make a floating in air usb key

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In this tutorial, I'll show you how to illustrate a USB key floating in the air andreflecting on a surface. We'll be adding numerous details that will make thisillustration shine. Notice how the Psdtuts+ name reflects off the floor in theillustration. These are the little details that add a degree of realism to your work.

DRAWING

Make a Floating in AirUSB Key Illustrationby Eren Goksel 8 Sep 2008 106 Comments

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Final Image PreviewBefore we get started, let's take a look at the image we'll be creating. As always,the layered Photoshop file is available via our Psdtuts+ Plus membership. You canview the final image preview below or view a larger version here.

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Step 1Let's start by creating a New Document which is 1000 pixels wide by 1000 pixelshigh, set the Resolution to 300 pixels/inch, and the Background to white. Grab theRectangular Marquee Tool, then set the style to Fixed Size with a Width of 100 pxand Height of 240 px. Drag four guides around the selection, as shown in the belowimage, then Deselect by hitting Command + D.

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Step 2Create a new layer and name it "Front B." Set the foreground color to 55% gray.Get the Rounded Rectangle Tool, set it to Fill Pixels and Radius to 30 px in the ToolOptions set. Draw a rounded rectangle as shown below.



Step 3Now we'll clear the guides by going to View > Clear Guides. Hit Command + T toenter the Free Transform mode, set the Vertical Skew to -30 degrees, and apply it.Hit Command + T again and set the Rotation to -30 degrees. We could haveskewed and rotated the layer at the same time. The reason why we did it in twosteps is that it gives cleaner results. You can have a look at the below image for acomparison.

Now we need two horizontal guides. Drag and snap one to the top and one to thebottom of the transformed rectangle. This is not our final perspective angle, but it'seasier to build up the USB key this way, then we'll rotate the whole thing again toachieve our final perspective look.



Step 4Duplicate the "Front B" layer and name it "Front A." Move the "Front A" layer 30pixels left. You can do it by using the Arrow keys on the keyboard when the MoveTool is selected. While holding Shift, press the Left Arrow key three times. Apply a



Gradient Overlay layer Style with these settings: Blend Mode set to Multiply, Opacityat 100%, Gradient set at Black to white, Style of Linear, Angle set to 90 degrees,and Scale set to 130%.



Step 5Now we need to connect these two rounded rectangles. Go back to the "Front B"layer in the Layers Palette. Get the Polygonal Lasso Tool and make a selection, asshown in the image below. Make sure the guides are visible. Fill the selection with55% gray, then Deselect by hitting Command + D.



Step 6There are some unwanted pixels, lets get rid of them. Grab the RectangularMarquee Tool, set the Style to Normal, and make a selection, as shown below.Move the selection 1 px down and hit Delete to clear the area. You can move theselections by using the Arrow Keys on the keyboard as long as a Marquee Tool isactive. Now make a rectangular selection this time at the bottom. Move theselection 1 px up and hit Delete again.



Step 7Now we'll apply a Gradient Overlay Layer Style to the "Front B" layer with thesesettings: Blend mode set to Multiply, Opacity at 65%, Gradient set at "Steel Bar"(which is in the Metals Set), with a Style of Linear, Angle set to -30 degrees, andScale at 110%. Also, you can adjust the position of the gradient by dragging whilethe Gradient Overlay dialog is still open. Adjust the position like in the image aswell.



Step 8Command-click the "Front A" layer thumbnail to load the selection. I moved theselection 400 pixels right. This will define the length of your USB key, so you canchange it if you want a longer or a shorter one. Create a new layer and name it"Back." I filled the selection with color #ee3232, but you can choose a different coloraccording to your own taste.

Now create another new layer and name it "Body." Fill the selection with 15% gray.



Deselect by hitting Command + D. Make the "Back" layer invisible, as we'll need itlater. Drag and place the "Body" layer above the "Background" layer in the LayersPalette.



Step 9Now we'll extrude the body as we did for the front part. Get the Polygonal LassoTool and make a selection as shown, then fill it with 15% gray. Hit Command + D toDeselect.



Step 10Get the Rectangular Marque Tool and make a selection aligned to the upper guide,as in the image below. Move the selection 1 px down and clear by hitting Delete.Make another rectangular selection, this time at the bottom, move the selection 1 pxup, and hit Delete again to clear the disturbing row of pixels.



