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Welcome to Photoshop Tips and Tricks World.Here you can access the best techniques and shortcuts used in Photoshop.

Effect No: 1

  Tutorial : Etched Metal Text

A tutorial on how to create Etched Metal Text
  1. Create a new image 300X300 pixel
  2. Set Foreground to 50% Grey (#999999).
  3. Set a thick font ( Arial Black) & Type in some text, Rasterized the Layer & name Layer as TEXT
  4. Select the text in the TEXT Layer by Selecting ADD NOISE -> NOISE & Set Amount=5%, Uniform & Monochomatic

Results is on the left (may not be exactly same like mine)
  1. Create a new Layer name it as strole, Select the text in the Text Layer by press CTL Click left mouse button on the TEXT Layer
  2. Make sure you are in the Stroke layer, Select EDIT -> STROKE & set width=10px, Location=inside

Results will be on the right

Select Layer style & set the following

    Emboss

  1. Style = Inner Bevel, Technique = Smooth, Depth = 100%
  2. Size = 5 px, Soften = 0
  3. Shadow Mode Blending = Color Burn, Opacity = 50%

    Internal Glow

  1. Blend Mode = screen, Opacity = 75%, Noise = 0% Select Black Color, Size = 5px
Merge the strokee layer & text together ( as one layer )

Results will be on the right
Next select RENDER -> LIGHTING EFFECT and follow the following setting as below


Thats is it ..... An etched metalic Text !

Effect No : 2

Spheres are a dietary staple of the interface design professional, and make their way into many different designs, whether by choice or just plain habit.  This is not a coincidence - carefully crafted 3D-effect spheres are one of the most visually pleasing and effective weapons in the designer's arsenal.    There are, consequently, dozens of different methods used to get a similar result - some more complex than others.  My technique takes a middle road - it looks good and takes a moderate amount of time to set up.  Its biggest advantage, however, is that it uses nothing but Photoshop Layer effects, so you can fine-tune the effect with relative ease (something that's just not possible if you rely purely on the lighting effects filter or radial gradients).  For the sake of those interested in the theory, I've also spent a little time explaining the different settings, and how their alteration will affect the final look of the effect. Read on...

Step 1:  Create a blank 200px by 200px document and fill the background with anything you like (white may be best at first).   Create a new transparent layer on top and, using the elliptical marquee tool (), draw a circle whilst holding down the shift key (this will give you a classic circle with equal proportions).   Now make sure you have the top layer active and choose Edit > Fill from the menu.  Fill the circle with 50% grey.  You can now deselect if you want.

Step 2:  With the circle layer still selected in the layers palette, click on Layer > Layer Style > Bevel and Emboss in the menu and duplicate the settings on the left.   You can alter the direction & height of the shine highlight by altering the angle and altitude accordingly.   Likewise, if its a little too bright for you, or you want to go for a more 'rubbery' effect, drop the highlight opacity a little.  Don't exit the layer effects dialog just yet though...
 

Step 3: Now progress onto the inner shadow subsection and enter the settings shown here.  This will just add a little black shadowing into the bottom-right of the sphere, and make the whole shape appear more rounded.

Step 3b: As an optional step, you can go into the gradient overlay and add a little more shading to the surface.  If you don't want a sphere that 'pops out at you' though, you may consider omitting this stage. Now leave the layer effects dialog by clicking on the OK button.

Step 4: And here is the result of all your hard work!   Of course, its all a bit grey as yet, but a quick visit to Layer > Layer Style > Colour Overlay should sort that out sharpish.

Effect No: 3

Step 5: You shouldn't stop there of course - feel free to add other layer effects to your spheres for some truly unique effects.   The sphere on the left, for example, is the same as the one above, but with a colour overlay, drop shadow, radial gradient, and pattern overlay defined.  It really is simple to add these things using the layer effects dialogs, and no expert knowledge is required.  So, go on, be a devil and experiment a little.  You'll be shocked what you can conjure up in a few minutes...

 

AUQUA BUTTON
Open up a new image in photoshop, any size, but preferably about 500X500 pixels. Go to the channels window beside your layers window, and click the "create a new channel" button at the bottom right corner of the window. It's name should be Alpha 1. Now, using whichever tool you would like, (lasso tool, marquee tool) create a selection in the shape you would like your button to be (square, circle, oval). My pill shaped selection is shown below. 


Now, still in the channels window with your button shape still selected, change your foreground colour to white, and fill in your selection. With your now white button still selected, go back to the layers window, click on your layer, and fill the selection with blue. (HEX code, #4171A7)

 



Go to layer>>layer style>>inner shadow, and use the settings below.
 



Now go to layer>>layer style>>bevel and emboss. Use the settings below. 

 


Now apply satin by going to layer>>layer style>>satin, and use the settings below.

 


Apply gradient overlay layer>>layer style>>gradient overlay, and use the settings below. 

 


Now, while holding down ctrl, click on the layer with your button on it. Your button should now look something like this:

 


Go to select>>modify>>contract, and contract the selection by about 25 pixels. Then go to select>>feather, and feather the selection by 15 pixels. 
While holding down Alt, click the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Create a new Color Dodge layer with color-dodge-neutral black color. Fill the selection with white using the Paint Bucket tool.



Now click on the F at the bottom of your layers palette, and click on blending options. In blending options, set the fill opacity to 35%. Click OK. Go to filter>>blur>>gaussian blur, and blur the layer by about 7 pixels. Now, while holding down ctrl, click on your original button layer, to select it's transparency. Go to the bottom of the layers palette, and click "add layer mask". 

 



Select your original button layer, and click "add layer mask". While holding ctrl, click on the button layer. Go to select>>modify>>contract, and contract the selection by 25 pixels. Then go to select>>feather, and feather the selection by 15 pixels. With the selection still active, fill the selection with a light grey. (HEX code #A6A6A6). Set the original button layer's opacity to 95%. With the rectangular marquee tool, create a rectangular shaped selection similar to below.

 



Create a new channel in the channels window and fill the selection with white using the Paint Bucket tool. Go to edit>>transform>>skew and skew the selection as shown in the picture. Hold down alt+ctrl+shift to create symmetry. The top of the rectangle should be smaller than the bottom. Deselect, and gaussian blur by 10 pixels. Go to image>>adjustments>>levels, and put the Input levels values to 120, 1, 132 and press OK. Ctrl click the channel. Go to layers, and create a new layer. Press D. Use the linear gradient tool, and while pressing shift, fill in the selection with gradient from the bottom to the top. Set the layer opacity to 65%. The finished product: