Tutorial: Loading Bar

[Daffy]

As requested here is a tutorial on how to do a Loading Bar, there is multiple ways and lots of different software you can use for this, but this is the way i prefer to do it and would say is the easiest.

You need these programs to follow the tutorial, there are other programs that can do the same and you can of course use them if you feel you know how to do what i do with what i use.
- Adobe Photoshop
- Sony Vegas

Step 1:
First open Photoshop, create a new layer by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N and select the Rectangular Marque Tool and then select Fixed Size where it says Style, this is where you chose how big you want you loading bar to be.
I'm gonna use 600x100 as an example but you may chose whatever size you feel like.

Now press your left mouse button holding the somewhere in your project screen to make a rectangular selection, make sure you move it using the arrows on your keyboard or Move Tool which is located to the right of the Rectangular Marque Tool and place it where you'd like to have your loading bar.
Press Shift+F5 and chose what colour you'd like it to have and then hit to to fill your selection.
Now go to Select at the top of your screen and then Modify and then again Contract and press Delete on your keyboard.

Create a new layer and then repeat the Select-Modify-Step again and color it again.
We have now created the border and the loading bar.
Right Click the bottom layer which is named by default Layer 0 and chose delete.

Hide your bottom layer by giving it a Left Mouse Button click on the eye to the left of it so only the Loading Bar and not the Border is visible.

Press Ctrl+Shift+S to bring up the save option and name it Loading Bar and save it as a .psd, make your Border visible again and then make the Loading bar invisible.
Hit Ctrl+Shift+S again and name this file Loarding Bar Border.
You can now close Photoshop.

Step 2:
Just before you start, keep in my that if your Border and Loading Bar is black you need to put a White Layer below the 2 you're about to create to see the Loading Bar.
Open Vegas and create 2 layers, place both of the .psd's we created in seperate layers, you chose which one you'd like to have them on as it doesn't matter.
Give the Border a little fade just to make it look a little fancy and then have the Loading Bar start where the fade-in we gave the Border ends.

Now give the loading bar a fade, the length of the fade will determine how long the loading will last.
Go to Transitions at the bottom of your screen and select the Linear Fade category.
Drag either Left-Right, Hard Edge or Right-Left, Hard Edge to the Loading Bar's fade, you have to chose which one cause it determines if your Loading Bar will start at the left side and end at the right or the opposite.

Your project should now look like this:


Your Loading Bar is now finished, i hope you found this tutorial helpful.

Result:

[Godfather]

Easy as always

[Mr.Magic]

Creative. I made a loading bar once by using fraps to record the one from VC loading screen, make it Black and white color and then pan crop it. This is a much better way to do it though

[Cody]

I've always wanted to know how to do this!

[GT-7]

Thank you for this tut. This will come handly  

[Stevex]

really like your tuts, good and easy to understand =)

[morbidxxx]

I didnt thinked that its so easy

[Stevex]

Cant you make a huge .rar with all your tuts?  

[Daffy]

Naah, i might make a website soon and i'll have all my tutorials there.
I added a result...

[Stevex]

Naah, i might make a website soon and i'll have all my tutorials there.

good enough =)

[HamiltonFed]

Is that possible to make loading stuck in the middle and then continue after some seconds?

[Mitopir]

SWEEET!!! JUST THE THING I WAS SEARCHING FOR!!!
daffy u'za my hero ^^

[Daffy]

Is that possible to make loading stuck in the middle and then continue after some seconds?

Anything is possible.

[JL]

Hard looking things are often so simple...  Thx daff

[Flat Face]

would it be the same for us gimp users?