Step 11Now we'll apply a Gradient Overlay Layer Style to the "Body" layer to achieve therounded corner. Use these settings: Blend mode set to Multiply, Opacity at 65%,Gradient set at Black to White, with a Style of Linear, Angle set to 90 degrees, andScale set at 18%. Move the gradient down, as in the below image. You can do it bydragging while the Gradient Overlay dialog box is open.



Step 12Go to the Layer Palette, then drag and place the "Back" layer just above the"Background" layer. Move the "Back" layer 20 px right using the Right Arrow key.Next, get the Polygonal Lasso Tool and make a selection, as shown below, then fillthe selection with red (or your own color) to extrude the back part of the USB key.Hit Command + D to Deselect.

Get the Rectangular Marque Tool and make a selection aligned to the upper guide,as we did before. Move the selection 1 px down and clear by hitting Delete. Makeanother rectangular selection, this time at the bottom. Move the selection 1 px upand hit Delete again to clear the disturbing row of pixels.



Step 13We need to apply a Gradient Overlay to the "Back" layer with the same settings aswe used for the "Body." Now right-click on the "Body" layer in the Layers Paletteand choose Copy Layer Style. Right-click the "Back" layer and choose Paste LayerStyle.



Step 14Create a new layer above the "Front B" layer and name it "Highlight." Grab the LineTool, set it to Fill Pixels, and set Weight to 8 px. Choose white as your ForegroundColor, and draw a straight line, as in the below image. Go to Filter > Blur >Gaussian Blur, apply with a Radius of 5 px.

Now we have the highlight, but we should delete the exceeding part. Command-click the "Body" Layer Thumbnail to load it's selection. We should also select theback part, so Command + Shift-click the "Back" Layer Thumbnail to add to theselection. Go to Select > Inverse and hit Delete to clear. Deselect by hittingCommand + D.



Step 15Create a new layer above the "Body" layer and name it "Reflection." Grab theGradient Tool, set the Gradient to black to white, and fill the layer with the gradientfrom left to right. Go to Image > Adjustments > Curves and tweak the curve asshown below. This is my favorite way to make reflections. Then hit Command + Tand rotate the "Reflection" layer 30 degrees. You'll see why we're doing this later.

Now because we want that reflection to be seen on the "Body" part, we need to getrid of the rest. Command-click the "Body" Layer Thumbnail to load the selection.Command + Alt-click the "Front B" Layer Thumbnail to subtract it from the currentselection. Go to Select > Inverse and hit Delete to clear. Hit Command + D toDeselect. Set the Layer Blending Mode to Overlay.

Now get the Eraser Tool. Make sure the mode in the Tool Options is set to Brush. Iset the Brush Master Diameter to 215 and Hardness to 25%. Erase the area belowthe rounded corner.

There are some painted pixels outside the canvas because we filled the whole pageand then rotated the gradient. We can't see them at the moment. In the final steps



we'll rotate the USB key and these pixels will be a problem so to get rid of them. Goto Select > All, then go to Image > Crop.



Step 16



We start drawing the plug. Command-click the "Front A " layer to load the selection.Create a new layer above the "Front A" and name it "Plug." Fill the selection with25% gray. Deselect by hitting Command + D. Hit Command + T to enter FreeTransform mode, set the Vertical and Horizontal Scales to 56%, and apply.



Step 17Duplicate the "Plug" layer and name it "Plug Front." Move the "Plug Front" layer150 pixels left. Drag two guides from the upper Ruler and snap them to the top andbottom of the "Plug" layer. Go back to the "Plug" layer in the Layers Palette, get thePolygonal Lasso Tool, and make a selection as in the below image. Fill theselection with 25% gray, then deselect by hitting Command + D.



Step 18Get the Rectangular Marque Tool and make a selection aligned to the upper guide,as shown below. Move the selection 1 px down and clear by hitting Delete. Makeanother rectangular selection, this time at the bottom, move the selection 1 px up,and hit Delete again to clear the disturbing row of pixels.



Step 19Command-click the "Plug" layer Thumbnail, this will load the selection. Get theGradient Tool, set the Gradient as Foreground to Transparent, set Foreground Colorto black, and Gradient Style to Linear. Drag it, as shown below, to fill the selectionwith a black to transparent gradient. This will make the upper part of the plugdarker, which is going to help us achieving the metallic look.

