bitter/graced

.079

theotherayn — Fri, 28 May 2021 17:51:03 GMT

65 LEE JOON GI ICONS
20 Coordinates of Style for somein30 + 10 alternates
15 Flower of Evil
15 Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
01 Arang and the Magistrate
01 Iljimae
01 Lawless Lawyer
01 The King and the Clown
01 Time Between Dog and Wolf

I was up for a challenge so I did extra hard mode. Well at least I hope I did it right haha. Here are my coordinates:

x-axis: amount of text (from textless --> most amount of text)
y-axis: complexity in blending (top row has none, bottom row has 2 or more images, not counting textures for color/light)
z-axis: amount of color (the first block is monochrome while the second block is multichrome)

1-10. flower of evil

11-20. moon lovers: scarlet heart ryeo

I've been using a kind of template (grainy/textured/low contrast) coloring for tumblr recently and I feel like it looks so good with larger graphics but not so much in 100x100 squares lol. I think I'll go back to the way I used to work for my next batch. anyway, here are some alternates:

21-30. alternates

...and as usual I have a LOT of stuff cropped/resized from larger graphics because I basically fell in love with lee joon gi's face after flower of evil and can't resist photoshopping him XD

31-45. flower of evil

46-60. moon lovers: scarlet heart ryeo

61-65. arang and the magistrate, iljimae, lawless lawyer, the king and the clown, time between dog and wolf

.078

theotherayn — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 02:42:39 GMT

50 FLOWER OF EVIL
20 Atmospheric for somein30
30 alternates + extras

1-5. serene

6-10. romantic

11-15. mysterious

16-20. somber

I had planned to do extra hard mode but wasn't happy with what I was doing then I started panicking yesterday so here have some crops with subtle light/color differences to change the atmosphere. I hope it worked lol

21-35. alternates

and here are a couple more cropped from bigger graphics...

36-50. extras

.077

theotherayn — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 16:46:43 GMT

50 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
20 Memory Lane for somein30 + 10 alternates
01 365: Repeat the Year
04 Flower of Evil
15 The King: Eternal Monarch

1-5. doctor who, pride and prejudice (2005), true blood, in the mood for love, north and south

6-10. merlin, dollhouse, game of thrones, the hour, downton abbey

11-15. buffy the vampire slayer, bright star, hannibal, the white queen, captain america: the winter soldier

16-20. daredevil, the terror, the lizzie bennet diaries, the king: eternal monarch, flower of evil

2007-2008
I fell in love with Doctor Who and began making icons though barely. It was mostly monochromatic or unnatural coloring. (1) is inspired by this two-tone icon while (2) is based on my 2nd post which was black and white with splashes of pink.
2009
I began making icons "seriously" when I got into the True Blood fandom. I remember one of my first idols was zoicite_icons (3) is me trying to do their smudgy background thing but I just...can't. (4) Pink was a color I used A LOT. I also discovered blending modes and did a lot of (5) blending into silhouettes and (6) blending multiple caps together. I was also very random with the textures I used lol.
2010-2011
Still too fond of blending. I did a lot of (7) repetition but this time with more light blobs. (8) I really wanted to be takethewords when I grew up. A lot of my style is inspired by hers which was poetic and luminous though mine evolved into a more grunge version thanks to... (9) oviedo who's still the master of obscure cropping. see also: tilty for her vintage coloring if I remember correctly.
2012
By this time I found my style, which was basically (10) muted or brown coloring + poetic text using Modern No. 20. I also played with (11) film grain
2013
Probably my best year creatively speaking. Style evolved into a (12) muted painty grunge and I began using this pandavirus texture in everything. I mean everything. I tried to be a bit smarter about the textures I use, resulting in a lot of (13) symbol-heavy icons. I think this Hannibal set for 20inspirations is still the best set I've ever made. It was also the year of (14) Bombshell Pro.
2014-2016
I got obsessed with captain america: the winter soldier. tried out this (15) dull + pale coloring. I'm still obsessed with silhouettes, this time instead of blending caps, I was (16) blending in textures. I was also obsessed with making dark icons using (17) exclusion layers. I also had more bright (18) candy colored pastel icons.
2019-2020
And finally, I haven't made much icons the past few years but my love for kdramas has gotten me into graphics again. And I don't know how my style will change but I do think I'm heading to a (19) darker style and I've been playing with a lot of (20) flower textures? So we'll see where this goes haha.

