Produce a 3D Security Padlock icon like the one above: Watch the video below and check out the step by step instructions.

1. 1 Create A New Canvas

   

   1. Create a new canvas that is 500px x 500px.
   2. Ensure rulers and extras are visible.
   3. Ensure ruler measurements are set to pixels.

2. 2 Set The Guides

   

   1. Set up horizontal guides as shown in the above image.
   2. Set up vertical guides as shown in the above image.

3. 3 Create The Padlock

   

   

   

   1. Draw 3 rectangles with the Rectangle Tool using the guides as a reference.
   2. Make the middle rectangle a shade darker than the other two.
   3. Go to Edit > Transform > Distort and adjust the corners of the first rectangle and do the same for the rectangle furthest to the right.
   4. Using the Pen Tool fill combine points using the guides as a reference so that the padlock has a background. Make this the lightest shade of colour on the padlock.

4. 4 Decoration

   

   

   

   1. Creae a new layer
   2. Using the polygonal lasso tool (and the shift key to draw straight lines), draw a line as showvn in the above images.
   3. Fill the line with white.
   4. Duplicate the line layer twice and place the line layers as shown above

5. 5 Create The Lock

   
   1. Using the Horizontal Type Tool, type in the letter 'U'. I used the font, Trebuchet MS and size 200pt.
   2. Flip the text layer vertically, go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical.
   3. Create a new layer.
   4. Using the Eliptical Marquee Tool, draw an elipse where the lock will meet the base as shown in the above images.
   5. Fill the eliptical selection with the same colour used on the 'U'.
   6. Create another elipse layer below the other side of the 'U'.

6. 6 The Metal Effect

   

   

   

   

   

   1. Apply the above blending modes to the 'U' created in step 5.
   2. Save the blending mode settings used for the 'U' text using the "New Style" button in the layer style dialog box.
   3. Apply the saved layer style to the elipse layers above.
   4. Ensure that the 'U' layer is places above the elipse layers in terms of layer priority.

   Observe the finished 3D security padlock created in Photoshop. How easy was that?