Linear Perspective

EDIT: Some people were asking for the files: ge.tt/1EjlwuN/v/0

 

**This is not guaranteed to work on resolutions that are not 1920 x 1080**

 

I recently saw an awesome Lifehacker wallpaper article linking to the site 50 foot shadows where I found the background image: fiftyfootshadows.net/2012/06/06/going-nowhere/

 

I immediately came up with the idea of using the steps as a sort of shelf but the angle of the picture made it hard to use simple Rainmeter skins...I really liked the picture so I decided to go a different route; these are the steps I took:

 

1. Using photoshop, I placed text layers on the image and then rasterized them

 

2. I then used the perspective tool in photoshop to make it seem like the text was at the same angle as the stairs

 

3. I copied the parameters of the perspective transform I used and created a new image for each number 0-9 with the same transform applied to each along with a gaussian blur

 

4. Using rainmeter and some clever formulas others thought up, I broke up the date and time to single digits and used dynamic names to reference different images depending on the time and date

 

The process may seem complicated but it really isn't that hard; it probably took me about 5 hours of work to figure out how to use photoshop and then to code it

 

My resolution is 1920x1080 and I don't really feel like going through the steps to recreate this for other resolutions, but if someone wants to use the same process then they are welcome to!

 

Questions and comments are greatly appreciated! If enough people would like the files I can upload those too, just let me know

Done