Building a Button

To begin, get back into Photoshop. Then:

• Select "New" from the "File" menu. A dialog box will appear.

• Fill in the dialog box by:
  • making sure that the image resolution is 72 pixels per inch,

  • setting the image width to 1 inch and its height to 0.5 inch (or 72 and 36 pixels if you prefer), and
  • making sure that the image mode is RGB color.
  Then, click "OK".

• Now, pick a color for your button. To do this, double click on the large black square in the color control portion of the toolbox.

  

• In the middle of the dialog box that appears you will find a bar displaying a spectrum of colors from red to the top through blues to orange at the bottom. Click the mouse in this region to pick the color you would like to work with.

• Once you pick the color you like, the square to the left of the dialog will be filled with all sorts of shades of that color. Click in the box with the mouse to pick a light shade that would make a good background for text. Something near the top of the square will work best. As you do this, note that a patch of the color selected appears to the left of the "OK" button.

• Once you have a color you like, click "OK".

Photoshop provides a mechanism called "Layers" that lets you manipulate your image as if it were drawn of a series of transparent sheets of plastic. Drawing separate portions of an image on such separate layers makes it easy to manipulate one portion of an image without modifying others.

• Make a new layer to hold the background of your button by selecting "Layer..." from the "New" submenu of the PhotoShop "Layer" menu.

  In the Layers option pallete you should now have two boxes labelled "background" and "Layer 1". "Layer 1" is the new layer you just create. It is highlighted indicating that any editing you will perform will effect this layer.

• Select the paint can tool from the tool box and click in the small window for your image to fill "Layer 1" with the color you picked.

One of the advantages of using Layers is that PhotoShop provides a number of effect that you can apply to the content of a layer. We will add a frame-like border to your button using one of these effects.

• Select the "Inner Glow" item from the "Effects" submenu of the "Layers" menu.

• In the dialog box that appears, make sure that the "Apply" box is clicked, set the "Mode" to "Difference" and select "Edge" rather than "Center". Then adjust the values of the other parameters (Opacity, Blur and Intensity) to produce a dark border around your button.

• Click "OK" once you like the frame.

Save your button to the "graphics" folder in your CS bull account. Set the "Format" to "Photoshop" in the save dialog box.