How to make a good sidebar that runs down the left side of the page:
- Open Adobe Photoshop, and turn on the Rulers function, under the "View" menu if they are not already on. (If the ruler isn't in pixel measurement go under the FIle menu, and under Preferences choose Units & Rulers and change it to pixels.)
- Create a new picture under the File Menu by selecting New.
- The image should be 1000 x 50 pixels. (This allows most computers to view the background properly since not many monitors have screens wider than 1000 pixels.)
- Next using the Marquee tool make a square filling the entire height of the image and about 150 pixels wide on the left side.
- Select the Fill tool and fill the square with any color you choose.
- Use the Marquee tool again and select the filled area and a small amount more to the right of it. (About 5 pixels.)
- Under the Filters menu choose Torn Edges under the Sketch sub-menu and use whatever values you want then proceed. (You can also use other filters so try some others ones if you want.)
- Save the file as a JPG, or by changing the Mode under the Image menu to Indexed Color then saving it as a GIF.
Made by Jeremy Parr-Pearson
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