3D Button Tutorial
Step 1
The first step is to select the Rounded Rectangle Tool which is to the right of the pen tool on the toolbar.
In a new 200 x 150 document use this tool to create a rectangle that could be used as a button. The rounded rectange shap comes out the best when you use this setting at the top left of your photoshop window.
Try to make it look something like this (I used #7CC576):
Step 2
Next rasterize this layer by going to Layer>Rasterize>Shape. You will find that rasterizing the layer will make it easier to edit later.
Step 3
Now Duplicate the layer with your button on it by going to Layer>Duplicate Layer. Highlight the copied layer and set its style to Linear Dodge.
Now resize this rectangle by pressing (Ctrl+T) and clicking your cursor on one of the corners of the rectangle (make sure you are out of the rectangle tool). Drag the corners inward to make this rectangle smaller than the main rectangle layer like so:
Step 4
Now, on the layer with the smaller rectangle, select the shape with the magic wand tool which is to the right of the lasso tool on the toolbar. Click the rectangle with the wand. Clicking on the shape will highlight it.
Step 5
Now you have the smaller rectangle highlighted. Select the gradient tool which is to the right of the eraser on the toolbar.
Set the colors back to Black and White by pressing D on your keyboard. Then select the circular gradient setting on the top of your photoshop window. Take the gradient tool and drag from the top of the selected rectangle to the bottom of it.
You should have something like this:
Starting to see it?
Step 6
For this step we are going to be using a filter. On the layer with the smaller rectangle (the one with the gradient on it) Go to Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur and put the setting on 1.5, like so:
The smaller rectangle will now seem less rough around the edges.
Step 7
Now we are going to make the inner/smaller rectangle appear more rounded to give it a more stylish look. On the smaller rectangle layer use the wand tool (as described before) and click on the white space outside of the rectangle. Then go to Select>Inverse (or click Shft+Ctrl+I) and you will have the smaller rectangle selected. Next go to Select>Feather and enter 25 as the feather number (If you get an error message try decreasing the feather number). Now there will be a more elliptical selection around/inside the small rectangle. Again go to Select>Inverse and everything except the ellipse will be selected. Now press Delete. You should have something similar to this:
If it does not look exactly like this then press delete a few more times over the selected area until you are satisfied.
Step 8
Next merge the layers with the two different rectangles and you have yourself a button. You can add text to it using the text tool. You can scale it using Ctrl+T to make it any size you want and you can even add it on to your very own website template! Good luck!