Shiny Bar by hpmad

1. Open a new canvas about 500x20 pixels or so.

2. Create a new layer and name it "Bar". Fill this layer with a color. It can be any color you want. Click for screenshot

3. Create a new layer. Name it "Top". Ctrl+Click the "Bar" layer to load the selection. Make sure you are still on the "Top" layer. Click for screenshot

4. Hold down Alt and select the bottom 1/3 of the loaded selection from the last step. You should now have about 1/3 of the image selected on top. Click for sceenshot

5. Again, make sure you are on the "Top" layer. Fill this selection with any color, only a lighter shade. Click for screenshot

6. Choose the Move Tool (V) and press the down arrow key about 1 or 2 times to nudge the top part down a little bit. Click for sceenshot

7. You now have a professional looking bar! Experiment with some gradients or blending options to see what you can come up with. You can add text and even use the slice tool to make a menu bar! This is what I came up with: Click for screenshot