Hit Command + D to Deselect. Apply a Gradient Overlay Layer Style with thesesettings: Blent Mode set to Multiply, Opacity at 50%, Gradient set at Black to White,Style of Linear, Angle set to 90 degrees and Scale set to 18%. Move the Gradientdown until it fits on the rounded corner, as in the below image, while the GradientOverlay dialog is still open.



Step 20Create a new layer above the "Plug" layer and name it "Plug Reflection." Get theRectangular Marque Tool and make a selection, as in the image below. Get the



Gradient Tool. Set the Gradient to Silver (it's in the Metals Set.) Set the GradientStyle to Reflected and fill the selection starting from the middle to the left. HitCommand + D to Deselect. Go to Image > Adjustments > Invert to get the negative.



Step 21Hit Command + T, then Scale the reflection a bit horizontally and rotate 30 degrees.Now we want to reflection visible only on the plug. So we'll define the "Plug" layeras a Clipping Mask for the "Plug Reflection." You can do it by Alt-clicking the linebetween these two layers in the Layers Palette. Get the Eraser Tool. Erase the areabelow the rounded corner of the plug. Also, set the layer Blending Mode to Screen.



Step 22Create a new layer above the "Plug Reflection" layer and name it "Plug Highlight."Get the Line Tool, set it to Fill Pixels, and set Weight to 4 px. Also, set white as yourForeground Color. Draw a straight line, set Weight to 2 px and draw another line, asin the below image.



Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, apply with a Radius of 1.5 px. Command-clickthe "Plug" layer to load the selection, then go to Select > Inverse and clear byhitting Delete. Set the "Plug Highlight" Layer Opacity at 60%.



Step 23Now we'll make the hole on the plug. Command-click the "Plug Front" layer to loadthe selection. Go to Select > Modify > Contract and contract the selection by 2pixels. Create a new layer above the "Plug Front" layer and name it "Plug Hole."

Fill the selection with 25% gray and apply a Gradient Overlay Layer Style with thesesettings: Blend Mode set to Multiply, Opacity at 40%, Gradient set at black to white,with a Style of Linear, Angle set to -90 degrees, and Scale at 13%. Move thegradient until it fits on the rounded corner of the plug.



Step 24Create a new layer named "Plug Hole Shadow" just above the "Plug Hole" layer.Grab the Polygonal Lasso Tool, select an area as in the below image, and fill with



black. Hit Command + D to Deselect. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set theRadius to 15 pixels. Command-click the "Plug Hole" layer, go to Select > Inverse toinverse the selection. Clear by hitting Delete. You should adjust the Opacity of thelayer to your taste as well.



Step 25Create a new layer above the "Plug Hole" layer and name it "White." Command-click the "Plug Hole" layer. Get the Rectangular Marque Tool and move theselection, as shown below. Command + Alt + Shift-click the "Plug Hole" LayerThumbnail to intersect the selection, then fill the selection with white, and hitCommand + D to Deselect. Move the "White" layer 5 pixels right. Drag horizontalguides and snap them to the top and the bottom of the "White" layer.



Step 26Create another layer below the "White" layer and name it "White Top." Get thePolygonal Lasso Tool and make a selection, as shown below. Fill the selection with20% gray. Command-click the "Plug Hole" layer, then go to Select > Inverse to



inverse the loaded selection. Hit Delete to clear the part outside the hole. Go to"White" layer in the Layers Palette and hit Delete again. Hit Command + D toDeselect.



Step 27Select the Layers in the Layer Palette, as shown below. Go to Layer > GroupLayers (Command + G.) Name the group "Plug Bottom." Now duplicate the "PlugBottom" group and name it "Plug Top." Go to Layer > Merge Group. Make the "PlugBottom" group invisible for now.



Step 28Now we'll make the reflection of the plug on the body. Duplicate the "Plug Top"layer, name it "Plug Reflection," and drag it above the "Front A" layer in the LayersPalette. Move it right, as shown below. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and applywith a Radius of 3 pixels. In order to mask the reflection, Alt-click on the linebetween the "Plug Reflection" and the "Front A" layers in the Layers Palette. Youcan change the opacity of the layer as you wish.



Step 29Let's continue tiding up our layers. Select all the layers except the "Background"and "Plug Top" layers and "Plug Bottom" Group. Go to Layer > Merge Layers(Command + E.) Rename the merged layer as "Body."



