Simple *Round* Glass Buttons

[cjmcguinness]

This tutorial is available as a PDF. Click here to view or download it

 

To complete this tutorial you will need to download and install the Drop Shadow plugin.

 

Start with an 800 x 600 (default) canvas.

 

Use the Ellipse Select tool and (holding the SHIFT key) drag a circle that has a Bounding Rectangle size of 400 x 400 pixels.

 

IMAGE > Crop to Selection

 

Set your Secondary Colour to completely transparent.

 

IMAGE > Canvas Size: Select By Percentage with a setting of 125% (ensure the Anchor is set to 'Middle')

 

You should now have a circle that is perfectly centred on your canvas.

 

Set your Primary Colour to Dark Green - I used Hex: 00660A - and your Secondary Colour to White.

 

Use the Magic Wand tool to select your white circle and use the Gradient tool, set on Radial, and use the right-mouse button to draw a gradient starting about 1/3 from the bottom of the circle up to the top.

 

Duplicate the Background layer twice. Call the top layer 'Top' and the middle layer 'Middle'.

 

Start with the 'Top' layer and choose the Move Selection tool (your circle should still be selected) and grab the top of your circle selection and begin dragging down until the height of the ellipse is 350px.

 

Press Delete.

 

Go to the 'Middle' Layer and us the Magic Wand to select the area outside the circle and CTRL+I to invert selection.

 

Choose the Move Selection tool again and grab the top of the circle and drag down until the height of the ellipse is 250px. Delete.

 

Go back to the 'Top' layer and EFFECTS > NOISE > Median: Radius 10, Percentile 0.

 

Use the Magic Wand to select the outside area and CTRL+I to invert.

 

Set your Primary Colour to White and Secondary Colour to Dark Grey.

 

Fill the crescent White. Press CTRL+D to deselect then EFFECTS > BLURS > Radial Blur: Amount 2.

 

Go to the 'Middle' layer and EFFECTS > NOISE > Median: Radius 10, Percentile 0.

 

Use the Magic Wand to select the outside area and CTRL+I to invert.

 

Choose the Gradient Tool and set it to Linear and draw a gradient (left-click) from the top of the crescent to the bottom.

 

CRTL+D to deselect then EFFECTS > BLURS > Radial Blur: Amount 2.

 

At this point select the the Background Layer and EFFECTS > BLURS > Radial Blur: Amount 2.

 

On the 'Top' layer set the blending mode to Screen and adjust the Opacity to 100 (F4 to access Layer Properties).

 

Repeat this on the 'Middle' layer.

 

Create a new layer and call it 'Control'. Move the 'Control' layer down to above the background and below the 'Middle' layers.

 

This is where you are going to put the text or image that relates to your button.

 

I am going to make this a 'Refresh' button and will be using the "Webdings" font - letter 'q'.

 

Select the Text tool and change the font to 'Webdings'. Increase the font size to 200 (you can do this by typing directly into the font size control).

 

Click onto your image and type the letter 'q'. This should give you a 'Refresh' symbol. Use the control arrow to position the symbol in the centre of your button.

 

EFFECTS > Drop Shadow: Offset-X 0, Offset-y 10, Blur Radius 10.

 

Flatten the image and EFFECTS > Drop Shadow: same settings again.

This tutorial is also available in my Googlepages

 

[Yata]

10/10 tut, now I know how they make the browser skins for FF

[Picc84]

Wow! Really cool! They look great! maybe if you use a gradient from the top color to the bottom color in the same place (same exact place as the current highlights) it may look better.

[barkbark00]

I think this could get sticky'd.

This is perfect for people just starting out with PDN, and the results are pretty darn good.

[FireFly]

They are very good buttons. I shall have to try this out some time. Also, I like the green theme you've got going.

[MadJik]

Nice tut...

You should precise if the radial blur on top and mid layer are done within the selection or if we have to unselect.

And at some point in the tut you should do a radial blur as well on the background layer.

Thanks.

[Squ1rrel]

WOW thats nice! ~> sticky'd

[cjmcguinness]

Nice tut...

You should precise if the radial blur on top and mid layer are done within the selection or if we have to unselect.

And at some point in the tut you should do a radial blur as well on the background layer.

Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback. I have updated the original post with the instructions to deselect on the 'Top' and 'Middle' layers before each Radial Blur.

[six]

Yet another great tutorial from cjmcguinness.

If there was a rating system, you would have a Winner.

[Eraesr]

Very nice buttons.

Reminds me a bit of the large buttons in the Nintendo Wii Internet Channel:

[Bob]

Adding "like the Wii ones" in the title of this topic will boost your views

[Squ1rrel]

is it normal that after pressing "delete" everything on that layer is gone? :? :?

edit: oh ive got it

[barkbark00]

Adding "like the Wii ones" in the title of this topic will boost your views

They are only similar, and the "Wii ones" are way simpler. These really do look more like some of the firefox theme's buttons...

[Nicke]

happy with it gonna make new with other colors next time

this Tut should get Sticky:ed coz its so Cool and Easy to do :O even i made right at first try and im so new to this programm ;D

[Yata]

When you said to IMAGE > Canvas Size: Select By Percentage with a setting of 125%

You should now have a circle that is perfectly centred on your canvas. Mine dose not turn out that way, it turns out like so:

I set the % as so:

Don't know what I'm doing wroung

Also, my try turned out like this, which is another problem.

Any help?

[cjmcguinness]

When you said to IMAGE > Canvas Size: Select By Percentage with a setting of 125%

You should now have a circle that is perfectly centred on your canvas. Mine dose not turn out that way, it turns out like so:]

I set the % as so:

Don't know what I'm doing wroung

Any help?

On your Canvas Size dialog there is a setting at the bottom called 'Anchor'.

Yours is set to 'Top Left', hence your image is anchored to the top left corner.

Change the anchor position to 'Middle' and your circle will be centred on the canvas.

[usedHONDA]

So who can we thank for stickying this tut?

[Yata]

Yes, thanks, didn't notice that, could you place that in the first post? Top left is default if you never changed it before.

[cjmcguinness]

Yes, thanks, didn't notice that, could you place that in the first post? Top left is default if you never changed it before.

Yata,

Thanks for pointing this out. I have updated the original post accordingly.

[six]

My internet died yesterday.

Winner!

My result:

And while I'm here:

Background [1024x768]

Symbol [1024x768]

[Down]

That's very nice Six.

^

[six]

Tile Reflection?

Looks pretty epic because there's not much detail loss.

[Down]

Yeah, it really messed up the text...But in a good way!

[Caliph]

Ok, I tried your tutorial, and I had a few problems.

When you said to make the circle exactly 400 Pixels, for my screen, it was the size of my fingernail or less.

So I made it as big as your picture on the tutorial. Another thing, for the TEXT, I could not find "Drop Shadow" under the "Effects" Tab. Any help?

On my first try, this is what I came out with.

[cjmcguinness]

Ok, I tried your tutorial, and I had a few problems.

When you said to make the circle exactly 400 Pixels, for my screen, it was the size of my fingernail or less.

Caliph,

Have you tried adjusting the zoom level?

If you set this to 'Window' whatever your canvas size it'll comfortably fit into your screen at a size you can work with.