I have recently come across a problem relating with interface design.
A co-worker that I've been tutoring in some of the finer arts of Photoshop
was recently building a more complicated interface design. He'd actually
done fairly well except for when he resized one of the layers with the Free
Transform tool and pixelated the edges of the object (Whoops!).
The inside arc in the above image was resized with Free Transform which
you are able to see has screwed up the anti-aliasing a fair bit on this
object (it's on a seperate layer). This tutorial will also be handy if
you've increased the size of one of your objects (this will definitely
pixellate it).
Luckily in order to fix something like this it is a fairly easy process
and you won't need to redo the whole layout again. [Phew!]
1. Isolate the problem layer (ie turn all other layers off
with the "eye" icon next to that layer) so that alll you are able
to see now is the layer you want to smooth.
2. Hold down your <CTRL> key and click on the object's layer. This
should make a perfect selection.
3. Change to the Channels window (make sure it's visible by selecting
WINDOW >> SHOW CHANNELS). Click on the "Save Selection as Channel"
Button
and then select the new channel usually called Alpha 1
4. Select the whole canvas <CTRL> + <A> and then select FILTER
>> BLUR >> GAUSSIAN BLUR. Give it a value of around 3 pixels
but it can depend on how much pixellation you are trying to eliminate. Do
not set it too high. Click OK.
5. This next part is what actually smooths the channel. Hold down <CTRL>
+ <L> (or select IMAGE >> ADJUST >> LEVELS).
Drag the left hand slider a little before the middle and then
bring the right-hand slider across to the middle until your object looks
nice and smooth. Unfortunately the settings are not always the same and
if you drag the sliders too close to one another your object will start
to pixellate again. Click OK.
6. Click on the "Load Channel as Selection" button
and then go back to the Layers window (WINDOW >> SHOW LAYERS).
7. If you now create a new layer and fill that with your color,
gradient and effects you will now have a much more smooth looking object.
and then select the new channel usually called Alpha 1
and then go back to the Layers window (WINDOW >> SHOW LAYERS).
