Create a Bouncing Ball

This can be an attractive piece of graphic to be used on any advertising banner (of a respectable size) to be shown like interstitial or popup.

Let's start with an 400 x 400 px new document, with white background (yes, it's too big for a banner but it can be scaled down later).

Select the Elliptical Marquee tool and choose Fixed size, set it to 370 x 370 and draw a circle.

Create a new layer. Pick the Paint Bucket tool and select the color you desire your ball to be (I used #FFA406) and fill the selection with it.

Now press CTRL+D to deselect.

Remaining on the layer you just filled hit Filter > Render > Lens Flare with the following values:

Now type something on the ball or import your logo (I changed the colors as it wasn't well readable).

Now we will tweak the text to give it some round feeling. Be sure to have the Text Tool selected, then in the top bar hit this button:

Use these settings:

Here's what I have now:

Now position and merge all the layers that have to be "on the ball" (for example I have the Tutorialstream.com text layer and the logo just over it). Click on the layer that contains all the merged ones and hit Filter > Distort > Spherize and apply these settings:

This is what I have now:

Now adjust the size with Edit > Free Transform. I will add also some perspective effect so that is seems to better fit the ball: Edit > Transform > Perspective

Now we will add some sort of shadow, but not with the blending options.

First of all we need a bigger area, hit Image > Canvas Size and apply these settings:

Create a new layer and place it just over the white background layer, then pick the Ellipse Tool and choose a dark grey ( I used #434343) and draw a fat ellipse just below the ball, on one side.

Now hit Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and use these settings

This is my final result: