Glossy Icons
Level:  Info: In these days it’s all about glossy stuff. Apple was first to introduce their glossy aqua style, and ever since then all designers try to follow that cool and good looking style. This tutorial will show you the simplest method of creating glossy icons, thath have circle/orb style or shape. |
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:: Step 1. Create a document of any size you want, an choose white as background color of that document. We will start with document sized 400×400 px. Create a new layer now, by pressing CTRL+Shift+N. Choose Elyptical Marquee Tool, (see image 1.) and create circle (not elypse) in center of your document. While you draw circle hold Shift to get proportional circle. Press "D" to reset foreground and background color. Now choose the Paint Bucket tool and fill the selection with black color.  Image 1. :: Step 2. Press Ctrl+D to deselect selection. Doubleclick on "Layer 1" in Layers palette, and choose Drop and Shadow under Styles. Enter the options as shown on image 2.  Image 2. Click on OK, and while "Layer 1" is still selected press Ctrl+J to duplicate it. Double click "Layer 1 copy" and click on Gradient Overlay. (also make sure to deselect Drop shadow if it’s selected on this layer copy)… For Gradient overlay enter the settings as shown on image 3.  Image 3. :: Step 3. Your image should look like this now:  Image 4. Hold Ctrl on your keyboard and click on "Layer 1". The sellection will appear around the circle. Now go to menu Select -> Modify -> Contract. Under contract menu enter 4-8 pixels (experiment here, size depends on document size you created) We entered 6 pixels in this tutorial example… You will notice that selection was contracted inside for specified number of pixels. Now press Ctrl+Shift+N to create another new layer. Move that layer on top of all others if it isn’t already there. Fill that selection with whatever color you like, in this example we filled it with color #00366f. :: Step 4. Again hold Ctrl, and click on that last newly created layer (Layer 2). Again go to menu Select -> Modify -> Contract. Now enter 3 pixels in contract menu. Press Ctrl+Shift+N and create another new layer on top of all other layers. Your document should look like shown on image 5.  Image 5. Choose gradient style as shown on image 6.  Image 6. Now choose Gradient Tool (G), and press "D", and then "X" to reset colors in your color palette to black and white as default. Choose options for gradient tool as shown on image 7.  Image 7. :: Step 5. Start applying gradient tool on selection of Layer 3 as follows: Hold Shift and drag from top of circle to middle, then repeat that in smaller steps, and do that from bottom of circle to center middle too, as shown on image 8.  Image 8. Press Ctrl+T and resize that Layer 3, just enter 94% under width on top menu… as shown on image 9. Press enter, and press Ctrl+D. |
July 10th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
awesome tutorial man! well done, keep them up comming!
November 9th, 2006 at 1:59 am
Nicley done man!
November 20th, 2006 at 3:59 am
Hey, cool tutorial…
But I could not figure out the last step… Any ideas? I could not get that exposure effect as told above using the dodge tool. Could someone help me out with the last step plz…
November 20th, 2006 at 9:15 am
Praveen Premchandran: Can you tell me which Photoshop do you have? what version? Is it CS2 or older, version 6,7 or 8 maybe? Then I could help you out more…
November 20th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Its CS2
November 21st, 2006 at 10:35 am
Praveen Premchandran: Ok so it’s pretty simple. You have to choose a dodge tool, when you choose it you will see that you get options for it, on top of the Photoshop screen, here look at this animation:
http://www.freewebtown.com/finaldesign/photoshop_dodge/photoshop_dodge_tool.html
and then you have to kinda “paint” on top and bottom of circle button, and in this tutorial that should be a “layer 2″.
I hope I was helpfull, and you will keep visiting my site
November 21st, 2006 at 4:51 pm
woops, seems like I made some mistake in either the 3rd or 4th step!!!
let me try all over again, and will keep u posted…
November 30th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
thanks ….
December 7th, 2006 at 5:25 am
Good tutorial… a lot of interesting steps…
December 28th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Stuck at image 7 cant find wheres that , cant explain well on that part too bad!
2/5 overall
December 28th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
because if i press “G” it goes to paint bucket tool , u cant explain very well. not a good teacher when comes to teach someone that never used photoshop before!
December 29th, 2006 at 12:23 am
You Puto: If you could tell me do you use Photoshop version CS or above, I could help you out then.. Otherwise there is too many ways to do one thing in Photoshop; If I would like to elaborate each and every one, to do certain thing, I would loose a great amount of time.
Anyway, to get back to image 7, where you stuck, simply you must choose a gradient tool from Tools palette, you can simply get to that tool if you press G on your keyboard. Then with gradient tool on, you choose it’s options like shown on IMAGE 7. And then you kinda “paint” gradient on “Layer 3″ (you have that layer from steps before) and proceed with next steps…
p.s. Maybe it’s confusing that in step-4 you in the end (I, in my tutorial) choose gradient tool and it’s options, but then in step-5 I’m telling to start applying gradient…
March 21st, 2007 at 2:50 am
Great tutorial! Simple, easy to follow. One small thing: In Photoshop 6 pressing D then X doesn’t seem to do anything with the region selected. I figured out you wanted us to reset the colors to black and white and then make white the foreground from your images so the only thing I’d change about your instructions is making that explicit (ie: what D and X are supposed to do). Other than that…fabulous and thank you so much!
April 10th, 2007 at 8:49 am
To woodstock: thank you. Well, that is why I write on start of each tutorial, for which version of Photoshop it is. Anyway, I’m glad that people like you can find your way to complete the tutorial. I will make the change in tutorial now, as you suggested.