I just ran across this series of killer Photoshop tutorials by Cameron Moll, detailing how to achieve “that wicked worn look” and make your images look worn, scratched, and slightly beat-up. Like any Mac fan, I love the Aqua style, but there’s something about the worn look that just gets you. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but when it’s done right, it looks great (see his blog, linked above). The last entry in the series links to a thoughtful entry at Airbag Industries on that style.

I also wholeheartedly agree with Cameron’s recommendation of the Machine Wash Photoshop filters. They allow you to instantly apply an aged look to a layer using the included Actions. If you’re looking to create that style and don’t want to spend the time doing all the work manually, definitely check out Machine Wash filters.

I’m working on a new weblog about music and audio, which I’ll surely plug here on Command-Tab once it’s up and running. I’ll be linking to the iTunes Music Store quite often, so I decided to use the grey buttons found all over the store. I wanted to use my own button titles, though, and there was no option that allowed me to easily create the buttons with custom text. I went for the next best option — Photoshop them!

I think this Photoshop post may win the award for smallest attachment, as the image dimensions are quite tiny (”impossibly small,” you might say). Included in the Photoshop files are the disabled, default, and click states of both the large and small iTMS buttons, along with type layers using an “engraved” text style nearly identical to the original. The buttons are also masked such that you can use them on any color, although light shades look best. Now you can create your own iTunes Music Store buttons with any text you like, and they’ll come out looking like the real thing. Get them here!

While working on a print project, I needed a large version of the iTunes Music Store icon from iTunes’ source list. Since the one that exists is only about 16×16 pixels, I had to create a new one from scratch. Here is the result of my effort, in Photoshop form for you to enjoy. See the full size preview image, or download the layered Photoshop file.

It’s been a while since I posted some Photoshop files here, so I’ll add two this time, as they go hand in hand. First up is a 350 pixel Xbox jewel logo found on game covers and packaging. In hindsight, I should have created it much larger, but this is as big as it gets. It’s made up of tons of layers, but they’re all labeled well enough so you can figure out what each accomplishes. The only part of this file I didn’t create from scratch is the actual Xbox “X” symbol in the middle.

The second Photoshop file is a 256×256 pixel image representing a game cover, originally created for Xbox Media Center usage (which makes use of the jewel logo above). The Halo 2 cover is a scan of the game jacket itself, and the header and Xbox Live strip are also separate layers. Under the cover layer is a “Place Game Cover Here” drop zone-looking area, possibly for a drag-and-drop style cover creation program.

You can see both images in the preview JPEG image, or download both Photoshop files as a zip archive (1.2 MB). Feel free to modify either however you see fit — all I ask is that you drop me an email if you do end up using them in a project. Both files were created in Adobe Creative Suite 2 with compatibility mode on. While I haven’t tested it, these files should open with at least Photoshop 7.0 or greater.