What is a Rainbow?
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc.
Usually when the sun is shining and it is raining at the same time, you can see a rainbow. The rainbow is a huge arch of colours in the sky. The number of rainbow colors is seven. These seven colors are: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
![Cartoon Rainbow](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/cartoon-rainbow-in-photoshop.jpg)
In this tutorial you will learn how to draw a rainbow in just a few steps. You can also download the gradient pattern images for free. And, finally, I will show you how to create a rainbow text really quick and easy.
How to Draw a Rainbow in Photoshop
Create a new PSD file, size 1750x230 px. Create a new layer called Rainbow and fill it with color white.
When making layout designs you can use a grid. Press Control+' to show grid. The Photoshop Grid helps you to align your design elements.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut01.jpg)
Add a Gradient Overlay to the Rainbow layer.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut02.jpg)
We have to add the seven rainbow colors in equal parts like shown in the preview. The colors are violet(#ea3bec), indigo(#8737ff), blue(#008aff), green(#48ff00), yellow(#fff600), orange(#ff9600) and red(#ff3c00).
![Rainbow Gradient](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/rainbow-gradient.jpg)
Right click on the Rainbow layer and choose Conver to Smart Object.
We will create a new PSD document called "Cartoon Rainbow". Create the Background Sky layer and fill it with color #22d8e8 .
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut1.jpg)
Duplicate the Rainbow layer in this new PSD file.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut2.jpg)
Go to Edit > Transform > Warp and choose Arch with Bend 50.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut3.jpg)
Press Control-T to Scale the object to Horizontal scale: 23% and Vertical Scale: 35%.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut4.jpg)
Add a Stroke layer style to the Rainbow layer.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut5.jpg)
If you want to make the cartoon rainbow background look more cute you can add these cartoon cloud shapes to your image. Add the cloud shapes in a new layer using the Custom Shape Tool.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut6.jpg)
Use color white for the clouds and add this layer style: Inner Shadow color #37b8d8 and Outer Glow color #03656e.
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut7.jpg)
![](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/tut8.jpg)
You can add other shapes like star shapes for example or hear shapes to make it look like a cartoon.
![Cartoon Rainbow](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/cartoon-rainbow-in-photoshop.jpg)
You can also create a cartoon rainbow like this using seven circle shapes filled with the rainbow colors.
![Cartoon Rainbow](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/cartoon-rainbow.jpg)
You can download the high quality rainbow background for free here.
Rainbow Pattern
If you are looking for a rainbow pattern you can use the images below. This is a seamless texture so you can use it as website background and also as Photoshop pattern.
Open the rainbow pattern in Photoshop. Go to Edit > Define Pattern to save the rainbow pattern in your list of patterns. Now you can create a rainbow background using the rainbow patterns.
![Rainbow Pattern](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/rainbow-pattern.jpg)
![Rainbow Pattern Vertical](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/rainbow-pattern-1.jpg)
Rainbow Text
To create an awesome rainbow text you can use the rainbow pattern or the rainbow gradient. Add a layer style to the text layer. Use Pattern Overlay or Gradient Overlay.
![Rainbow Text](/tutorials/creating-a-cartoon-rainbow/rainbow-text.jpg)
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