Neverside

Making Multiple Circles

In photoshop, how do you make multiple circles with the same fill color?

For example, in this tutorial, when Robouk insets the big blue button in the two circles

http://www.absolutecross.com/tutorials/photoshop/interfaces/smooth-metal/

the blue button is designed with a lot of white semi-transparent dots on it's lower half.

Do I have to manually create and fill each circle? Because that would be a pain >_<.

Hahaha, sorry I just started Photoshop and am a major noob xD.

Hey cryptus, welcome to Neverside! Really glad to have you here!

Nope you don't have to do all that by hand. What you'll need to do is similar to the idea presented in this tutorial:
http://www.absolutecross.com/tutorials/photoshop/basics/dashes/

What you'll be doing is making just 1 dot, as well as the appropriate space "around" the dot, and making that into a pattern which you can fill into anything you'd like.

It's easiest to do this on a new image file, so nothing unintended gets into your pattern.... so make a new image, any decent size, doesn't matter. First, zoom in very close on your image so you'll be able to see each individual pixel. Now grab the selection tool from the top left of the Tools palette. If you want round dots, choose the eliptical marquee, if square, grab the regular Rectangular marquee tool. When you draw a selection when zoomed in really high (i.e. 800%+) the selection tool "snaps" to each new pixel, and you can see about how many pixels you're making. You can also look in the Info palette (press F8) and see the W and H values to see the width and height of your selection.

Make a new layer, and choose your color. If you want your dots to be white, I suggest you make them black at first so you can see what you're doing. Once you've made the dot, I'll show you how to instantly make it turn white.

Making sure your new layer is active, drag with the selection tool to make your dot (square or round). It can be as small as a single pixel (if square) to as large as you'd like. Once you've drawn the selection, fill it with your color of choice (remember, black if what you want is white).

Next click on the little "eye" icon on the Background layer in the layers palette to switch the layer off and reveal a transparent background. You could also just delete the Background layer if you prefer.

Now, drag a selection around your dot, like in the example image I've attached. What you want to do is have a selection along the top and left edge of the dot, and an open space to the right and bottom. This open space will be what separates each dot in the pattern from each other.

Once you've made your selection around the dot, including the space "buffer" press CTRL + I on your keyboard (or choose Image -> Adjustments -> Invert). The black dot will now "invert" its color to the opposite, now becoming white. Notice it's now a little hard to see, which is why I recommended starting out with black and doing it this way

Now choose Edit -> Define Pattern, and a box will pop up with a preview of your pattern and ask you to name it. Name your pattern and press OK.

You're done with this file for now, so you can minimize it in case you want to go back and make adjustments later.

Now return to the image you want to actually use this pattern on. To create an effect similar to the blue "orb" thing in Robouk's example, CTRL + Click on the blue circle's layer in the Layers Palette to load a selection around it. Now soften the edges of the selection by choosing Select -> Feather, and entering a setting of about 5 or so (depending how much of a fading effect you want as the dots get closer to the edge of the circle).

Next, choose Edit -> Fill. In the box that comes up, select "Pattern" from the Use dropdown, and choose your dot pattern from the Custom Pattern options. Press OK, and your new dot pattern should fill the whole circle. In Robouk's circle, the top part of the dots are cut off.... if you'd like to do that, press CTRL + D on your keyboard to deselect, and choose the Rectangular Marquee tool. Draw a selection around the part of the dots you wish to erase, and press Delete on your keyboard.

Viola! That ought to do it!. Let me know if you run into any problems or have any other questions

___________________

-- Dave
Neverside Admin

absolutecross.com

Wow, I remember when I was a noob... I remember cutting up images to put on table-structured layouts. Shame on me.

___________________

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.

After I press delete in this section:

Next, choose Edit -> Fill. In the box that comes up, select "Pattern" from the Use dropdown, and choose your dot pattern from the Custom Pattern options. Press OK, and your new dot pattern should fill the whole circle. In Robouk's circle, the top part of the dots are cut off.... if you'd like to do that, press CTRL + D on your keyboard to deselect, and choose the Rectangular Marquee tool. Draw a selection around the part of the dots you wish to erase, and press Delete on your keyboard.

it doesnt delete only the dots, it also deletes part of the circle in the background, so do I have to dot it on a different layer..?

>_<

Hi cryptus..... yes, your dots need to be on a separate layer. As a matter of good practice, I'd suggest that you use layers as much and as often as possible. Layers will give you a huge amount of flexibility to go back and undo or change things long after you've done them.

Not only can you undo things later if they are on layers, you also have a great deal more creative control... for instance, you could decide that your dots are too bright white, so you select the individual layer that the dots alone are on, and drag the Opacity slider down so that the dots become semi-transparent. You could also play with the Blending Mode or add a Layer Style for all kinds of interesting effects.

Always try to name every layer you make, and when possible, sort them into Layer Sets (which are like subfolders in the layer palette to help you organize your layers).

Good luck!

___________________

-- Dave
Neverside Admin

absolutecross.com

Thanks xD!

this is unrelated but i just noticed that this isn't the water cooler forum :P i think it's a good change; it will give more attention to the other boards (which I have ignored for like 6 months)

___________________

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.

Yep, it just dawned on me the other day... why the heck was I "hiding" all the main good stuff of the forum waaaaay down there, and only the more random off-topic stuff at the top? So I'm giving this a try out so we can feature more of what this place is about in the first place haha

I'm planning to add a small 1-2 group of forums above this where new members can come in and introduce themselves and be welcomed by everyone... though having a little trouble with the forum software so should have that tomorrow hopefully.

Peace.

___________________

-- Dave
Neverside Admin

absolutecross.com