What We’ll Be Creating
Resources Used In This Tutorial
- Woofunction Icon Set
- Hora Del Juego By Reevolver
- Vijaya Font
- (Recommended) Design beautiful landing pages with leadpages.
Creating Our Layout Background
Create a new document (Ctrl + N) with the dimensions 1200 x 1245 with a white #ffffff background. Right-click the background layer and select “Layer From Background” from the the menu, give the background layer a name then add a “Gradient Overlay” using the settings below.
Select the “Elliptical Marquee Tool” (M) then drag out a big ellipse onto the top of the canvas.
Create a new layer above the background layer then label it “Background Jazz”. Now select the “Gradient Tool” with the following options.
Drag the gradient over part of the top of the ellipse, we don’t want to fill the whole ellipse.
Deselect the ellipse (Ctrl + D) and you should have something like this.
Duplicate, rotate and adjust the opacity of each layer randomly placing them in the top half of the canvas. I’ve simply done this 3 times.
Creating The Header
On the left side of the canvas add the portfolio title and slogan using the “Type Tool” (T). The font is used is called “Vijaya” and can be downloaded from the resource list.
Select the main title layer then add the following layer styles.
You should have something like this.
On the right side of the title and slogan add a simple textual navigation using the same font. For the hover effect on one of the links simply turn the text black and add a underscore.
Creating The Featured Area
Select the “Rounded Rectangle Tool” (U) with a radius of 10px then drag out a decent sized rectangle underneath the header elements.
Now select the “Rounded Rectangle Layer” and label “Featured” then add the following layer styles.
Now set the layers opacity to 50%, you should have something like this.
We now need to add our featured image inside of the rectangle, the image should be around with 15px smaller all the way around the rectangle. To do this first load a selection around the featured rectangle.
Quick Tip:
To load a selection click the little thumbnail in the layers window on the desired layer whilst holding down the CTRL key on the keyboard.
Once the selection has been loaded go to “Select > Modify > Contract”. Contract the selection by 15px then press OK. With the selection still loaded download and open the featured image.
Copy the featured image to the clipboard then head back to your original canvas and go to “Edit > Paste Special > Paste into” (Alt + Shift + Ctrl + V”. Maneuver and resize the image so it looks how you want it to. Finally deselect the selection with “Ctrl + D”.
Select the “Pen Tool” (P) or the “Polygonal Lasso Tool” (L) and make a selection over the featured image like the image below.
Fill (G) the selection on a new layer with the color white #ffffff, then set the layer opacity to around 35%.
Next, we need to add the featured image caption. Simply select the “Rectangular Marquee Tool” (M) then drag out a rectangular selection across the bottom of the image.
Fill (G) the selection with any color then add the following layer styles.
Select the “Type Tool” (T) then add some caption text inside the rectangle, you should have something like this.
Creating The Featured Gallery Slider
Select the “Rounded Rectangle Tool” (U) then drag out a small square underneath the featured area.
Change the squares color to white #ffffff then contract the square by 5-10px just like we did to our featured image. Once contracted paste inside one of your portfolio images.
Repeat this step 3 more times so you have a total of 4 images.
On the left and right sides of the thumbnail images add two arrows from the custom shapes library.
Add the following layer styles to the two arrows.
You should now have something like this.
Creating The Content
Start off by adding a simple divider underneath the featured area.
The divider was created simply with the “Type Tool” (T) using the “Dash Key (——)”. Once you’ve created the divider add the following layer styles.
Finally set the dividers opacity to 50% and your done. Now, using the “Type Tool” (T) add the portfolio tag line, the font i used is “Vijaya” which you can download from the resource list.
Finish off the tag line by duplicating the divider you created earlier then dragging it underneath the tag line.
Download the “Woofunction Icon Set” from the resource list then add two icons into the content area. On the side of each icon add a main heading and and sub heading.
Underneath each heading and sub heading at a decent sized paragraph, separate each section with the divider we created earlier only this make it vertically.
In the space left on the right side of the content area add a little blog feed.
Finally duplicate the long horizontal divider and drag it underneath the content we just created.
Creating The Twitter Box
Select the “Rounded Rectangle Tool” (U) then drag out a rectangle underneath the last divider you just created.
Now add the following layer styles to the twitter rectangle.
You should have something like this.
Inside the rectangle add a little twitter bird of your choice then add the twitter text in which you normally see on a tweet.
Duplicate the 3 “Background Jazz Layers” then drag them to the bottom into the footer area.
Finally inside the footer add your copyright text and maybe some social icons from the “Woofunction Icon Set”.
Ready to become Pro?
Thanks for taking part in this tutorial, if you managed to finish this tutorial I’d love to see some of your results. Feel free to post them up on our Facebook Fan Page.
Typical “Richard” style, back to work uh, great tutorial after a long time since hvdesigns :), thanks for sharing….
Hi there Richard,
Once again a clean and nice tutorial! going to try it as soon as im @home!
Regards,
Martijn
@Rajasegar: Don;t no know wether thats was a positive or negative comment. Can you describe “Typical Richard Style”?
@Martijn: Thanks for your comment, much appreciated
He returned!!! Thanks man!
Great tutorial Richard,
Could you eventually do a converting a Photoshop layout into HTML and CSS.
And also a tutorial on Typography. It would be muchly appreciated!
Thanks.
@david
I am pondering the thought of doing a PSD Conversion.
