Most Web 2.0 logotypes have some common characteristics…the most usually known are on-font-gradients, shadows and highlights as well as a nice mirror effect at the bottom of them. So let's see what it really takes to create one from scratch!

Step 1

Simply create a new layer to add your Text on, in my example I created www.PicPolis.com

Step 2

Right-click on the test layer on your layers panel and open the Blending Options.
From here we'll use only the following:

1)Bevel & Emboss will give us a pseudo 3-D look to use along with the logo

2)Color Overlay with a nice white color to make our text look almost satin-like!

3)Finally we choose Stroke from the options ion the left and our effect is ready. You should take a closer look at the options and tweak them the way you desire to make a thick border one colour stroking border line or a more sophisticated gradient and thinner border around the letters!

Step 3

Finally I simply copy the whole Logo and paste it, then mirror it (using the Free Transform Tool, keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+T) and dragging the middle holder down. Then I open the Blending options of the new layer and I choose an opacity of 35%.

And that's mostly it! Here's what our logo now looks like!

One of the most easy ways to erase a photo's background is using the Background eraser tool.So just open your photo in Photoshop (I'm using PS CS4 for this tutorial but the same method works in most of the photoshop distributions). So…let's begin!

Step 1

We open our photo in photoshop and then press “E” which is the shortcut for the “Background Eraser” tool. We must also keep in mind 2 other parameters of this tool we can tweak to get best results, which are the Tolerance and the Limits.

Step2

Here I have selected “Find Edges” in the Limits box and tweaked the tolerance to a rough 22%
and also chose to “Protect the foreground color” option to be ON.

Step3

The 2 steps we took give us a nice but rough edition of the photo with the background deleted… all we need to do now it to clean up the messy pixels!

As you can see I use another background layer with high contrast to the green original background of the photo (hence the red color). With the simple eraser tool I clean all the mess and my new photo is ready to accept the new background!

Step 4

After these few steps you only need a nice background image that you can make the foreground image blend nicely in!You could choose to further tweak settings as saturation or contrast of each layer, the color balance etc.

Hope you enjoyed! Next time we'll see another technique to remove the background of a photo!

So... that's all for now! till next time feel free to visit my other tutorials!

http://www.computersight.com/Software/Photoshop/Eye-Color-Change-with-Photoshop-Quick-and-Easy-Sweet-Effects.69205

http://www.computersight.com/Software/Photoshop/Photoshop-Quick-and-Easy-Sweet-Effects.67750

http://www.computersight.com/Software/Photoshop/How-to-Create-a-Cool-Web-20-Logo-Using-Photoshop-Quick--Easy-PS-Tutorial.386241

Texas Instruments Inc.

This device extends the battery life in certain types of medical tools, scales, and data acquisition applications.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Building- I. M. Pei

The architect tends to design buildings that depict the high-tech movement. He always works on larger scale projects and uses geometric designs to shape his buildings.

The "Butterfly Effect" - Prof. Edward Lorenz

Professor Lorenz realized that small differences in a forceful system such as the atmosphere could trigger unsuspected results. These explanations eventually led him to formulate what became known as the butterfly effect. "This term came from a paper he wrote in 1972 entitled Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set off a Tornado in Texas?"

Bose stereo - Professor Amar Bose

These stereo speakers are world-renowned for giving high-end performance despite their reticent size.

Ethernet - Robert Metcalf

Ethernet is a relationship between the unit frame-based computer networking technologies for (LANs). The Ethernet controls our access to certain types of data processing models, i.e. Internet.

The Internet Archive - Brewster Kahle

The Internet Archive (IA) consists of an online library containing the vast information on the Web and other multimedia resources. This information includes certain snapshots from various times from software, WebPages, audio visual and other sources.

Rockman amplifier - Tom Scholz

The Rockman is used in conjunction with headphones and an amplifier used for certain guitars. If any of you are familiar with Boston then you know who invented this.

Spacewar, the first computer game-Steve Russell

Spacewar was the first digital computer game of our time. The idea behind the game involved spaceships attempting to shoot each other while manipulating within the galaxy. I remember this game; I used to play it all the time on my Atari. I wish I still had it.

Hypertext - Prof. Vannevar Bush PhD

Hypertext is defined as words or text that leads the user to information associated with those words.

