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Nutz & Bolts
"The Shape of things to come..."
Once you have your design sketched out on paper you'll need to make a decision before you start to create your Interface in Photoshop. There are basically two choices to make:
- scanning your drawing, opening it into Photoshop and tracing/drawing over it
- or reproducing it in Photoshop from scratch, using your drawing as just a visual guide
Either way will work fine. The choice is up to you. I like creating it from scratch using my drawing as a guide. I think you can learn more about Photoshop that way.
Let's create some 2 dimensional primary shapes.
Everyone knows that to create shapes in Photoshop all you need to do is use the selection marquee tools, or the Path tool, right? And once you have a selection created, you just fill it with a colour or texture of your choice. I like to use black as my fill colour when i'm creating the first set of basic shapes for my designs. But you can use any colour you want.
I will now show you a list of some simple shapes that can be created using the Selection tools or Path tool. Primarily the Rectangular and Eliptical selection tools. Feel free to print this list out should you wish to use it later as a reference. And remember, these are just 'some' of the endless types of shapes that can be created.
Creating shapes with the Rectangular Selection tool:
TIP: Holding the Alt key (Option for Mac) will draw a rectangle from the center outward.
Holding the Alt + Shift key (Option + Shift for Mac) at the same time will draw a perfect square from the center outward.
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A Square
Holding down the Shift key while using this tool will produce a perfect square.
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A Rectangle
Using this tool by itself produces rectangles in various sizes.
- A Cross (2 rectangles)
Created by overlaying two thin rectangles, one of which has been rotated by 90 degrees. You can also use the Line tool to more easily create a cross.
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A Uniform Polygon (2 squares)
Created by making a perfect square, duplicating it and rotating the duplicate by 45 degrees.
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A Triangle
Created by making a perfect square, rotating it by 45 degrees, and cutting off the bottom half. It can be shortened or lengthened by using the Scale command under the Transform subMenu.
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A Star (2 triangles)
Created by making a triangle, stretching it with the scale command, duplicating it, and flipping the duplicate vertically.
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A Seal or Certificate Stamp (2 stars)
Created by making a star, duplicating it, and rotating the duplicate by 30 degrees.
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A Row of Steps (3 squares)
Created by making a perfect square, holding the Shift key and using the arrow keys to move the selection, then filling the selection each time before moving it again.
Creating shapes with the Eliptical Selection tool:
Same TIP: Holding the Alt key (Option for Mac) will draw an oval from the center outward.
Holding the Alt + Shift key (Option + Shift for Mac) at the same time will draw a perfect circle from the center outward.
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A Circle
Holding the Shift key down when using this tool will give you a perfect circle.
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An Oval
Using this tool by itself produces ovals in various sizes.
- An Oval Cross (2 ovals)
Created by making an oval, duplicating it, and rotating the duplicate by 90 degrees.
- An Hourglass (2 ovals)
Created by making an oval, duplicating it, moving the duplicate above the original oval, and cutting off the top of the top oval and the bottom of the bottom oval.
 - A Flower (4 circles)
Created by using the exact same method as for the Steps, except using circles instead.
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An Oval Coil (4 ovals)
Created by using the exact same method as for the Steps, but with ovals.
There's more shapes on the next page!
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Creating the NUI: Concept of Design / Nutz & Bolts / 2D & 3D / navDesign Summary |
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