Shiny Sphere

Shiny, 3D-looking objects are popular in the web 2.0 style. This tutorial will show you how to make a circle in PSP look 3D.

Step 1

Make a new image with a dark gray background. Using the Preset Shape tool , make a circle that is filled with a linear gradient that goes from a darker gray at the top to a lighter gray at the bottom. If you don't know how to make gradients, read this tutorial.

Step 2

Make another new image. Choose a light shade of the color you want to use for your circle and make it the foreground color. Choose a dark shade for the background color. Click on the background color and go to the Gradient tab. Use these settings to make a radial gradient that is lighter on the inside and darker on the outside.

Step 3

Click on the Preset Shape tool and drag out a circle that is slightly smaller than the circle you made earlier. Press Ctrl+C to copy it, Ctrl+Z to get rid of the circle, and Ctrl+E to paste it as a selection. Go to Selections > Modify > Expand and choose a border width; I made mine 3px.

Step 4

Press Ctrl+C to copy again, and go to the other image with the gray circle. Press Ctrl+L to paste the circle as a new layer.

Step 5

Click on the Burn tool . If you don't see it, find the Dodge tool (press J on your keyboard) and click on the arrow next to this tool. In the tool options, change the opacity to 5 and the hardness to 0. The size depends on the size of your circle. Brush over the bottom part of the circle with the burn tool. Leave the middle of the circle light.

Step 6

Change the background color to white. Click on it, and under the Gradient tab, choose Fading Background and click OK. Change the foreground color to transparent by clicking on the circle with a diagonal line through it underneath the foreground color.

Step 7

Click on the pen tool or press P on your keyboard. Draw a semicircle shape over the top of your circle. If you don't know how to use the pen tool, read this tutorial.

If you don't want the shine to be as noticeable, press F8 or go to View > Palettes > Layers and lower the opacity of the layer. I changed mine to 80% opacity.

Step 8

Change the background color to solid white, and leave the foreground color transparent. Make a new layer by going to Layers > New Vector Layer. Draw a small highlight along the bottom of the circle using the pen tool. Go to Adjust > Blur > Gaussian Blur and make the radius 1.00.

Merge all of the layers and save, and your shiny sphere is done :) If you want to make different colors, click on the circle layer and go to Adjust > Hue and Saturation > Colorize.

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