I used to read Chris Spooner blog, but it seems that there’s many others who creates these great tutorials, like you. I’m first time here, and your blog seems to be the great source for graphic designers.
Cheerz,
Haris.
Thanks so much “Haris Tahic” its comments like yours which keeps me going.
Thank You
@Richard, I was just mentioning the awesome style of your works man, no offence meant, i am a huge follower of HVDesigns, i have almost all the tutorials saved in my hard disk from the site, managed to practice a few, you are a big inspiration to me, thanks a lot for all the things you shared with us through the blog over the years and hope to see a lot in the future also, Cheers 🙂
@RAJASEGAR: many thanks for clearing that up. glad i inspire you. I’m sure i will be creating awsome tutorials for years to come.
Just a note to all of you, the PSD to HTML tutorial looks like it will get written but a fellow designer of mine might be writing it. I will definetly post it up as soon as its done.
Another excellent web design tutorial from by Richard Carpenter, one of my best and favorit web design teachers
Wonderful Layout ..! It’s hard for me i m just learning new things in photoshop thanks for this post ..!
Wow, it’s really very clean………
awesome work…it really inspired me….guess u got new follower n i got new awesome teacher…..
Awesome work, it looks really nice. I got 1 question: I can’t reallty get out of the HTML and CSS code maybe you can help me 😀
Greats
Thank you very much for this great tutorial! Can’t wait to do the PSD to HTML tutorial! Hope it will go online soon 🙂
Thanks again!
Wow! Great tutorial, I like the layout. Great, just great.
i will keep it to my hdrive and blog… thanks.. Richard
Tutorials like this proves that you can get great information for free, still! Most of the Photoshop sites i visit charge for such tutorials. Thanks for explaining everything in details and providing all this info for free!
great design. but i still have a hard time making it to htms or css for website.
Great tutorial Richard.. Love it..
thank for share. I like it
Awesome tutorial. Following it now and hope to use my version for my portfolio site. Thanks a lot!
really useful information,
I’m a first-time viewer and loved the tutorial! Can’t wait to see the PSD to HTML tutorial; something I am looking forward to learning. You have another follower…
hello, what do you advise me as hoster to create my website? i want to create a website for show my work. thanks 🙂
ps: great tutorial
great work! really appreciate it!
I was just saying to one of my friends, I want to create, a digital portfolio. Then I came accross your site on twitter. Wow, just the kind of layout I want. Have a look at my blog, I am new to website designing and having little time, I created a blog, just for now tho.
Thanks you so much for this tutotial.
Awesome tut
🙂
great work! really appreciate it!
some queries clear with this nice tut.
thanks
great work!非常棒。
Awesome tutorial! Also really great content on your site, your work is an inspiration. 🙂
This tutorial was just amazing! Thank you so much for sharing. You are very talented.
amazing……….
Great work! Also looking forward to the PSD to HTML tutorial.
great !Could you be my master? Im a programmer.I am now studying PS.I take some projects and need a designer.
I appreciate the effort that went into this tutorial 🙂 I’ve made my design a little bit different here and there but it only added to how much i’ve learnt.
I did have some issues on the Mac with the ‘Paste into’ command. When i copied the file from Finder and tried to paste it, it gave me a default image of a jpg. To fix this i had to open the image in Photoshop and use the marquee tool to select the entire image and then copy it. If anyone knows what caused this problem, i’d be pleased to learn it. Thanks.
Awesome tutorial thanks. I have just started designing, it helped a lot.
Cool page. Thanks for the neat tutorial 🙂
I ran this whole tutorial through a trial version of PS on a mac. It was a great way to dive and learn how to use photoshop. there were some minor differences but nothing difficult to figure out. Thanks.
I love that design.Thank you very much
So Nice Richard, but it’s toooo easy 😀
very nice tuto..!!!
Thanx u very much for the tutorial..
thankyou so much for the turorial it clears many concepts of webdesigning
thank you … for the tutorial
good tuto !!!
simple design and clean
great jop thx !!!
Tutorial looks great, I’m completely new to Photoshop and I’m lost on one section, at the beginning..
If anyone can help, it’s really appreciated. I’m having difficulty with the Gradient Tool. I’ve followed the steps until the ‘Background Jazz’ layer. I can’t get the gradient to fill only the top of the eclipse and not the entire thing. When I drag the gradient it automatically fills the entire selection. I don’t know where I’m going wrong?
thx !!!
Excellent tutorial, I did each step and the result is wonderful, thanks a lot!!! I’d like to know how to code it in HTML/CSS…
Hi Richard,
Great design. Need some tutorial for wordpress conversion for this web layout.
really very good benefit tutorial ,, I’m newer in the web design field ,, it helped me very much ,,, thanks again ,,, i have a question for you if you please to me..!
how can i remember all these steps in Tut if i wanted to design mine? and how can i be creative to design like you?
thank you again Richard 🙂
oh,very good tutorial.Thanks.
coool learn
tnx
thanks for your tutorial, great, I followed this step by step
thankyou so much… this is very useful for me…
well well .. this web layout is easy to understand .. it’s good not like as typical .
thanks for sharing
keep going
Hi Komal, Thanks for your feedback. We will continue to post interesting and unique tutorials in future also. Will look forward for hearing from you again.
Thanks.
It is really a beautiful and creative portfolio having some vital information over the subject. Thank you for share.
Thanks so much for sharing the info. This tutorial has been really helpful to me!