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Create a 3D Switch Icon

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About this lesson

With the principles of this design you can create all sorts of switches, toggles and doorways. This is a good tutorial for learning how to stack and transform layers. 

Exercise files

Download the Photoshop file used in the video tutorial and try the lesson yourself.

Create a 3D Switch Icon.psd
3.4 MB

Quick reference

Topic: 3D Switch

Create a realistic looking toggle switch.

When to use

With the principles of this design you can create all sorts of switches, toggles and doorways. This is a good tutorial for learning how to stack and transform layers.

Instructions

Create a hole for the switch

  1. Begin with a texture that the switch will sit in.
  2. Draw out a rectangle with a corner radius of 10 pixels.
    Color: 121213
    Drop Shadow: Blend mode: Overlay, Opacity: 100%, Global light: Off, Size: 3, Angle: 90, Distance: 2, color: white, Contour: Cone,

Create the left side of the switch

  1. Draw out a rectangle halfway inside the whole shape with a corner radius of 10 pixels: Color 28282d.
    Layer Style: Inner Shadow: Blend mode: Overlay, Opacity: 20%, Global light: Off, Size: 0, Angle: 180, Distance: 2, color: white.

Create the right side of the switch

  1. Draw out a rectangle halfway inside the whole shape with a corner radius of 10 pixels. Duplicate left side as a new layer by Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) + ‘J’.
  2. Drag to right side.
  3. Add a layer mask and with rectangular shape tool (black) mask the left side of the new shape
  4. Go to Menu/Edit/Transform/Perspective
  5. Hold down Command (mac) or Control (win) and drag top right corner up to lift switch out on that side
    Layer Styles:
    Gradient Overlay: Angle: 0, Gradient Color Left: 141517, Gradient Color Right: 33363e.
    Inner Shadow: Blend mode: Overlay, Opacity: 20%, Global light: Off, Size: 0, Angle: 0, Distance: 1, color: white.
    Drop Shadow: Blend mode: Overlay, Opacity: 15%, Global light: Off, Size: 0, Angle: 0, Distance: 1, color: white,.

Create the right side of the switch side perspective

  1. Draw out a rectangle halfway inside the whole shape with no corner radius.
  2. Drag out from the top of the right side to the base.
  3. Go to Menu/Edit/Transform/Perspective.
  4. Hold down Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and drag top right corner down.
    Gradient Overlay: Angle: 180, Gradient Color Left: 121213, Gradient Color Right: 35373d.
  5. Make sure that this layer is below the right side layer

Add text to complete.

