Create your own Mac-like gel effects

My buddy Steve loves Macs. They're all he can talk about. All you need to do is simply say the word "Mac" and he's off on a run, telling you exactly what he thinks of them.

Given his enthusiasm for all things Macintosh, you can understand how he was excited by a site that he discovered that helps you make "those really cool Mac OSX gel styles that are really popular right now."

The site at My-Photoshop.com has a variety of interesting resources, but for now, we're focusing on the Gel Tab Navigation System tutorial, located at http://www.my-photoshop.com/bydesign/id-tutorials/gel-tab-navigation.html. On this page, you'll learn how to easily create Apple.com-like navigation tabs (please, for the love of God, don't do too many of these interfaces!) and otherwise create great Gel effects.

You can also download a free ZIP file containing Photoshop styles for creating gel effects. In honor of Steve, we decided to use the gel styles to create the oh-so-lovely graphic shown in Figure A.

The site's interesting. We found a lot of useful resources there beyond the gel effects, and that's we we give My-Photoshop.com our Connected Photographer Site of the Month award for August.

Product availability and resources

For more information on My-Photoshop's gel effects, visit http://www.my-photoshop.com/bydesign/id-tutorials/gel-tab-navigation.html.

Your site can earn this special banner

Do you know a great site, one that offers great resources for photographers? If so, that site may be eligible for consideration as the Connected Photographer Site of the Month. If chosen, the recipient will even be entitled to display the lovely banner shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B

Is your site impressive enough to be the Connected Photographer Site of the Month? (click for larger image)

If you'd like your site to be considered for Connected Photographer Site of the Month, send email to editor@ZATZ.com. Please specify "CONNECTED PHOTOGRAPHER SITE-OF-MONTH" in the subject field of your email.