Recessed Buttons with Blade Pro

You will need my "recessed" Blade Pro present for these graphics. You can download the preset by clicking here.

     

Buttons

Both rescessed buttons were created the same.

  1. Create a new graphic.
  2. Add a new layer and flood fill with a background color or fine grain pattern.
  3. Make your selection and save the selection to an Alpha Channel.
  4. Apply my "recessed" Blade Pro Preset. Adjust the Height down to make the cutout more distinct and up to make it softer. Adjust the Radius to make the cutout portion smaller or larger.
  5. Apply a Gaussian Blur at .5 to make the edges of the cutout softer (optional).
  6. Add a new layer.
  7. Load your selection and contract by 3-5 (depending on the size of the button).
  8. For the circular button, set your foreground color to white and background to a very dark version of what you want your inlay button to be. Flood fill with a Sunburst gradient set to Horizontal 30, Vertical 30.
  9. For the rectangular button, flood fill with the color you want your button to be. Apply my button_shiny preset.

Screws

  1. To make these screws, follow steps 1-8 above. I made my screws with a white/black sunburst gradient.
  2. Add a new layer.
  3. On the new layer, make a rectangular selection the width you want your screw "indent" to be (it helps to blow up your graphic a bit before you make your selection).
  4. Flood fill with gray.
  5. Apply the cutout filter with shadow color black, blur 3, offset 1,1.
  6. Apply the drop shadow with shadow color white, blur 1, offset 1,1. Deselect.
  7. Rotate the layer Right 45 degrees with All Layers unselected.