Web Design   Web Hosting   Photoshop Tutorials   Free Fonts   Drawing Basics  
 
Photoshop Tutorials - Free Fonts
[Home]
[Sitemap]
[Blog]
[Read Me First!]
[Photoshop Tutorials]
[Canvas Tutorials]
[Corel Tutorials]
[Quark Tutorials]
[Illustrator Tutorials]
[FreeHand Tutorials]
[Drawing Basics]
[Porting Files]
[Free Fonts]
[Font Tutorials]
[Misc Tutorials]
[Animation]
[About Mike]
[Gallery]
[Related Sites]

 
    Intermediate  
 
  Quick and Easy Gel Buttons in Canvas™ 7
Part One
 
Demo Page 1 Demo Page 2 Demo Page 3

This tutorial expands on the original aqua gel button tutorial and shows how you can easily create a rainbow of colored gel buttons with Canvas 7. Anyone with intermediate level skills should be able to follow this tutorial. You can always refer to the original aqua gel button tutorial for more detail. I can't think of an easier way to create these buttons because, as you will experience for yourself, when you work with vector objects and SpriteEffects™, changing the color of the button is nothing more than a couple of clicks away.

Additionally I want to give credit and thanks to Mike Dawson who contributed to this tutorial. Through the exchange of emails, we were both searching for an easy way to make rainbow colored Canvas gel buttons. I was hacking away at RGB values when he hit upon the idea to use the HSL color model. This was clearly the easiest way. He also contributed ideas for making drop shadows as well as for making grayscale versions of the buttons. These contributions were much appreciated by myself and hopefully to other Canvas users who may find this information useful.

The following description, "Deconstructing The Gel Button Master", is a only brief relative of the original aqua gel button tutorial. You can either download the master buttons in Canvas 7 format or build them from scratch by using the specifications and screen shots below.

1. Shown below is a screen shot of the master button. There is another variation of this master later in the tutorial, but you can start with this one. You can download the master button (below right) and skip the section on "Deconstructing The Gel Button Master" then continue with the sections on making rollover buttons and changing colors if you want.

 


Click to download

gelmaster1.sit
gelmaster1.zip
   

Deconstructing The Gel Button Master

2. Shown below is a representation of the gel button's object stack. There are only four objects (other than a clipping path). You build the button from the bottom up. You start by making "Object 1" then add Objects 2 through 4 as you build it. None of the objects are stroked, so if you are making it from scratch, make sure to give each object a pen width of "No Stroke" (click here for more details).

3. Create a new Canvas document, then select the Rounded Rectangle tool. Next, draw a rounded rectangle in the work area. This will be "Object 1". For more detail, see the original aqua gel button tutorial. Display the Object Specs palette and use the specifications in the screen shot below right for its size and position. Bring up the Inks palette and using the Color manager display the "HSL Wheel" or "HSL Bars" and give this object a fill ink with the following HSL values:

H=60, S=100, L=15
(Hue = 60, Saturation = 100, Lightness = 15)

Click image to enlarge

4. To make "Object 2", either make a duplicate of the first rounded rectangle or draw a new one with the Rounded Rectangle tool. For more detailed instructions on how to duplicate an object, click here. Again, using the Object Specs palette, enter the specifications in the screen shot below right for it's size and position. Using the Color manager give it a fill ink with the following HSL values:

H=60, S=100, L=50

We need to apply a Gaussian Blur to this object so click Object > SpriteEffects > Add Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur, and enter 9.1 pixels in the dialog. Note: The size and position of this object is slightly different than the original aqua gel button tutorial. There will be a few differences between this gel button and the original. The reason is that I was trying to make a more universal button (a master) to which a change in color could easily be applied without altering the characteristics of the button.

Click image to enlarge

5. Again, either duplicate one of the rounded rectangles or draw another one to make "Object 3". Using the Object Specs palette, enter the specifications in the screen shot below right for it's size and position. Give it a plain white fill ink from the default RGB colors in the Inks palette. Apply a Gaussian Blur to this object by clicking Object > SpriteEffects > Add Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter 17 pixels in the dialog. Then bring up the Transparency palette and set the opacity slider to 50%.

Click image to enlarge


Click Here To Continue...

 
 

Previous   Home    Contact Mike   Related Sites    Next

Copyright © 1998-2016 Mike Doughty, All Rights Reserved Legal Notices
Page Last Revised: October 26, 2016
Privacy Policy