ooh another icon post! I thought I'd finish this sooner but some styles were harder to revisit than others. I tried my best to keep things chronological both style wise and subject wise but some caps were just not working with the style I'd planned so...yeah. Also cap hunting now is waaaay harder than it was then and I hate it. Anyway, here are some alts:

21-25. alternates: pride and prejudice, in the mood for love, community, game of thrones

26-30. alternates: the hour, downton abbey, buffy the vampire slayer, hannibal, captain america: the winter soldier

And here are some more icons. Most of the TK:EM ones are cut from larger tumblr graphics.

31-35. 365: repeat the year, flower of evil

36-40. the king: eternal monarch

41-45. the king: eternal monarch

46-50. the king: eternal monarch

.076

theotherayn — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 14:45:24 GMT

45 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
20 The King: Eternal Monarch for somein30 + 17 alternates
01 Chernobyl
01 Dune
01 Emma 2020
01 Little Women 2019
01 Money Heist
01 Portrait of a Lady on Fire
01 The Terror
01 Unorthodox

1-5. the king: eternal monarch [vibrant]

6-10. the king: eternal monarch [vibrant]

11-15. the king: eternal monarch [muted]

16-20. the king: eternal monarch [muted]

Oh hello, remember me? So I fell into a k-drama hole and emerged obsessed with this show. I haven't shipped two characters these hard since Doctor/Rose (and it helps that the show has big Doomsday energy.) So of course the only way I can deal with all my feelings is to icon them. And it's been so long that I think I've forgotten how to sharpen properly XD

21-25. the king: eternal monarch [alternates]

26-30. the king: eternal monarch [alternates]

31-35. the king: eternal monarch [alternates]

36-40. the king: eternal monarch [alternates], chernobyl, dune, emma (2020)

41-45. little women (2019), money heist, portrait of a lady on fire, the terror, unorthodox

.075

theotherayn — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 19:17:17 GMT

55 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
20 The Terror for 20muses + 15 alternates
3 Black Sails
2 Bright Star
2 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3 Crimson Peak
1 Hamilton
1 Harlots
2 Lianne La Havas
1 Outlander
4 The Little Drummer Girl
1 War & Peace (2016)

1-5. black tea: earl gray, mate mantra chai, raspberry coconut; green tea: hanami, iced mango peach

6-10. herbal tea: bleu blush, blueberry merlot, belgian mint; white tea: pear cobbler, iced ginger pear

11-15. coffee: dark roast

16-20. coffee: medium roast

umm, hiya! didn't mean to be gone so long and this was harder than I thought it would be haha just really wanted to fangirl over this amazing show which was my absolute favorite thing last year. it's been months and i'm still super obsessed with it and there's nothing like obsession to get me motivated lol. anyway, everything about it is beautifully done and i can't recommend it enough. hopefully this icon post did it justice XD

also, here's a ton of alts because I seem to have forgotten how to make decisions during my hiatus...

21-25. alts

26-30. alts

31-35. alts

and lastly, some very old and very new icons. till next time! ^_^

36-40. black sails, bright star

41-45. captain america: the winter soldier, crimson peak

46-50. hamilton, harlots, lianne la havas, outlander

51-55. the little drummer girl, war & peace

.074

theotherayn — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 08:09:42 GMT

20 HAMILTON
for 20muses + 5 alternates

1-5. box#1:silhouette, box2 texture:before_water, box1 color:#105b63, box4 song:Fools, box4 word:quote

6-10. box2:Touch, box2:#e3cda4, box3:The Beach, box6:harlequinss_s, box6:#f2595

11-15. box4:juanxyo, box3:loseanhour, box1:#bd4932, box2:Alive, box1:history

16-20. box4:barstr7, box4:profile, box5:opposition, box3:stewark, box6:Hands of Love

ergh, some of these are awful...sorry. XD

21-25. alternates/variants

p.s. obligatory EVERYONE LISTEN TO HAMILTON COZ IT'S AAAAMAAAAZZZINGGGGGG!!!!!!

