Passport Stamp

In this tutorial we'll create a simple "passport-chop" or "rubber stamp" effect. I know, passports are not chopped anymore, but anyway.. Good for "approved" or "guarantee" buttons, or logo design.

Photoshop isn't the best for making curved text, however we can still get a decent effect. Let's begin..

1. New Document
Create a new 300 x 300 pixel document, with white background and black foreground.

2. Add Type
First we'll create the outer ring of type - Add a short line of type, for this example I used the boring but ever-present "Arial"

3. Warp Text
Double click the text layer, and select "Warp Text" from the font options. Set the style to Arc / Horizontal / Bend 100%. You'll end up with a curved type.

4. Duplicate and Rotate
Next, Duplicate the type layer and rotate the new layer 180 degrees - Edit->Transform->Rotate 180. Move the second layer so you have a decent circle like this:

5. Create Outer Ring
For the outer ring, First create a new layer. Check to make sure your feather selection is at 0px, and draw a circle outside the text with the Ellitical Marquee tool.

Nudge the selection to make sure its centered, and apply a border by using 5px black stroke - Edit->Stroke->5px.

6. Repeat
Draw another circle around the inside of the text using the same procedure, the result should look like:

(I used a thinner stroke for the inside circle, it's up to you).

7. Main Logo Text
Now for the main logo. Create a new layer, and either add a graphic or create some Type. This example uses the Arial-Black black font, at around 72pt. At this point you're pretty much ready to go.

8. Add Noise
To add the broken "chop" effect, we just need to add some texture. Create a new layer (make sure it's the top layer), and add some clouds by selecting Filter->Render->Clouds. Then add some noise by selecting Filter->Noise->Add Noise.

9. Change Blend Mode
Finally, select the new noise layer, and change the blending mode to "screen". This will give our passport chop some texture. That's it!