Designers usually find themselves in the position of being asked to mimic a tremendous number of materials. Brushed steel is a texture that comes up quite a bit in design today. It can be used in interior designs for kitchens, on Web sites with industrial themes and can even be found in video games. This How to Make Brushed Steel in Photoshop tutorial will demonstrate one of the easiest ways to create a believable version of it.

• If you desire a more dramatic effect with the brushed lines, use Linear Light instead of Overlay as the blend mode.

• Read more about using gradients on the How to Use the Gradient Tool in Photoshop page.

• You should always double the size of your document so that when you size it down 50% you get a sharper image.

• Adjust the depth and distance numbers on your bevel if the effect doesn't work right with your project.

The examples in this tutorial were made with the image editor, Adobe Photoshop. However, most of the techniques can be utilized in other programs such as Gimp or Paint Shop Pro. It should take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete from start to finish and is suitable for all skill levels.

When picking a font, aim for one that has a normal to thick weight. If it is too thin, you will have to adjust the settings considerably.

1. Create a new document by typing Ctrl+N.
2. Set the width and height to 500 pixels and give the file a transparent background.
3. Name the transparent layer textSteel'.
4. Push T to activate the text tool.
5. Under the main menu, you will see the text bar. Change the text size to 150 points or a size of your choice.
6. Type your sample wording or add a shape.

Now, you will make you word or shape three dimensional.

1. Choose your layer named textSteel then push the layer style icon at the bottom of the layer window. It looks like a lowercase f in a circle. (Hit the F7 button if your layer window is closed.)
2. PickBevel and Emboss.
3. Use the images below to fill in the custom settings for Bevel and Emboss, Contour, Texture, Satin and Gradient Overlay.

In this last step, you will make a layer that replicates the lines that you see on brushed steel.

1. Hit Shift + Ctrl + N to add a new layer. Name it brushed.
2. Use the shortcut Shift + F5 to bring up the fill menu. From the Contents section, pick 50% Gray.
3. Add grain by picking Filter -> Noise -> Add Noise. Choose Gaussian and Monochromatic at 20%.
4. Next, stretch the pixels by picking Filter -> Blur -> Motion Blur. Give Angle a value of 0 and Distance a value of 41.
5. Ctrl click textSteel. This will make a selection of that shape.
6. Push the mask icon. (It's at the bottom of the layer interface and looks like a square with a circle in the middle.)
7. Change the layer blend mode of brushed to Overlay.