Gel Button Tutorial

Step 1: Add a new layer. 

 

Step 2: Set your foreground color to light blue.

Step 3: Select the rounded rectangle tool. In your options bar  set the radius to 40 pixels.

Step 4: In the options bar, click on the third icon from the left. (fill pixels).  

Step 5: Draw your shape on your stage. 

Step 6: Apple + click on your shape layer. 

Step 7: Add a new layer

Step 8: Go under the select menu, under Modify, and choose contract enter 20 pixels. Click ok.

Step 9:Press the letter "d" then the letter "x to set your foreground to white.

Step 10: Press option + delete

Step 11: Press Apple + D

Step 12: Go under the filter menu, under blur choose gaussian blur. When dialogue bow appears, enter 10. Click OK.

Step 13: Select the move tool.

Step 14: Using the arrows on the keyboard, move your blurry white layer down to the bottom of the pill shape.

Step 15: Hold down the apple key and click on the pill layer in your layers palette.

Step 16: Press Shift+Apple+I to inverse your selection.

Step 17: Press the delete key.  

Step 18: Press Shift+Apple+I

Step 19: Create the new layer.

Step 20: Change your foreground color to a darker blue than your original blue. 

Step 21: Full your selection by pressing Option+Delete.

Step 22: Deselect by pressing Apple+D.

Step 23: Hold down the apple key and click once on the blurry layer in your layers palette. (Be sure not to change layers. You should still be on the dark blue pill layer.) 

Step 24: Press delete to knock a soft hole out of the blue pill shape. 

Step 25: Select the rectangular marquee tool. 

Step 26: Place your mouse inside the selected area and drag the selection upward a little bit. Tap the Delete Key.

Step 27: Repeat step 26 one or two more times until you're in almost to the top of the pill.(make sure to stop just short of the top)  

Step 28: Deselect by pressing Apple+D

Step 29: Apple+click on your layer to put a selection around it.

Step 30: Create a new layer

Step 31: Go under the select menu, under Modify, choose contract. Enter 20 pixels. Click OK.

Step 32: Press the letter "d" then "x" to set your foreground to white. 

Step 33: Select the gradient tool. In the options bar, click on the down facing arrow next to the gradient thumbnail. Choose the second gradient (foreground to transparent)

Step 34: Drag this gradient from the top of your selection to the bottom.

Step 35: Deselect

Step 36: Select the move tool. Using the arrows on the keyboard, move your whit gradient layer upward to where it's almost at the top , but leave a gap of dark blue between your white gradient and the top of the pill.(this creates the highlighted area of the pill).

Step 37: Press Apple+T 

Step 38: Go under the edit menu, under transform , choose perspective.

Step 39: Grab the left bottom corner, and click and-drag outward just a bit to add perspective effect.

Step 40: Press enter to let photoshop know you're done.

Step 41: hide your background layer merge visible.

Step 42: Choose drop shadow. In the dialogue box click the color swatch.

Step 43: Click on the blue section of your pill shaped to colorize the shadow.

Step 44: Lower the opacity to 50% set the angle to 90º, distance to 45, size to 32, turn off Use Global light. Click OK to complete the effect. 

Metal Button Tutorial

Step 1: Create a new layer. Draw a circular selection using the Elliptical Marquee Tool. 

Step 2: Press "d" then ". Select the gradient tool.

Step 3: In the Options bar  click on the  down-facing arrow next to the Gradient thumbnail. Choose the foreground to background gradient

Step 4: Close the picker, and in the options bar, click on radial gradient icon(its the second icon from the left.) 

Step 5: Drag the White to black gradient from the left center of your selection to about 1/4 past the edge. 

Step 6: Press "d". Create a new layer.

Step 7: In the gradient picker, choose the foreground to Transparent gradient (its the second one from the left, top row.

Step 8: In the options bar , choose the Linear Gradient (its the first one). Drag the gradient from the top of your selection to the middle to fill the top with black.

Step 9: In the layer palette, lower the opacity to 75%. 

Step 10: Create a new layer.

Step 11: GO under the seelct menu , under modify and choose  Contract. Enter 6 pixels. Click OK.

Step 12: Press "x". Drag from the top of your selection through about 1/3 of your selected area.

Press Apple + D

Step 13: Go under the Filter menu , under blur and chose Gaussian Blur. Enter 3 pixels. CLick OK.

Step 14: Duplicate your layer by dragging it to the new layers icon.

Step 15: Press Apple + T. Ctrl + click inside the bounding box, then choose Rotate 180º from the pop-up menu. Press enter to let Photoshop know your through.

Step 16: Select the move tool. Drag this layer straight down almost to the edge.

Step 17: Layer the opacity of this layer to 60º .

Step 18: Go back to layer 3 (the layer below your current layer). Press Apple + T. 

