Side Table

This tutorial is quite easy. All you need is the side table file which also contains the dark wood fill.

The terms of use are here

If you don't like the wood texture provided, and excellent site for many, many wood is here




1. Open a new image, 450 x 350. Make a new layer, Side legs. We'll come back to this layer later.

2. Make another new layer, Top Rim, go to

Selections - Load from Disc


and get 01toprim.sel, and flood-fill it with the wood fill given, or any fill you have.

3. Make another layer, Bottom Rim, get 02bottomrim.sel, and flood-fill.

4. Make a new layer, Bottom Shelf, and get 03bottomshelf.sel. Flood-fill.

Optional for dark coloured wood - The following makes a subtle change in the "finish" of the wood. Make a new layer, keeping the bottom self selected. Use the Airbrush tool , with the Foreground color white, and the following settings:



Go to Effects - Blur - Gaussian Blur 2.0

Then lower the opacity of the layer, if necessary.
5. New layer - Bottom Shelf Rim - get 04bottomshelfrim.sel, and Flood-fill.

Then go to Effects - 3D Effects - Inner Bevel


This time using the Airbrush tool and the above optional procedure, really makes a difference. Just make a new layer and use the Airbrush tool and blur as described.

NOTE: For very light woods, it is best to load the 03bottomshelfrim.sel again. (It will be easier to see what you're doing if you turn off the Bottom Shelf & Shelf Rim layers.) Flood-fill and go to Selections - Modify - Contract 5 pixels. Then go to Selections - Invert and click with the Magic Wand to select the rim. (The reason for this is that just filling the given rim selection often gives strange effects with light woods.)



Go to Selections - Invert, and instead of applying an Inner Bevel, apply a Drop Shadow: Vertical 2, Horizontal 2, Opacity 25-30, Blur 2.
6. New Layer - Middle Leg - 05middleleg.sel. Flood-fill, changing the angle of the fill to 90o, and keep the leg selected.

Make a new layer, Highlights, set the Foreground colour to white, and use the Draw Tool

Freehand Line - Width 5 - Antialias checked


to draw in highlights. Don't worry if your lines go past the legs, we can get rid of the excess later:

Go to Effects - Blur - Gaussian Blur 2.0,


Now, get the Middle Leg, 05leg.sel, selection again, and invert the selection (Selections - Invert) and hit CTRL-X to get rid of the excess lines and blurring.

Then lower the opacity of the layer, to about 27%.

Turn off all the layers, except Highlights and Middle Leg by clicking on the eyeglasses in the Layers Pallette. Then right-click and Merge Visible and name the newly merged layer Middle Leg. Copy by pressing CTRL-A, CTRL-C. Turn on the other layers, and open the first layer you named, Side Legs. Now press CTRL-E and put that leg in place, and press CTRL-E again and put the second leg in place.

7. Go back to the Middle Leg layer, get 05leg.sel again, and add the following drop shadow:

V 0, H 2, Opacity 30, Blur 2


Then apply the drop shadow again, changing the Horizontal to minus 2, and finish off by going to Effects - Sharpen - Sharpen.

8. Make a new layer, Table Top. Get 06tabletop.sel and flood-fill, changing the Angle to 00. Then add the following drop shadow:

V 2, H 0, Opacity 30, Blur 2


Make a new layer, and if you de-selected, get the 06tabletop.sel again. Flood-fill with white, and then go to Selections - Modify - 1 pixel, and hit delete. Use the Eraser tool to get rid of the back part of the white image--you only want the white on the front of the table top. Lower the opacity of the layer to around 23%--just enough to give a hit of the wear a table usually has at the edge. Finish off by going to Effects - Blur - Blur.

You're all done! Congratulations! I hope you enjoy your table.


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Uploaded 22 August 2002