Adobe Photoshop CS3 Style Icons

The Adobe Photoshop tutorial will show you how to create icon that resemble the new icons included with Adobe Photoshop CS3. This tutorial is quick and easy. With the old icons it was hard to tell which program each one represented. The new icons are simple and easier to recognize. The funny thing is that this tutorial is done using Adobe Photoshop CS2. I haven’t upgraded to the CS3 version yet.

Start with a new document 120×120 pixels with a white (#FFFFFF) background.

Create a new layer. Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool create a selection slightly smaller than the canvas.

Fill the select with any black.

Now open the Blending Options Window by right clicking the layer and selecting Blending Options.

Now Apply the following settings.

Gradient Overlay.

Double click the gradient and adjust like below.

Drop Shadow:

Select OK to apply the changes. Your image should look like the one below.

Now select the text tool. Open the text options and apply the following options:

Now type your text on the layer.

Now open the Blending Options for the layer and apply the following options.

Gradient Overlay:

Here is the gradient I used:

Apply the settings and you are finished. You now have a Adobe Photoshop CS3 styled icon.

You can also apply different colors to the gradient to create icons like the other icons in Adobe Creative Suite CS3.

Johnathan Ward

Johnathan Ward is an experienced developer and consultant that writes tutorials to help other developers. In his day job, he is an IBM Watson Consultant with several years of experience deploying and customizing Watson Explorer solutions.