Step 19: Hold the Shift Key, grab the bottom right handle, shrink the white gradient by around 15%. Press enter.

Step 20: Hide the background layer and choose merge visible from the layers palette pop-up menu.

Step 21: Choose the drop shadow from the layer style pop-up menu at the bottom of the layers palette. Click OK.

Step 22: Press Apple + u (Hue + Saturation). Click the colorize button and move the Hue slider to choose a color for your button.

Free Write:Respectfulness

To me respectfulness means to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Now that is the golden rule , but I still thinks it can be used as the rule of respectfulness. Also I always say that if you wouldn't treat your mother the same way, then you don't need to treat others that way.  In order to receive respect, you have to give out respect. Giving out respect is not just about saying that you will do it, but acting upon it. You can easily say, well I am going to respect this person. That is one of the easiest things you can do, but then comes the hard part. Which is doing it. In others words, word sound isn't really power if you don't act upon what you say. So when you wonder why someone is treating you without respect then, you probably didn't respect someone else.

Light Burst Tutorial

Step 1: Set your foreground color to black by pressing the letter "D". 

Step 2: Type your text. Rasterize your type by going under the layer menu, under rasterize and choosing Type.

Step 3: Hold the Apple Key and in the Layers palette  click on your text layer to put a selection around it. Go under the select menu and choose Save selection Click OK.

Step 4: Deselect your type by pressing Apple + D. Switch your foregroud color to white by pressing the letter "X".

Step 5: Go under the Edit menu and choose Fill In the fill dialogue box, change the Made to Multiply and click ok. Go under the Filter menu, under Blur and choose Gaussian Blur. Enter 2.5 pixels and click ok.

Step 6: Go under the Filter menu, under Stylize and choose Solarize. Press Shift + Apple + L to run the image.

Step 7:Make a copy of your layer by prressing Apple + J.

Step 8: Go under the Filter menu under Distort, and choose Polar Coordinates In that dialogue box, choose Polar to Rectangular and click OK.

Step 9: Go under the image menu, under Rotate Canvas , and choose 90º CW. Invert your image by pressing apple + I.

Step 10: Go under the filter menu under style and choose Wind.

Step 11: when the dialogue box appears,choose WInd for method and from the Right for direction and click OK. Run this filter two more times by pressing Apple + F.

Step 12: Press Apple + I to Invert the image. Press Shift + Apple + L to run Auto levels. Press Apple + F Three times to run the wind filter. 

Step 13: Go under the image menu, under Rotate canvas, and Chose 90º ccw. Go under the filter menu, under Distort, and Choose Polar Coordinates.

Step 14: In the dialogue box, choose Rectangular to Polar. Click Ok. Change the letter Blend made from Normal to Screen.

Step 15: Create a new layer. Click on the gradient tool. Choose a gradient using the gradient the gradient picker. Click and drag to show your gradient .

 Step 16: Change the Blend Made to color and press Apple + I.

Step 17: In the layers palette click on your text layer to apply.

Step 18: Go under the filter menu, under Blur and choose Radial Blur. In the dialogue box , choose Zoom for Blur Method . Increase the amount to 66 and click Ok.

Step 19: Click on your original text layer . Go under the select menu and choose load  Selection. In the dialogue box, choose Alpha 7, click OK.

Step 20: Press the letter "D". Press Option + Delete. Deselect by pressing Apple + D.

 

 

Magic Wand Tutorial

The magic wand tool is designed to select pixels based on their color similarities. In the options bar for the magic wand is an option called tolerance. A lower value selects fewer colors similar to the pixel you click with the magic wand tool. A higher value selects a broader range of colors.

Transform Tutorial

Step 1: Select the layer that you would like to transform (scale, rotate, flip horizontal, skew perspective, flip vertical, rotate cw, rotate 180º, rotate 90º or rotate ccw

Step 2: Go to the edit menu. Choose transform then select the option you need to transform your image.

Resize Tutorial

Step 1: Open the image you would like to resize.

Step 2: Press Apple+ T. This will create a box that surrounds your entire image.

Step 3: Hold down the _Shift Key_ while dragging one of the boxes that are located at the corners of your image. Holding  the Shift Key while dragging a box will allow the image to remain proportional.

Free Write: African Proverb #1

It is better to be loved then feared.

If you're the person that is feared, then people probably are more afraid of you than they are in like with you. It is probably better to be loved because when you need help, people would want to help you. If you are feared then people might help you because they're scared that you might do something to them. Sooner or later the person that is feared will be the person that is hated. 

 If you are loved by people then you would be the one with more "true" friends and also the one who will be helped from the heart of others when you are not doing well.

I think I would fall into the category of being loved. I fall into this category because, I try to be nice to as many people as I can, and I also help many people. Sometimes when you are loved by some, you are hated by others, simply because the person that is feared may be jealous. That is okay because when you and others come from under his/her shadow they will be the ones running back to you.