 |
Finally!
The Interface tutorial you have been naging about
is here!
So roll
up those shirtsleeves and flex those PS muscles - it's Interface
time!
PS! By
clicking the small thumbnail on the left you will be able to see a big
screenshot of the interface finished!
Or just click here |
Fig. 1 |
Ok - here we
go...
This interface covers quite a few of the techniques I use
making interfaces, so it turned out pretty long, but from the
e-mails I have received from some of you that's what you want
:o)
I started out making a new file - 600 x 500 pixels big.
White background.
Create a new layer (call this Interface
body) and select the Elliptical Marquee Tool and select a circle
of your choice. Fill the selection with black. Then use the
Elliptical Marquee Tool to select a smaller circle inside the
original circle according to fig. 1 and hit the Delete key.
(The
examples are resized to 50% of the original size...).
Now
duplicate the Interface body layer and hide the
original - we are going to use the original layer
later. |
Fig. 2 |
Then use the
Elliptical Marquee Tool so select an ellipse according to fig.
2.
Start at the top and hit the Delete key to get rid of pieces
of the Interface ring. I then moved the selection 40 pixels
down for each time I hit the Delete key until my image looked
like fig. 2.
Deselect. |
Fig. 3 |
Now
select the Interface body copy layer by hitting Ctrl + left
click the layer.
Switch to Channels  and click the save selection as channel button  . Deselect.
Now go
to Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur - 4 pixels.
Then go
to Image - Adjust - Levels - and drag the arrows towards the
center until your image has nice clean edges. To have a look at my
settings click
here.
(Name
this channel Interface). |
Fig. 4 |
Go back
to the layer window and create a new layer called
Interface.
Select - Load Selection - and select
Interface body (or whatever you chose to name your channel in
step 4).
Fill
your selection with any color - I used a gray color, but it doesn't
really matter what color you use. It's going to change as soon as we
add the layer styles... |
Fig. 5 |
Now the
fun begins!
It's
layer style time!
This is actually one of the standard layer
styles that comes with Photoshop 6.
Click
here to see where to find it.
In
addition I also added a soft drop shadow. |
Fig. 6 |
Ok -
It's time to get back to the original Interface body layer
that we hid in step 1.
Activate it and select it (Ctrl + left
click).
Go to
Select - Modify - Contract - 5 pixels - OK.
Then
hit Ctrl + Shift + I to inverse the selection.
Then
hit the Delete key.
|
Fig. 7 |
Select
the layer again (Ctrl + left click);
Select - Modify - Contract - 3 pixels - OK.
Hit
the Delete key to get rid off the center of the Interface
body layer. I then added some drop shadow to the layer.
Your
image should now look like figure 7.
The
basic Interface is now ready, but it looks kind of
boring.
It's
time to add some details!
|
Fig. 8 |
Activate the Interface layer and select it.
Got to
Edit - Copy Merged. Then Edit - Paste.
Rename the
Interface copy layer and call it Interface
details.
Select
the Interface details layer and go to
Select - Modify -
Contract - 10 pixels - OK.
Inverse the selection (Ctrl +
Shift + I) and hit the Delete key. Deselect.
Select
the Rectangular Marquee Tool and make a selection similar to mine in
figure 8.
Before
you go any further add these layer styles. |
Fig. 9 |
Then hit the
Delete key to get rid of the selected area.
Then I moved the
selection about 12 pixels (use the arrow keys) for each time I hit
the Delete key until my image looked like figure 9. |
Fig. 10 |
The
Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool and make a selection similar to
mine in fig. 10.
The hit
the Delete key to get rid off the selected area. |
Fig. 11 |
I then moved the Interface details layer a few pixels
to the left (select the Move Tool and use the arrow
keys).
Your
image should now look like fig. 11. |
 |
|
