Step 1:  Create a blank 200px by 200px document and Edit > Fill it with 50% Grey. Now run Filter > Noise > Add Noise, with the amount set to 20%, distribution set to uniform, and monochromatic checked.

NB.  You can set the amount higher if you want a coarser grain, or lower if you are going for a more subtle effect.

Step 2: Now brush that metal by selecting Filter > Blur > Motion Blur, with the angle set to -45 degrees, and the distance set to 20px.

Step 3: Its a little plain, so add a couple of highlights using Filter > Render > Lighting Effects with the following settings:

Light Type: Omni
Intensity: 21
Light Colour: #FFFFFF
Gloss: 100
Material: 100
Exposure: 0
Ambience: 10

Step 4: And there you have it - a brushed metal texture that you will find useful again and again.

NB. Feel free to fiddle with the settings in steps 1, 2 and 3 until they suit your own personal tastes. You can also build up layers of metal textures to create some truly unique effects.

Variations: You should, of course, use this texture as a starting point for more complex creations. The sphere on the left, for example, is a blend of the metal texture, with a Shiny Sphere.  You can also learn more about object textures with my texture mapping tutorial.

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You have NO idea how long I've waited for a tutorial like this!!

I could have used it like a year ago when I was making the graphical interface of this application my boss has! Oh well, maybe a future revision of the application I'll try and re-design the look of it with brushed metal.

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Quote from JMA;37630: This is such a cool effect!...I havn't tried it yet but I cant wait

this effect rocks! im trying to perfect it tho. anyone know of anysites for video editing?

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This is such a cool effect!...I havn't tried it yet but I cant wait

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thumbs up for the tutorial! The result is so wonderful when i use it to design my forum signature..:)

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Check your image mode - some modes (e.g. CMYK) and/or bit-depths (e.g. 16-bit) don't support the Lighting Effects filter.

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