The method I use is easier in practice, its a matter of hitting about 7 key commands.
Firstly, download this file and when in Photoshop, goto the actions a pallette and choose, "Load Actions". Load this action.
http://swizcore.com/SS/themes/MakeItWidget.atn.sit
Create
1.Create your artwork merged into a layer with no background.
Widget placement test
2.Copy it and paste it once to assure it pastes directly centered on the first layer. If it does, delete it, the test has passed. If it doesnt move the original layer to the exact location that the pasted layer is located. Regardless, when your artworks location is set, delete the duplicated layer.
MakeItWidget
3.Be sure the action is loaded! Press F1 on your keyboard.
4. Make sure your back ground is black. Copy merged (command+shift+c) the top and bottom layer. This is your widget.
Get your mask
5. Turn visibility off on the top layer. Make the middle layer visible. Command click on it. Now make sure the background color for the pallette (NOT the actual background of the document) is white; hit Command+delete. Copy merged the middle and bottom layers. This is your mask.
6.Premultiply
Get Premultiplier from Phoenix Software here:
http://users.wpi.edu/~phoenix/software/premult.sit
Paste your widget into the image well and your mask into the mask well. Your completed widget is automatically copied to the clipboard for transfer to Themepark or whatever your poison.
Advanced
For the inactive widgets, just turn down the opacity on your mask before going to Premultiplier. And if you want to get into advanced stuff like drop shadow masks you need to create your alpha mask as noted above and then add your shadows and effects to the alpha mask of Themepark. NO premultiplication is necessary for the mask itself, just the widget so you can just copy the "effected" mask into Themepark. But you must premultiply the widget with no effects on the mask.
Thats it.
I hope that this opens doors for a lot of people who just didnt know how to do this other than making square edged only themes.
Firstly, download this file and when in Photoshop, goto the actions a pallette and choose, "Load Actions". Load this action.
http://swizcore.com/SS/themes/MakeItWidget.atn.sit
Create
1.Create your artwork merged into a layer with no background.
Widget placement test
2.Copy it and paste it once to assure it pastes directly centered on the first layer. If it does, delete it, the test has passed. If it doesnt move the original layer to the exact location that the pasted layer is located. Regardless, when your artworks location is set, delete the duplicated layer.
MakeItWidget
3.Be sure the action is loaded! Press F1 on your keyboard.
4. Make sure your back ground is black. Copy merged (command+shift+c) the top and bottom layer. This is your widget.
Get your mask
5. Turn visibility off on the top layer. Make the middle layer visible. Command click on it. Now make sure the background color for the pallette (NOT the actual background of the document) is white; hit Command+delete. Copy merged the middle and bottom layers. This is your mask.
6.Premultiply
Get Premultiplier from Phoenix Software here:
http://users.wpi.edu/~phoenix/software/premult.sit
Paste your widget into the image well and your mask into the mask well. Your completed widget is automatically copied to the clipboard for transfer to Themepark or whatever your poison.
Advanced
For the inactive widgets, just turn down the opacity on your mask before going to Premultiplier. And if you want to get into advanced stuff like drop shadow masks you need to create your alpha mask as noted above and then add your shadows and effects to the alpha mask of Themepark. NO premultiplication is necessary for the mask itself, just the widget so you can just copy the "effected" mask into Themepark. But you must premultiply the widget with no effects on the mask.
Thats it.
I hope that this opens doors for a lot of people who just didnt know how to do this other than making square edged only themes.