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menu bar with shadow effect

I am working on a website and i want to add a menu bar which would look something like this

Since my website has different look and also i want to change the size. I was wondering if anyone could let me know how to get this look in photoshop?

Thanks

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    Hi sanjeev, welcome. this question needs more detail; can you tell us specifically the effect you want. e.g. the bendy look created by the shadow (see this post meta.graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/52/…)
    – Hemi
    Mar 4, 2011 at 5:16
  • as a totally personal opinion: that shadow effect is awful- i don't know why everyone is using it all across the web. I should add: if you want to know why i think its 'awful' i'd be happy to answer that in another question
    – Hemi
    Mar 4, 2011 at 5:26
  • @Jaips - Yeah, I personally don't like that shadow effect either. Though I've never seen it before. Lucky me I guess.
    – Hanna
    Mar 4, 2011 at 5:28
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    The first time I saw this type of drop shadow was with Apple's iWeb when making a photo page; the shadow is intended to give the illusion of a printed photos slightly curling up at the edges (and the same could be used to give the affect of any paper object). It's a nice 3D effect in that context, but I don't think it makes much sense anywhere else, including here.
    – Philip Regan
    Mar 4, 2011 at 14:02
  • Check out the HTML5 Canvas and use the Gradients if you want scalable graphics.
    – Mateen Ulhaq
    Mar 14, 2011 at 5:48

3 Answers 3

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  1. Open a new Photoshop document.
  2. Using the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U), drag out your desired rectangle.
  3. Double click on your layer in your layers palette. The opens the Layer Styles dialog box.
  4. Check the "Gradient Overlay" box.
  5. Adjust the settings appropriately (Choose a subtle gradient for your effect i.e similar shades)
  6. Add a stroke small, but dark stroke (Stroke is the last item in the left menu in the Layer Style menu)
  7. Add a subtle white color dodge inner glow (e.g. size 1 px, full choke, full range, opacity ≤ 15 %)

The shadow is a little bit more complicated as it's not the default drop shadow, or even a common variant of it.

For the shadow follow these steps:

  1. Duplicate the rectangle layer.
  2. Add a drop shadow to the layer. Make it nice and big.
  3. Click OK, closing the Layer Styles box.
  4. Layer -> Layer Style -> Create Layer. This creates a layer for each layer effect.
  5. Select the "Drop Shadow" layer.
  6. Edit -> Transform -> Warp
  7. Bend the corners down, and push the middle up. This will give you the same effect as the shadow in the picture does. If the shadow is too intense, simply lower the opacity. You may also paint/erase with a soft brush.

Please let me know if anything is unclear or you need me to expand on anything.

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  • I took the liberty to add an inner glow step to your fine answer—saw no point submitting it separately.
    – Jari Keinänen
    Mar 4, 2011 at 8:28
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@sanjeev

bhai This link will help you for sure....:)

http://designreviver.com/articles/better-drop-shadows-in-photoshop/

Just do the same things with your shape...

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If you want it to be rendered in browser, you can use the HTML5 Canvas.

Otherwise, using an SVG is better for this type of stuff, IMHO.

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