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Tutorial - Shiny Thumbnail Image

This is my first tutorial so please just sit back relax and scroll along with me.

Step 1:

Choose a thumbnail sized image preferably around 150x150 but really something a lil bigger or smaller is fine. The one I'm using is to the left. It's 150x116. Rectangular images seem to work best with this effect.

Select the entire image and cut it out before preceding.

Step 2:

Here you are doubling the height of the canvas by 2 but leaving the width alone.

To get here go to Image -> Canvas Size

Select both drop down boxes and select "Percent" make sure width is at 100 and height is at 200 click OK then procede to the next step.

Step 3:

Here you should have the new "Layer 1" which contains your image and a solid color background image.

Right click the "Layer 1" and select Duplicate. select OK and continue on.

Step 4:

Select the entire image then align the newly created layer to the bottom. To align the layer go to Layer > Align to Selection > Bottom Edges ---- Your 2nd image should transfer to the bottom. of the image making it so you now have 2 of the thumbnail one on top of the other.

Step 5:

Hold ctrl and select the new layer to select it as shown. now go to Edit >Transform > Flip Verticle

This will flip the bottom image upside down creating a mirrored image on the bottom.

Step 6:

Select the "Edit in Quick Mask" button *press Q* then select the Gradient Tool.

Drag from the bottom up to a little bit past the middle portion of the image, hold SHIFT to make a straight line then let go.

Step 7:

Press Q again and you should have a selection. Press Ctrl+Shift+I and the selection should go to the other side. Then procede to the next step.

Step 8:

press Delete 4+ times depending on how long you want the reflection to be.

Step 9:

Create a new layer.

Make a selection about 10pixels tall and fill it in black.

Make sure the black block is centered and then continue on to the next step.

Step 10:

Blur the block 5+ times then press ctrl+g to group this with the upside down image.

Move it up and down to achieve a small sliver of faded black and you should have the completed image shown below.

This is it, after all that hard work you have achieved a nice shining thumbnail.

You can crop the image so the background blackness doesnt make the image unnecessarily long if you need to.Thanks for reading. As I wrote this I noticed that I probably could've made it a bit more detailed but I am sure that you won't come across any issues that you can't fix. Please email me if by chance you spot a large unidentified area that could cause confusion. THANKS.

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