
Web designers and webmasters used to love cool steel or metallic kind of effects before the Web 2.0 storms in and washed everything away; leaving the WWW with glossy, abusive gradients websites. Apple.com has always been related to good Web 2.0 interface design but these guys has never lost the cool black and silver-ish effects nor fail to make it better in their designs and typography.
Inspired by their designs, I’m trying to bring these styles back into my personal design and thus created something somewhat solid, and looks a bit like a piece of stainless steel metal. Full Photoshop tutorial after jump.
Stainless Steel Background
Step 1
Create a blank new document at the size of 600×400. Create a new layer, name it ‘background’ and fill it with gray color [#c0c0c0]. Duplicate ‘background’ layer, name the new layer ‘steel background‘ and place it on top of ‘background‘.

Step 2
With ’steel background’ layer selected, apply Filter -> Add Noise and enter the following settings:
- Amount: 14.21
- Distribution: Gaussian
- Monochromatic checked

Step 3
With ‘steel background‘ layer still selected, go Filter -> Blur -> Motion Blur and enter the following settings:
- Angel: 0
- Distance: 34 pixels

Right click ‘steel background‘, select Blending Options and enter the following settings for Gradient Overlay - Gradient Editor:
Color Stop 1
- Color: #000000
- Opacity: 50%
- Location: 0%
Color Stop 2
- Color: #ffffff
- Location: 50%
Color Stop 3
- Color: #000000
- Opacity: 50%
- Location: 0%

Metal Text
Step 4
Your stainless steel background is basically done, we’ll continue from there to insert a metal text that should look matching. Use the Text Tool, write something in the middle, preferably with think fat font (I’m using Myriad Pro Bold here). Right click (or double click) the text layer to launch the Blending Options dialog.
- Drop Shadow
- Opacity: 38%
- Distance: 1px
- Spread: 1%
- Size: 2px
- Bevel and Emboss
- Depth: 100%
- Size: 0px
- Soften: 0px
- Highlight Opacity: 42%
- Shadow Opacity: 32%
- Gradient Overlay, Gradient Editor
Color Stop 1
- Color: #3f3f3f
- Location: 0%
Color Stop 2
- Color: #a1a1a1
- Location: 100%



Your text should look something similar to the below.

Step 5
Here’s something you need to follow tightly. Hold Control key (Mac: Command key) and left click on the text layer to highlight it’s outline. Make sure the outline is still there, select ‘steel background‘ layer, and hit Control + J (Mac: Command + J)
By doing this, you are duplicating the steel background in the shape of your text. Rename the layer to ‘text background‘ and move it to the top.

Step 6
Change ‘text background‘ to Color Burn, bring it’s Opacity down to 67%.

Your final output should look something similar to the image below.

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Posted by hongkiat in Photoshop Tutorials , at 03.26.08 |
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Comments
stainless steel tubing March 27th, 2008
its looks like a real stainless steel
ReplyiCalvyn March 27th, 2008
I would like to use this tutorial, to make a logo for my self :)
ReplyWing Loon March 29th, 2008
Cool… I can also make the stainless steel background using Paint.Net by following this tutorial, :)
ReplyBoby April 5th, 2008
Nice tutorial….
Replyif wanna read about computer tips n trick , please Visit pctrack.blogspot.com
cee…u….
HEYABBOT May 18th, 2008
Nice job well done not only it turned out looking like stainless steel
ReplyBut your directions was detailed perfectly
muneebiftikhar June 3rd, 2008
Its Good
ReplyMichelle June 9th, 2008
This is the best steel tutorial I have found! Thanks.
ReplyDaniel July 18th, 2008
Me too :)
ReplyPouyan August 11th, 2008
Thanks For your Helpfull Guaid
ReplyGEEO August 15th, 2008
XDD Gash that’s not Realistic :S…
Better download Ps filters
http://geeovip.deviantart.com/art/Metal-Slug-7-93390783
ReplyJason August 26th, 2008
Amazing, ive just used it on my site for my logo http://www.playstationgames.co.uk thanks!
:D
Replyjohn doe September 10th, 2008
Great article but I can not perform step 5 in windows with ps cs3 extended. CTRL + J command only dublicate a layer once at a time. Can you explain it in detail please ?
thanks
ReplyCaptain Canada September 11th, 2008
I am experiencing the same problem as john doe in 12. I highlight the layers as per the tutorial then press CTRL + J and nothing happens. Like john doe, I am working CS3 Extended on Windows.
It’s frustrating that I’m so close, yet oh so far. Can anyone offer a work around?
Replyhongkiat September 11th, 2008
@Captain Canada, @john doe.
Guys, sorry for the late reply. Control - J basically allows you copy something you highlighted directly on a new layer, on the exact position.
Now if you can’t do that, simple do the manual way. Make sure it’s highlighted:
1 - Control-C (Copy)
2 - Create New Layer
3 - Control-V (Paste)
4 - Manually adjust the position.
Hope this helps.
ReplyJohn Doe September 12th, 2008
Dear hongkiat and Captain Canada,
I finally succeed :) But the classical copy-paste could not work there. So I right clicked the Text layer’s thumbnail and then “select pixel”. And then invisible the Text layer and copy the selected area, this is the text with steel background and paste it to a new layer and go on with the blend mode and opacity.
I hope my comment will help you.
ReplyHave a nice day.
Captain Canada September 18th, 2008
@ john doe, @ hongkiat:
Thanks for the help - I finally licked it.
Best regards,
ReplyCapt. Canada
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