Hi,

I want to show you another cool and simple Photoshop effect I like to use for buttons or logos or whatever your creative imagination can find a use for:

Here are the steps I used to create this:

  1. Start with an image or create one with background color you want and make the canvas size bigger so you have some room to work with…I hate the feeling of being closed in when I’m creating, so give it as much room as you want. You can crop it later.
  2. Then add the following layer styles
    1. Inner Glow (my settings are blend mode: Screen, Technique: Precise, Source: Edge, Choke: 0 Size: 4
    2. Gradient Overlay I used a simple black and gray linear at 90 degrees
    3. Stroke (mine is a black at 2, inside, normal & 100% opacity)
  3. Create your type in white (I used Broadway font)
  4. With your Type Layer selected (I have my JR in a separate layer and that is what I selected in this step) and your image background selected, make it a smart object
  5. Rastersize that to convert the type to pixels.
  6. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool over the part you want to tint giving it some space like this:
  7. Go to Image, Adjustments, Gradient Map
  8. Select a gradient you want to use.  Important! Adjust the last color to white so that you don’t get this funky tinted “J” or lose the letter altogether. Here’s what I mean:

    Tip:  I find Photoshop gradients all over the web that you can pick up for free…just remember to be respectful of their terms of use.  A favorite of mine is Brusheezy.com (they add new stuff all the time), but you can find them everywhere along with Photoshop styles, actions, brushes, textures, etc.
  9. Now use that same gradient for any text you want to highlight

And that’s it!  Very easy, very classy and very cool! The possibilities are endless!

More samples:

And here’s the link to the zip file to download the PSD

JRcontrastButton

Have fun!