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  • 00:04 In this video,
  • 00:04 we are going to be creating this three-dimensional switch in Photoshop.
  • 00:08 Our first step is to create the hole that the switch will be sitting in.
  • 00:11 For the shape, you can use a regular rectangle, or
  • 00:14 to give it some style, a rounded rectangle.
  • 00:16 The corner radius is up to you, but
  • 00:18 to keep things subtle, I am going to use a radius of 10 pixels.
  • 00:22 As for the color, we're looking for a fairly dark color which will
  • 00:24 give the impression that the switch is sitting inside the shape.
  • 00:28 I'm not going to go completely black, but pretty close.
  • 00:32 I'm going to use 121213 for the value.
  • 00:35 Once that's set, drag up the first shape somewhere in the middle of your document.
  • 00:40 When that shape is in place, we're going to add a single drop shadow layer style to
  • 00:44 add some extra depth to this shape.
  • 00:46 As we are actually looking to add a highlight rather than a shadow,
  • 00:49 start by changing the Blend mode to Overlay and then set the color to white.
  • 00:54 Now, turn off global light, and set the angle at 90 degrees so
  • 00:57 that the highlight is at the bottom of the shape.
  • 01:01 Set the distance at 2, and the size at 3.
  • 01:04 And finally down below, change the contour to Comb.
  • 01:07 This will push the highlight slightly around the sides of the shape as
  • 01:11 well as on the bottom.
  • 01:12 Our next shape will be another rounded rectangle to act as the left side of
  • 01:16 the switch.
  • 01:17 Again I'm going to use a 10 pixel radius, but
  • 01:19 I want to make sure to lighten up the shape a little bit.
  • 01:22 This time I'm going to use the value 26282D.
  • 01:24 Now, drag out this
  • 01:28 shape to around the half way point inside the shape that we initially created.
  • 01:32 While you're dragging out your shape, holding down the space bar will allow you
  • 01:35 to move it before accepting it's final location.
  • 01:37 When that shape is in place we're again gonna add a single layer style.
  • 01:41 This time, we're gonna add an inner shadow,
  • 01:43 which is also gonna act as a highlight.
  • 01:45 Change the Blend mode to Overlay, set the color to white, and the opacity to 20%.
  • 01:51 Turn off global light and set the angle at 180 degrees so
  • 01:56 that the highlight is placed on the left side of the shape.
  • 01:59 Now, set the distance at 2, and the size at 0.
  • 02:03 Now that the left side is complete, let's move over to the right.
  • 02:07 To make things simple, we can duplicate our left shape over to the right.
  • 02:11 Holding down your Alt or
  • 02:12 Option key along with your Shift key, drag this shape to the right.
  • 02:17 When placing the shape, you wanna make sure to leave a little bit of room on
  • 02:19 the right side of the shape for the 3D element which we're gonna add shortly.
  • 02:24 Now, if you chose to use rounded rectangles,
  • 02:25 the left side of this shape shouldn't have rounded corners.
  • 02:29 To deal with this, in your Layers panel go ahead and
  • 02:31 add a layer mask to the duplicated shape.
  • 02:34 Now using your Rectangular Marquee tool,
  • 02:36 create a selection that covers the rounded corners.
  • 02:40 Once a selection has been made, fill it with black to hide that area.
  • 02:43 If black is your background color, what you can set by pressing the D key on
  • 02:47 your keyboard, Cmd Delete or Ctl backspace will fill your selection with black.
  • 02:53 At this point,
  • 02:53 we need to add a little bit of perspective to the right side of this shape.
  • 02:57 Head up to the Edit menu, down to Transform, and then select Perspective.
  • 03:02 Once the transform box is visible, hold down your command or
  • 03:05 control key and then drag the top right corner up.
  • 03:09 Press return or enter once you're happy with the perspective of this shape.
  • 03:12 Now, it's time for layer styles.
  • 03:14 Let's start with a gradient overlay.
  • 03:16 This will help add some more depth to the shape.
  • 03:18 Before we go changing colors, change the angle to 0 degrees, so
  • 03:21 that the gradient is horizontal.
  • 03:24 As for the colors, the left color will be the darker of the 2.
  • 03:28 I'm gonna use 141517.
  • 03:32 Now the right color will be slightly lighter.
  • 03:34 Three, three, three, six, three E.
  • 03:38 Good. Now, let's add an inner shadow to
  • 03:39 give a highlight on the right side of the shape.
  • 03:41 Make sure that the Blend mode is set to Overlay, the colors at white and
  • 03:45 the Opacity is at 20%.
  • 03:47 Turn off Global Lights at the angle at 0 degrees, the distance at 1, and
  • 03:52 the size at 0.
  • 03:54 Finally, let's go ahead and
  • 03:55 add a slight drop shadow to add a crevice in between the two shapes.
  • 03:59 Again, set the Blend mode to Overlay, set the color to white,
  • 04:02 the Opacity at 15%, turn Global Light off with the angle at 0 degrees.
  • 04:09 And then set the distance at 1 and the size at 0.
  • 04:13 Perfect. This shape is complete.
  • 04:15 Our last shape will be the piece that adds the third dimension to our design.
  • 04:19 This time instead of using a rounded rectangle,
  • 04:22 grab the regular rectangle tool from the tools bar and
  • 04:25 drag out a rectangle from the top of the shape on the right to the bottom.
  • 04:29 Again, if you need to move, it hold down your space bar while dragging.
  • 04:33 Now, just like we added perspective to the previous shape,
  • 04:36 we want to add it to this shape as well.
  • 04:38 Head back up to the Edit menu, Transform, and then Perspective.
  • 04:42 This time holding down your Cmd or Ctl key, drag the top right corner down.
  • 04:48 To finish off, let's add a Grading overlay.
  • 04:50 Set the angle at 180 degrees before adjusting the colors.
  • 04:54 The left color will be the same color as our shape in the back.
  • 04:56 You can either click and sample that color or just use the same value, 121213.
  • 05:02 The right color will be a little bit lighter.
  • 05:07 35373D.
  • 05:08 Once the layer styles for this shape have been applied,
  • 05:10 make sure to move that layer right below the previous layer in the Layers panel.
  • 05:14 And that completes the switch.
  • 05:15 Add your text of choice to fit this design in your own project.

Lesson notes are only available for subscribers.

iOS Icon Design
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