To begin making the string, we need a shape. Use your marque tool to make a selection 3/8 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Create a new layer and fill the selection with the color of your choice. I choose to make the string the color of the button. |
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With the string layer selected, bring up the layers styles selection. Click on Bevel and Emboss and make the adjustments to the settings that you see to the right. The shadow color should be a shade darker than your string. The shadow color will be what will give us the string-like appearance later on. |
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Click on the Texture button and select the Zebra texture. It is one of the defaults installed with the application. If you don't have the Zebra Selection, find something that looks like spaghetti large string. |
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Use the sliders below the texture image to adjust the look of the texture. We want something big and for it to have some depth. Click OK |
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So, now we have this huge string, that really does not look like string at all! |
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With the string layer selected, click on Edit,<Transform,<Scale. Use the options bar to scale down the string to 25 percent. NOW its looking like a string! |
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THIS IS IMPORTANT! You need to be sure the styles put ont the string become one with the string, like Luke in Star Wars! To do this, add a new layer above the string layer and mere the string layer with it. Magic! The string brings along its style and they are merged into one image. There are several ways to do this, but I found this to be the easiest to describe. |
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Move the string into position on top of the button to see how long it will need to be. Use the marque tool to make a selection of the string - copy and paste it into a new layer. Move the pasted string piece down below the button to work on it. Move the original long string out of the way. |
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With the layer selected that you just pasted the string selection into, click on Edit>Transform>Warp. Use the selection tool to move the boxes and balls at the end up a little to warp the thread into a slight curve and pinch the ends just a little. |
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To make the hole shadows in at the end of the string pieces, use the marque tool to make a small oval at the end of the string. The middle of the oval should be under the end of the string. Create a new layer and fill the oval selection with a darker version of the color of your button and string. Deselect the oval and go to Filter>Blur>Gaussion. Set the blur to about an 8 so the oval looks more like a shadow than an oval. Duplicate the layer with the oval shadow and move the new layer to the other end of the string. Merge all three layers, the warped string and the oval shadows, together to make one stitch for the button center. |
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Move the stitch back to the middle of the button. Duplicate the stitch several times and move the stitches around to make a realistic stitched on button. Merge the stitches together and use the dodge and burn tool to lighten the center of the stitches and darken the ends of the stitches and give some more dimension. If you wanted to make the strands a little less noticeable within the string,adjust the shadow color and the texture. |
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