Step 30Now we'll make the two small holes on the plug. Create a new layer on the top ofthe layer stack named "Hole." Get the Rectangular Marque Tool, set Style to FixedSize, and Width and Height both to 26 px. Make a selection as shown below. Fillthe selection with 65% gray. Hit Command + D to deselect.

Hit Command + T and set the Horizontal Skew to 30 degrees. This will fit theperspective of the holes to the perspective of the plugs. Get the Polygonal LassoTool and make a selection, as shown in the bottom left image below. Go to Image >Adjustments > Hue/Saturation (Command + U), and set Lightness at +100% tomake the selected part white.



Command-click the "Hole" layer to load the selection. Move the selection 1 px leftand 1 px down. Command + Alt + Shift-click the "Hole" layer again to intersect theselection with the layer. Fill the selection with black. Also, deselect by hittingCommand + D.



Step 31Duplicate the "Hole" layer. Now we have two holes and they should be alignedproperly. You can get help from the right or left edge of the plug. After aligningproperly, select both hole layers and position them as shown below.



Step 32



Now get the Text Tool. I set the font as Trebuchet MS with a size of 35 pt. Makeyour Foreground Color #ee0055, then type your text. Hit Command + T and set theHorizontal Skew to 30 degrees and apply. Rename your text layer as "Text." Applya Gradient Overlay to "Text" layer using these settings: Blend Mode set to Screen,Opacity at 50%, Gradient set at Silver, with a Style of Linear, Angle set to 30degrees, and Scale set at 75%.

We'll also apply a Drop shadow with the following settings: Blend Mode of Multiply,Opacity set at 60%, Angle set to 90 degrees, and Distance and Size set to 2 px.



Step 33What we have now is our USB key. What we don't is the reflection. Our key will befloating in the air, and the bottom of it will be reflecting on the surface. And thebottom part of the key is slightly different from the top of it.

Duplicate the "Body" layer and name it "Body Bottom." Now select the "Hole Copy,""Hole," "Text," "Plug Top," and "Body" layers, then go to Layer > Merge. Name themerged layer "USB," and make "USB" layer invisible for now.



Step 34



We'll get the Text Tool again, make your Foreground Color #ee0055, and type yourtext. Hit Command + T and scale the text to fit on the plug. Go to Edit > Transform >Flip Vertical to mirror the text. Hit Command + T and set the Horizontal Skew to 30degrees and apply. Rename your text layer as "Text."

Apply a Gradient Overlay to the "Text" layer using these settings: Blend Mode set toScreen, Opacity at 50%, Gradient set at Silver, with a Style of Linear, Angle set to30 degrees ,and Scale set at 75%.

We'll also apply a Drop shadow with the following settings: Blend Mode of Multiply,Opacity set at 60%, Angle set to 90 degrees, and Distance and Size set to 2 px.

Make sure that one of the visible layers is selected in the Layers Palette, then go toLayer > Merge Visible. Name the merged layer "Reflection." Now you should havethree layers: "Background," "USB Final," and "Reflection." Now we're almost done.



Step 35Now make the "Plug Bottom" group visible. Open the group and delete the "WhiteTop" layer. Go to the "White" layer and move it up, as shown below. Command-clickthe "Plug Hole" layer to load the selection, go to Select > Inverse. Hit Delete to



Clear outside of the hole. Deselect by hitting Command + D. Go to the "Plug HoleShadow" layer in the Layers Palette. Hit Command + T and rotate the layer 180degrees, and make sure that it still fits in the hole.

Step 36We'll now place the USB sign on the plug. I drew one and you can get it here. Openthe "USBsign.png" file and get the Move Tool and drag the logo into your "USB

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Refleciton.psd."

Hit Command + T to enter Free Transform mode, rotate the logo -90 degrees, scaleto fit on the plug, and apply. Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical to mirror it. HitCommand + T again and set the Horizontal Skew to 30 degrees. Place it on theplug and set the Layer Opacity to 60%.



Step 37Close the "Plug Bottom" group. Select the "Plug Bottom," "Body Bottom," and "Text"in the Layers Palette and go to Layer > Merge Layers. Name the merged layer"USB Reflection." Make sure that "USB" layer is on the top and all the layers arevisible.



Step 38Select both "USB" and "USB Reflection" layers in the Layers Palette, hit Command+ T, and Rotate -30 degrees. Grab the Move Tool, then move the "USB Reflection"layer down, as shown below. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply with aRadius of 3 px. Also, set the Layer Opacity at 20%.


make a floating in air usb key

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