glossed buttons

Many buttons and userbars have glossed tops (see the userbars in the GG Userbar Tutorial). This is actually a really easy thing to do. First, get your basic background color on your button (or userbar). Just a simple colored square, like this:


Then, you make a new layer. (Layer >> New Layer). On that layer, use the square select tool (tool #1) to select the top half, then fill it in with white. You should have something like this:


Now, just play with the opacity of that layer (on the top of the layer tab) until it looks right to you. It depends on what color the background is, but just lower it until it has a natural glossy look. Like this:


And viola, now you can make glossy buttons, userbars, or even banners.