GPS (Global Positioning System) - Ivan Getting

The GPS uses satellites that transmit microwave signals. These signals enable receivers to determine certain types of pertinent information such as direction, time, speed and location.

Apply the bevel and emboss style in the text's layer with the following properties:

You should have something like this:

Now select the text, contract it by 8 and feather it by 4.

You should have this:

Create a new layer, set the foreground color to light grey and the back ground color to a dark grey. Choose the gradient tool, set it to linear gradient and then drag the distance and direction of the red arrow.

Create again a selection of the text but this time expand it by 3 pixels. Create a new layer below the text  and fill the selection with a dark grey.

Now create a layer set in which you will put the layer of the text, the gradient and the shadow and merge it.

Next zoom in to 400% choose dark grey for the foreground color. Make a new layer, in a temporary layer set, above the text layers and then create a pixel wide line on it, using the rectangular marquee tool. Duplicate the layer, leaving a pixel wide space in between them.

Once you have this:



You have to copy all the lines and rotate them 90 degrees to have something like this:

Merge the selection in which you have the lines, go to the text layer, select the text, contract it by 11 pixels and cut down the part of the crossed lines.

In the crossed lines layer, in blending options select "Color Burn".

Now we will make the screws. Zoom in to 500% and then create a circle on a new layer, using a light grey. Then use a pixel wide rectangular selection to create a black and white line in the center of it.

Apply a drop shadow (layer > layer style > drop shadow) to the screw and then duplicate it.

Next thing to do is zoom in to 700% an create a grey link of chain.

Add a rectangle connected to the link and create by separate. Next, apply bevel and emboss (layer > layer styles > bevel and emboss) on the chain segment.

Finally go linking the links to form a chain around the letters :P

Well that's all, hope you liked it :D.

1. Create a new RGB color picture. Make sure that colors are default (black and white).
2. Select Horizontal Typetooland type any text. In the layers palette press on the text layer with right mouse button and press Rasterize Type.
3. Go to Layer/Layer Style/Inner Glow and in Blend Mode select Difference. Other values should be: Opacity - 100, Noise - 0, Technique - Softer, Source - Edge, Choke - 45, Size - 6, Range - 50, Jitter - 0.
4. Go to Layer/Layer Style/Bevel and Emboss and in Style select Inner Bevel. Other values should be: Technique - Smooth, Depth - 100, Direction - Up, Size - 3, Soften - 0, Angle - 95, Altitude - 30, select Use Global Light command.
   
   In the Highlight Mode select Screen, make sure the color next to it is white. Opacity must be set to 75. In the Shadow Mode select Multiply, Opacity - 75.
5. Go to Layer/Layer Style/Gradient Overlay and in Blend Mode select Normal, Opacity - 100, Gradient - Metal, Style - Linear, Angle - 90, Scale - 100.
6. Press CTRL+J to create layer copy. Now go to Edit/Transform/Scale. Here W and H must be set to 101.
   
   Repeat this step seven (or more) times. Just press CTRL+J/CTRL+SHIFT+T.
7. Now you must merge all layers except the background layer. Just make the background layer invisible by removing the eye icon, which is next to it and in the menu select Merge Visible.
8. Now you must create a new layer and after that go to Layer/Arrange/Send Backward. This will push the new layer into the middle (between the text layer and the background layer).
9. Hold CTRL and press on the text layer icon. The text will become selected. Now using Paint Bucket tool fill the selection. Now press CTRL+D to remove the selection
10. Now you must go to Filter/Blur/Gaussian Blur and enter 5 in the Radius.
    
    Make the shadow smaller by Edit/Transform/Scale. Now make a Perspective effect with Edit/Transform/Perspective.

1. First of all we make a new file of 600x400 pixels
   
   
2. Now you put in the foreground colour black and in the background colour white
   
   
3. Now you have to go to: Filter---->Render---->Clouds
   
   
4. Next thing to do, you go again to:Filter--->Render--->Difference Clouds
   
   
5. Press Ctrl+F fourteen times so that the image gets more mixed up
   
   
6. This time will go to: Filter--->Render--->Lighting Effects
   
   
7. Finally you mus complete thethings in the window that will appear like the following:
   
   

Well and that's all! Hope you liked it