30 January 2008

Nice Content Boxes

1. Create a new canvas

Size: 160x160,
Background: white
Resolution: 72 pixels/inch

2. Set your foreground color to #F2F2F2. Radius: 15 px

Paths (see second image below)

Exclude to overlapping areas (see image below)

3. Now drag out a rounded rectangle that takes up most of the canvas, and it should look like mine to the left (if not, make sure you have the same settings as I used above).

image 1

4. Then, go to the paths tab (windows--paths if its not already viewable) and double click on the path, giving it a name as shown to the left.

image 2

5. You will now have something like the image shown to the left.

image 3

6. Now, select the new layer on the layers tab, and double click on it to bring up the layer styles box (or select the layer and go layer--layer styles).

Next, enter the settings I have above for outer glow.

image 4

7. Now you will have something like that shown to the left, and if you like you can keep it like this, and finish the tutorial here, however, I will now show how to add a nice highlight to it.

image 5

8. Create a new layer now, and then press ctrl and click on the layer with the box on it, as shown to the left.

image 6

Next, with the selection tool selected, nudge the selection up 5 pixels by pressing the up key on your keyboard 5 times.

image 7

9. Now hold alt, then ctrl + click on the color fill layer, and you should (hopefully) get the selection shown to the left.

Now, again with the selection tool selected, nudge the selection down 8 times, and fill it in white.

image 8

10. Next, feather the selection by 3 pixels (select--feather) and then inverse the selection (ctrl + i) and press delete, you should have something similar to that shown to the left.

image 9

11. This looks alright, but I don't think that highlight looks right, so lets make it a bit narrower.

Press ctrl + t and then, whilst holding alt move the left or right anchors a little toward the center, as shown.

image 10

Conclusion
Now it is finished! You should now have something along the lines of the image shown below. ( I blurred the highlight slightly as well - filter--blur--gaussian blue)Media 2004 (C)

Nice Content Boxes Tutorial: Final Result

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