Retro Effects

How to Make a Glossy Aqua Button in Photoshop (Yes, It Still Rocks)
Video Tutorials

How to Make a Glossy Aqua Button in Photoshop (Yes, It Still Rocks)

I got my start making terrible graphics in MS Paint for anyone who’d sit still long enough to watch. Buttons, badges, fake logos – I thought I was a genius. Then I discovered Photoshop and realized I had been finger-painting while other people were doing oil portraits. One of the first effects that genuinely made my jaw drop was the aqua button – that glassy, pill-shaped thing that was everywhere during the early Mac OS era.

Give Your Photos a Polaroid Makeover Using Photoshop's Layer Mask Trick
Video Tutorials

Give Your Photos a Polaroid Makeover Using Photoshop's Layer Mask Trick

Client asks for “something vintage, you know, like a Polaroid vibe.” You nod confidently. You have no plan. This has happened to me more times than I care to admit, usually while nursing a cold brew at my usual corner table at whatever coffee shop I’ve colonized that week. The good news is that the actual technique is way simpler than it looks, and once you’ve done it once, you can knock it out in about ten minutes.