the Raster Effects to Screen (72 ppi), and then click that Create button. Now let's create a sticker effect in Photoshop.

Step 2

Let's add the background, and then you'll learn how to make a text sticker.

Download this set of 15 Cardboard Textures from Envato Elements, select the Clean Cardboard 1 texture, and drag it inside your document.

Focus on the control panel and set the Width to 70% and then press Enter. Now that you're set, let's learn how to make a sticker design in Photoshop.

2. How to Transform Text Into a Sticker Text Mockup

Step 1

We are going to kick off the sticker by creating a Photoshop peeling sticker text mockup.

Select the Horizontal Type Tool (T) from the toolbar and focus on the Character panel (Window > Character). Select the Richson font, set the size to 270 pt and the color to R=250 G=176 B=0, and then click on your canvas to type in the text. Now that we have some text, let's continue and learn how to make a text sticker.

Step 2

Next, to create a sticker text effect, we will need to add a Stroke to the border of the text sticker, which is common in sticker designs.

To give the text a Stroke, open the flyout menu (top right corner) from the Layers panel, and select Blending Options... or double-click the text inside the Layers panel. This will open the Layer Style window, where you can easily apply a Stroke for your text sticker.

Click the Stroke to enable it and enter the settings shown in the following image. Remember to click the color wheel and change the color to white (R=255 G=255 B=255).

Use the + button next to the existing stroke to add a second Stroke. Select it and enter the settings shown below. Don't forget to click the color wheel and change the color to R=152 G=27 B=27.

3. How to Apply a Texture & Create a Peeling Effect

Step 1

Next, we'll convert our text to a Smart Object. Focus on the Layers panel, right-click your text, and go to Convert to Smart Object.

Double-click the name of this smart object and change it to 'STICKER'.

Step 2

Now, let's slightly rotate the text sticker, so it looks a bit displaced and not so rigid.

Make sure that your 'STICKER' smart object is selected and go to Edit > Free Transform or use the Control-T keyboard shortcut. Focus on the control panel, set the rotation angle to -4 degrees, and then press Enter.

Step 3

Now that our text is set, let's learn how to make a peeling sticker effect. First, let's apply a subtle texture effect to the text sticker.

Open the Layer Style window for your 'STICKER' smart object and enable the Pattern Overlay effect.

Open the Pattern dropdown menu and look for the Legacy Patterns and More category.

If you can't find that collection of patterns, you need to open the Patterns panel (Window > Patterns), open the flyout panel from the top right corner, and go to Legacy Patterns and More. Get back to the Layer Style window, and now you should be able to find Legacy Patterns and More in your list. Open the Legacy Patterns > Color Paper subcategory and select the Beige with White Flecks pattern. Enter the rest of the settings shown in the following image, and then click OK.

4. How to Apply Realistic Shadows to the Sticker Text Effect

Step 1

Right-click your 'STICKER' smart object in the Layers panel, and select Rasterize Layer Style.

The next thing we want to do is learn how to create a peeling sticker effect in Photoshop. Grab the Polygonal Lasso Tool (L) from the toolbar and highlight a section on the bottom right of the text sticker, roughly as shown in the second image.

We will cut the selection and flip it to create a fold. Right-click on the selection and select Layer via Cut.

Once the selection is cut, a new layer with the selection will be created in the Layers panel. Select this new layer and rename it 'FOLD'.

Step 2

Next, we need to make this folded piece of the Photoshop peeling sticker effect stand out. Double-click it in the Layers panel to open the Layer Style window.

Enable the Color Overlay effect and enter the settings shown in the following image.

Step 3

Make sure that your 'FLIP' layer is still selected and go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal to simply flip the selection 180°.

Grab the Move Tool (V) from your toolbar and move the selection as shown in the second image.

Step 4

With your 'FLIP' layer still selected, press Control-T to rotate your selection. First, drag that reference point from the center of the bounding box to the corner of the flipped area, as shown in the first image, and then rotate the selection around so it appears as if it is folded over, as shown in the second image.

Step 5

We need to apply some effects to the text sticker, so that we can make a realistic peeling sticker effect.

Open the Layer Style window for your 'FOLD' layer.

Enable the Inner Shadow effect and enter the settings shown below.

Enable the Satin effect and enter the properties shown below. Don't forget to open the Contour dropdown menu and select the Half Round preset.

Disable the Color Overlay effect and enable the Gradient Overlay effect, and then enter the settings shown below.

Finally, enable the Drop Shadow effect and enter the properties shown in the following image.

5. How to Create a Realistic Sticker Peeling Effect

Moving on, let's add some realistic shadowing to the text sticker to give it a lifting effect. Open the Layer Style window for your 'STICKER' layer.

Enable the Gradient Overlay effect and enter the settings shown below.

Enable the Pattern Overlay effect and select that same Beige with White Flecks pattern, and then enter the rest of the properties shown in the following image.

Finally, enable the Drop Shadow effect, enter the attributes shown below, and that's how you create a sticker effect in Photoshop.

Now, That's an A-Peeling Sticker Effect!

I hope you enjoyed this quick mockup tutorial on how to create a peeling sticker effect using Adobe Photoshop.

In this Photoshop sticker tutorial we learned the simple steps of designing the sticker text and transforming it to make a glossy and realistic sticker peeling effect.

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, and SHARE your text stickers below.

Enjoy!

Realistic Sticker Mockups From Placeit

Now that you know how to make stickers in Photoshop, you can check how your peeling sticker looks in a realistic sticker mockup. There's no need to learn how to make a sticker mockup as Placeit is an excellent resource for realistic sticker mockups. You can find circle sticker mockups, window sticker mockups, and other custom sticker mockups.

Mockup of a Woman Holding a Bunch of Buttons in Her Hands

Now that you've learned how to create a sticker effect in Photoshop, let's see how easy it can be to apply it using a realistic sticker mockup. This circle sticker mockup gives you the opportunity to apply your Photoshop sticker on three different buttons.