Click on the standard selection tool, and set the settings as shown below. Click on the Options box shown in the illustration and make sure that 'Preserve Base Image' is checked. It will be useful also to check 'Move Selection Marquee', so that if any of the ellipses you are about to create are partially off the visible page you can move them.

Now move the sliders on the textured page so that you have room below the black ellipse to select another ellipse of similar size to the black one. Click in the space below the black image to select a new ellipse and copy it to the clipboard.

Paste the new ellipse back to the textured page, and move it onto the black ellipse. It is smaller than the black one and should be placed off-centre as shown on the right, so that it slightly blurs the black one at the top and left, but does not cover and blur the white drop shadow. When it is correctly positioned select Edit/Selection/Merge All.

Click on the standard selection tool, and set the settings as shown below, and click on the textured page below the image to select another textured ellipse. Copy it to the clipboard.

Paste the ellipse back onto the textured page. Click twice on the darkening button ( the minus sign on the left of the sun) in the quick colour adjustment buttons below the colour palette on the right of the workspace. This will slightly darken the new ellipse. Move it to the position shown in the picture on the left. No black must show between the bottom of the ellipse and the white drop shadow. If necessary the new ellipse can cover 1 pixel of the white drop shadow, but it must not be covered completely or disappear and reappear at the right hand side.

When it is in position, select Edit/Selection/Merge All. Now select the standard selection tool again, change Shape to Rectangle and uncheck Fixed Size on the toolbar. Select a rectangle close around the button and crop it. You now have your basic button. Save it as a bitmap, so that you retain the best image quality. Add any lettering, arrows etc. to copies of the original to make your web page buttons and use the Web/Smart Saver to save the finished buttons as jpegs.

On the right you can see how the button blends in with the background, provided the background does not have a pronounced repeating pattern.

       

You can adapt the method for other shapes and sizes by experimenting with the selection and drop shadow settings.

© Carol Brooksbank 2003
This tutorial may not be copied to any other website nor distributed in any way. It may be downloaded for personal use only. Links to my tutorials at http://www.caroluk.co.uk/tutindex/ are welcome.

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