My Board

1. Open a new image with any dimensions.

2. Locate your rectangle tool (below your Text button) - Hold down on the Rectangle button untill you see a menu as below:
[img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s1.gif[/img]
Once here, you will see a list of shapes to choose from. Select [b]Rounded Rectangle Tool[/b]

3. As shown in the image above, locate the Radius edit box. Chane this so it reads [b]Radius: 50 px[/b].
Setting the radius determines how rounded the corners of our Rounded Rectangle will be.

4. With these options in place, click and drag on your blank document. Make a rounded rectangle any size you wish, but keeping it within the shape of a normal pill and not to slender. Colour is not an issue.

5. Once you have made your shape, move to your Layers window. You will see two layers; Background and Shape 1. Ctrl+Click on the layer [b]Shape 1[/b]
Your cursor will change from a Pointing finger, to a Pointing finger with a square over top. Once you have ctrl+click\'ed the layer, the shape on your canvas will be selected.

6. Once your Pill shape has been selected, delete the layer Shape 1 but still keeping the shape selected on your canvas. Shape 1 as a layer will still appear, delete this layer also keeping the selected area.

7. Create a new layer. Fill the layer using your fill tool with Black (#000000)
Now with your ruler [[b]Ctrl+R[/b]] ([i] * You will see rulers appear on the left and top side of your document[/i])
Still keeping the shape selected, take the top ruler and drag it to the middle of your selection, it should shift to the exact middle.
Now taking the Left hand side ruler, drag it to the middle of the selected shape also.

8. With the shape still selected, take your Marquee tool ([img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s2.gif[/img])
With your Rectangular Marquee tool selected, hold down your [b]alt[/b] - Your curser will change from a crosshair to a crosshair with a minus towards the bottom.
Holding alt, from one side of your shape, Minus half of the shapes selected, like so:
[img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s3.gif[/img]

9. With half the pill selected, hit Delete on your keypad. This will erase the selected half of your shape, but keep the shape selection.
Fill this half of the shape with a colour opposite to the other side, for example; if your unselected side was black, use a lighter colour and vice versa.
Once this is done, hit [b]Ctrl+D[/b] to deselect your selection.

10. Now we add the layer style (Double click to the far left of the layer in your Layers window) This will bring up the [b]Layer Style[/b] window.
Heres the settings to obtain a realistic pill effect:

[img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s4.gif[/img]
[img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s5.gif[/img]
[img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s6.gif[/img]
[img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s7.gif[/img]

[quote name=\'Stroke\']Set the layer style [b]Stroke[/b] to:
Size: 1 px
Position: Outside
Blend mode: Normal
Opacity: 80 %
Fill Type: Colour
Colour: #000000[/quote]

If you wish to use this style again (to save you re-entering all the styles if you wish to do more pills, click:
[b]New Style[/b] to the right of the Layer Style window, and name it.

Hit OK to set the layer style to our layer.

11. Success! Now all we have to do is [b]Ctrl+T[/b] and resize our shape smaller, untill the desired effect is aquired.
Alter your shape untill it looks pill-like.

* To save re-doing to change your pill colour, make a new layer, deslect the background layer and hit [b]shift+ctrl+E[/b]
Now hit [b]Ctrl+U[/b] and mess with the Saturation and Hue sliders

Final Result:
[img]http://endo.killanet.net/tutorial/Pill/s8.gif[/img]

Please feel free to ask for assistance in this post about this tutorial!

Endophyte
[size=1][i]endo@killanet.net[/size][/i]

[color=\"red\"][b]Used this tutorial? Need some help? Want opinions about your work? [url=\"http://www.killagraphix.com/index.php?showforum=32\"][u]This[/u][/url] is the place to go. [size=0]Registration is required for posting[/size][/b][/color]

oooh, nice tutorial.. Make sure to make plenty of pills for the KillaNet staff /blum.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':P\' />

aint none strong enough to cure what I got /bigwink.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\';)\' />

nice tutorial shane I just wish I could fire up PS without the laptop going off lol

TY: I expect you all to try it and post what you come up with /dance.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(dance2)\' />

