1. Make a circular selection.
Tip: Hold down Alt/Option to draw from the center. Hold down Shift to draw a perfect circle. To move the selection while drawing, hold the spacebar.
2.Select the gradient tool. black to white circular gradient. Make sure you check the reverse box on the top bar.
3. Draw the gradient starting from the center and you should have something like this.
4. Now how about the slot?
Make a new layer. Draw a long rectangle and fill with dark gray.
To trim the slot: Ctrl/Cmd click on the layer 1 thumbnail to select it. With the top layer active hit Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I to invert the selection. Press the delete key. Now you should have a nicely trimmed slot.
5. To make the slot look recessed:
Add a layer style to the slot. Hit the little "f" at the bottom of the layers palette. Use inner shadow with the default settings except for the size, move that up a little bit for more realism.
6. We are done, but how often is the slot perfectly vertical? Press Ctrl/Cmd+T for free transform. Move your mouse on a corner until it turns into a curved arrow. Drag it around until you have a nice angled slot.
To finish, merge down and add a drop shadow and a bit of color if you desire.
About the Author:
Colin Smith is a best-selling author, trainer, and award-winning new-media designer
who has caused a stir in the design community with his stunning
photorealistic illustrations composed entirely in Photoshop. He is
founder of the world's most popular Photoshop resource site, PhotoshopCAFE.com, which boasts more than two million visitors.
With over 10 years of experience in the design industry, Colin was formerly Senior Editor and Art Director for VOICE magazine. He is a regular columnist for Photoshop User magazine, PlanetPhotoshop.com, and the official site of the National Association for Photoshop Professionals. He also contributes to a number of other graphic art publications and Web sites, such as Mac Design magazine, Web Designer magazine and Computer Arts Magazine.
Colin's graphic design work has been recognized with numerous awards,
including the Guru awards at Photoshop World 2001 and 2002, for his
work in both Illustration and Web Design. He's authored or co-authored
more than ten books on Photoshop, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Photoshop CS (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2003) and award-winning Photoshop Most Wanted: Effects and Design Tips (A Press/Friends Of Ed, 2002). Colin is also creator of the Photoshop Secrets Video training series (PhotoshopCD.com).
He is in high demand across the United States as a lecturer, presenting
his Photoshop techniques to Web designers and other graphics
professionals across the nation.