This is my first tut, so I really hope you like it!
Today we will be making the classic yellow Post-It (™, ®, etc.) note. More colors may be added soon.
END RESULT:
To do this, you'll need one plugin. That is the anti-aliasing plugin.
Getting Started
We're going to make a 200 by 200 pixel image. Create a new image with that size.
Delete the white background with the magic wand tool. (You can do a background later...)
The Outline
:LineCurveTool: To begin, draw two straight lines, one near the top, one near the right edge. Make sure these lines are colored with the hex code #FFF8D6. Try to make this as square as possible.
Check-up: You should have something like this so far (barely visible):
:LineCurveTool: Near the left edge, draw another line, but wait. Make sure that the line is slanted barely to the left. For you math geeks, it should be around 5 to 10° to the left. Then, make sure that the bottom of this line is further up than the right edge's bottom. Also, add in a very slight curve.
Check-up: You should have something kind of like this so far. I used a black background to let you see exactly where the line curves, etc.
:LineCurveTool: For the bottom edge, just connect the bottoms of the two lines, and give it a little downward curve. I don't think I should give a picture for the sake of my bandwidth, and you should have the imagination to draw it in your head. :-)
Fill'er up!
:PaintBucketTool: Fill the post-it with the same hex, first with a tolerance of 44%, then again with a tolerance of 66%. That removes any anti-aliasing, which we'll deal with later.
Check-up: You should have something like this. Still using a black background for visibility.
Don't use that tone with me!
Time to give this some more realistic tones.
Select the post-it with the magic wand.
:LinearGradient: Make a linear gradient. One hex will be #FFF8D6, then the other #FFE770. Make sure that the darker color is on top!
:AntiAliasingOn: Now let's undo our anti-antialiasing. Go to the "Antialiasing" tool (Effects>Antialiasing). Going down, the numbers should be 9, 980, then 1.
Groundhog Day (shadow time!)
:DuplicateLayer: Duplicate the layer you were working with.
:Down: Move the layer down under the post-it layer.
Set the brightness to -100.
:Delete: Delete the upper 3/4 of the shadow layer.
Move and rotate to where there is a very clear shadow under the lower-left corner.
:GaussianBlur: Gaussian Blur with a setting of at least 10. I used 13.
You'll be done write away!
Use a handwritten font (my fave is Hand of Sean) and type something....
You're done!
Thanks for reading!