theKeeper

This overall effect is exactly the same as the method used for the glass button tutorials you've no doubt seen around. The only difference is the shape it's being applied to.

[h3]Creating a Glass Panel Shape:[/h3]
To create that shape, do the following. Then after you've made the shape, simply apply the same steps to it from one of the tutorials you've seen on making glass buttons.

1) Create a rectangular selection the size you want the viewscreen to be.
2) Press 'Q' for the Quick Mask mode. Gaussian blur by 5 pixels.
3) Press 'Ctrl+L' to open Levels. Drag the left and right sliders toward the middle. Watch the mask shape become more sharp around the edges. When the edges are nice and clean looking again, press OK. Then press the 'Q' key again to exit Quick Mask mode.
4) Now add a New Layer to your document, and fill the selection with a Linear gradient, using the colours of your choice. Just make sure the darker colour is at the top.
5) Under the EDIT menu choose Transform/Perspective. Grab one of the bottom corner control points and drag it inward until the shape appears the size you want it. (the angle is about 37 degrees) Press the ENTER key to apply the transform.

Seems like a bit of work, but once you know the routine, it takes less than a minute to do this.

( see example 1 below )

[h3]Creating the Glassy Effect:[/h3]
So you've created your elongated viewscreen shape. Name it 'ViewScreen'. Now ctrl-click the layer to select the shape. Then add a new layer above it. Hold the ALT key down and use the rectangle selection tool to select the bottom half of the viewscreen selection. This deletes the bottom half.

Enter 'Quick Mask' mode (Q key), and Gaussian Blur the selection mask by 5. Press Ctrl+F to repeat the blur.
Open the LEVELS filter and drag the left & right sliders toward the center until the edges of the selection mask get real clean.

Exit Quick Mask (Q key) and fill the selection with a white-to-black Linear grad, going top-to-bottom. Deselect. Set the layer to Screen.
Open the LEVELS filter again, and this time, drag the very bottom "black output" slider a little to the right. Stop when you can start to see the bottom edge of the highlight. Then drag the "white output" slider a little to the left. Until the highlight becomes a bit dim. You'll have to use your own eyes for this step because your gradient will be lighter/darker than mine was. So i can't give you an exact number. Just make the adjustment(s) until it looks good to your eye.

Ctrl-click the layer to select the highlight. Contract the selection by 3 pixels. Inverse the selection and Delete. Deselect.

Duplicate this highlight layer. Click the original layer, below the duplicate, and apply a 3 pixel Gaussian Blur to it. Then drop the Opacity to about 60%.

Add a New Layer. Ctrl-click the ViewScreen layer to select the shape. Then grab a soft brush, and make it a size that'll fit within the bottom half of the viewscreen window (in height). Now, using white, paint a strip along the bottom half of the viewscreen. Set the layer to Overlay, and lower the Opacity to 50-60%.

TIP:
(Hold the SHIFT key while making the paint stroke, to create a perfectly straight line with your brush.)

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And that's the glass viewscreen effect.
The interface body can be created using a dark Linear gradient on a rectangular shape. To make the 'sunken in' effect for the screen, duplicate the viewscreen shape layer, move the duplicate below the original, apply the bevel & emboss filter using the "Outside Bevel" option.

If you need any specific help with the effect just ask. But like i said, the effect is real easy to do. In fact... the elongated viewscreen shape is actually more work to create.

Looks great Mark! [righton]