[img]http://www.killanet.net/uploads/pills.gif[/img]

pift... There\'s a ner0 and Adaera pill... Yeah, I couldn\'t get the text right /cry.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':(\' /> Oh well... Good tutorial Endo! /good.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(Y)\' /> I had a little bit of troubles but that\'s because I am on CS2 and not CS1... just had to alter my clicking patters /biggrin.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':D\' /> /blum.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':P\' />

Lol it looks fine, perhaps squash them up a bit at the start when you make the original shape and not so long? damn you for making them transparent BG. i still cant master that correctly

transparent is fun! /biggrin.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':D\' /> I don\'t really do anything for it though...except specify the transparent in the drop down when making my new document /unsure.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':unsure:\' />

[img]http://us3rX.killagraphix.com/images/pill.png[/img]

Dr. us3rX in da house, now who needs some \"meds\" /whistle.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(whistle)\' /> /brows.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(brows)\' />
Nice tutorial shane /blum.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':P\' />

us3rX /ph34r.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':ph34r:\' />

Edit: on the transparent part, just dont do anything on the \"background\" layer and when your done, just hide the layer and save as either gif or png, and it should be a transparent bg /blum.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':P\' />

Nice tutorial. Easy to understand, but my pills don't look right...

I've been through the tutorial now 4 times and the last 2 passes were step by step since I tend to skip, misread, miss things and any other number of flubs...

And still I can't make my pills look like yours....

Mine is supposed to be black and white pill, and I seem to have none of the white highlights that make the 3d look really pop.

Any help or pointers on what I am doing wrong would be greatly appreciated.

I am using CS1, if that helps...

You guys and your tutorials have taught me everything I know about Photoshop /good.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(Y)\' /> You guys rock! (and girls) /blush.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(blush)\' />

Hey goblynn93,
It looks like you\'re making a bigger version of a pill so some of the settings might have to be changed to support the bigger image. Try this for me: Make your pill smaller about the size of the ones that have been posted here. I\'m sure the highlighting will show up then. If not post here again and I can give you some more pointers /smile.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':)\' />

Well try #5 seems to have worked better. Pill is supposed to be white and yellow but the Satin effect keeps changing the color. Without it though I get almost no highlights...

I still don't have the nice white highlights top and bottom like the group of pills shown as the final example.

The pills i am making are 50px tall... the tutorial says to open a new documet any size for this... and since it says to use a 50px corner I was trying to get at least 100% of that 50px corner... I guess I will go for even smaller... maybe 25 px high. Hopefully it wont make the pill corners look funny.

Red and White pill. Much better...

Two quick questions... the Preview for my Effects looks nothing like the bubbly, cartoony Preview in the tutorial Effects screen shots... mine looks very flat and muddy... should they look the same despite the

And at the start, I make an image 180x100, make my Shape 1, but I don't end up with 2 layers... The way the tutorial reads, PS should automatically make a Shape Layer 1 layer for me when I draw the rectangle and instead my PS just draws the shape on the background layer. Is this a problem? Maybe a setting I have set wrong?

Hey goblynn93,

[quote name=\'goblynn93\']Two quick questions... the Preview for my Effects looks nothing like the bubbly, cartoony Preview in the tutorial Effects screen shots... mine looks very flat and muddy... should they look the same despite the[/quote]

Did we forget to finish our sentence here? /blum.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':P\' /> Anyway, I wouldn\'t worry about the preview as long as the result turns out the way it\'s suppose to.

[quote name=\'goblynn93\']And at the start, I make an image 180x100, make my Shape 1, but I don\'t end up with 2 layers... The way the tutorial reads, PS should automatically make a Shape Layer 1 layer for me when I draw the rectangle and instead my PS just draws the shape on the background layer. Is this a problem? Maybe a setting I have set wrong?[/quote]

You know, I\'m not sure... Maybe someone else can help by posting here, but for now I would just create a new layer and then make your shape; That way it won\'t be created on the background.

Nice result! Hope this helps,
-Dren T. Martin

Thanks Dren! Yeah I forgot to finish that one /crazy.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(crazy)\' /> sentance... I'm at work back stage running a telepromter for a conference /laughing1.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(lol1)\' /> . I meant to say: Should it look the same despite the difference in size (of the pill I was using).

Thanks for the help Dren... Back to more tutorials /yahoo.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(yahoo)\' /> !!