Tutorial Gumshoe

In this tutorial, I will teach you how to make a glossy, white Nintendo Wii style button. By following the steps, you will also learn to modify text to create smooth, rounded fonts. Note that you can click on the images to see them larger. If you would like to download the PSD file, it can be found at the bottom of the tutorial.

Step 1

Starting with a 500 pixel by 500 pixel canvas, fill the background with a medium grey color, and select a very light bluish-grey color as the foreground color, as shown below.

Step 2

Select the rounded rectangle tool with a radius of 50px. Draw a shape 100px tall and 350px wide.

Step 3

At this point, I like the use guides to define the borders and vertical and horizontal centers of my shape. This isn’t necessary, but it helps me to line everything up. To create the guides, click on the rulers, and drag them into place. They should snap to the edges and center of the shape. If they don’t, makes sure that the Layers -> Snap menu item is checked. If you don’t see rulers, ensure that the View -> Rulers menu item is checked.

Step 4

Apply layer styles as shown below to give the shape a subtle, rounded appearance.

Step 5

To create the shine across the top of the button, set your foreground color to white, and select the rounded rectangle tool with a radius of 15px. This time, create a shape that is 30px tall and 280px wide. Center this shape horizontally within the button, and 3px down from the top of the button.

Step 6

Use the elliptical marquee tool to create a circle with a diameter of 94px and position the selection as shown below. Create a new layer, and fill the selection with white.

Step 7

Again, use the elliptical marquee tool and create a slightly smaller circle that extends from the bottom of the white rounded-rectangle to the bottom of the bottom. Move the circle into a position as shown in the image below, and delete the selection.

Step 8

Next, use the rectangular marquee tool to select the extra portion of the circle, and delete it.

Step 9

Now we want to create that blue glow around the button. First, create a new layer beneath the button layer. Next, select the button area by command-clicking the button layer (ctrl-click on Windows). Finally, select the Select -> Modify -> Expand menu item, and enter a value of 4px.

Step 10

With your area selected, choose the two blue colors shown below as your foreground and background colors.

Step 11

Select the gradient tool with the settings shown below. Next, drag a vertical line from the top of the selected area to the bottom to fill the selection with a blue gradient.

Step 12

The trickiest part of creating a Wii button is getting the text to look right. I couldn’t find a font that worked perfectly. So instead, we’ll use Century Gothic, and customize it a bit. Select the type tool, and use the settings shown in the image below. Type the words “Wii Button”, and center your text within the button.

Step 13

Now we get to customize the text. Command-click the text layer that you just created (ctrl-click on Windows). Switch to the Channels Palette, and create a new alpha channel. Fill the selection with white.

Step 14

We’re going to use an old Photoshop trick make the text a bit rounder, and a bit bolder. First, de-select the text, and click on the Filter -> Gaussian Blur menu item, and enter a value of 1px. The text now looks rounder, but it’s obviously blurry. We need to sharpen it up.

Step 15

To do so, select the Image -> Adjustments -> Levels… menu item. I used the settings below, but you can move the black and white sliders to get the text to look right. We want it sharp, but not overly sharp so that it looks jaggy.

Step 16

To select our newly rounded text, command-click on the channel (ctrl-click on Windows). Flip back to the Layers Palette and create a new layer on top of everything. Fill the selection with black. At this point, you can either delete or hide the original, unrounded text layer.

Step 17

And, we’re finished! I’ve added a striped background and a slight shadow to complete the effect.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them in the comments. Also, you can download the PSD file, if you’d like to check it out.