.073

theotherayn — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 16:10:36 GMT

20 UPROOTED
for 20inspirations + 10 alternates

1-5. text, textures, minimalist, colorful&shiny, text

6-10. multiply images, black&white, vintage, multiple images, experimental

11-15. textures, obscure, bold colors, vintage, bold colors

16-20. text, obscure, minimalist, experimental, colorful&shiny

Okay, so for anyone who doesn't know yet, I'm obsessed with fairy tales and fairy tale-like stories and when 20inspirations opened again, I claimed the book Uprooted which is a twist on Beauty & the Beast with a Polish setting + lots of magic and excellent female characters and relationships and basically my favorite book of the year so far. It's gonna be adapted into a movie someday but I just couldn't wait! lol anyway, the dream cast is as follows:

Aneurin Barnard as The Dragon
Isabelle Furhmann as Agnieszka
Skyler Samuels as Kasia
Rosamund Pike as Queen Hanna/The Wood-Queen
Young Henry Cavill as Prince Marek
Adina Porter as Alosha

...with the help Camille Rutherford (Agnieszka alternate) and some random models (Kasia/Dragon/Marek) when I couldn't find the right caps for the icon.

p.s. hover over the icon to read a quote from the book ^_^

21-30. alternates/variants

.072

theotherayn — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 20:16:20 GMT

ASK THE MAKER ANSWERS

raktajinos asked me how I conceptually design my icons while littlemissnovel asked for a cropping guide. So without further ado, here is:

PART ONE: CROPPING
I'll begin by saying that I know nothing and what I do know, I picked up from takethewords and oviedo who are amazing at capturing moods and emotions with their crops. Anyhoo, I'll try my best to explain how I crop things.

Center Crops

The truth is, I'm a lazy icon-maker so like 80% of my icons are boringly center-cropped.

center crops FTW! used to emphasize negative space (1,2), symmetry (3) or to make it easier to incorporate text (4,5)

Well, if it works, it works! :P

The Rule of Thirds

But when I'm not being lazy, I do play around a bit. First, there's this thing called the rule of thirds which basically means you divide your canvas into thirds and put your subjects anywhere but the middle. It also helps to put interesting details in the points where the grid intersects. Like in the example below:

>>>

His eye in the point of "power" pulls focus to his emotions and then draws your attention to the object of his affections. I rarely do this intentionally (again, because I'm ~lazy) but it was drilled on me enough times during film classes that sometimes it just happens without me even thinking about it.

other examples: along vertical axis x3, horizontal x2

Geometry

On a sort of related note, another interesting way to crop using the rule of thirds is to find caps with subjects that inherently form lines of geometry then crop accordingly. I'm especially fond of triangles apparently:

Again, most of the work is actually finding caps where the subjects are arranged in a certain way by the show/movie director. A quick tip is to look for diagonals—it can be outward like the Winter Soldier's arm in the first example or sometimes it can be in the way a character is looking at another like how Bel is looking at Freddie in the Hour icon.

Framing

You can also add depth to your icon by finding details in caps that can act as a frame/foreground so your icon has more layers.

hands, heads and bodies in general are a wonderful framing device!

I don't have examples but architecture like arches, windows and doorways also work. Also, trees, branches, or just any object actually...

Extreme/Obscure Cropping

I'm not an expert at this (for that let me direct you to this cropping guide by oviedo) but i mainly use obscure cropping to give focus on other details, for example:

hair porn, hand porn, to add a feeling of claustrophobia, to emphasize space between characters, or to convey a sense of isolation

It helps, of course, if you choose actors who are great with their expressions so you can choose to focus on their eyes/mouth/hands, etc... (I mean, if I haven't said it before, hands can be extremely expressive in telling emotions.)

A quick tip: if you're not used to going extreme in your close crops, you can try using the Adaptive Wide Angle feature on Photoshop (I recently stumbled on it when I mistakenly pressed it instead of Filter Gallery.) It applies a wide angle to your image bringing it closer to you. It's a fun way to change up your close crops if you're feeling a bit blah about yours.

>>>

~

A NOTE ON PICKING CAPS

So how do I pick my caps? Well, like I explained above, I like to choose caps with strong emotions (especially for close crops) or interesting details like the way hands or people are posed and sometimes even details in costume. Did a quick search of caps I saved on my computer and here's what I usually like to work with:

caps I find interesting because of motion, foreground detail, inherent negative space, geometry/angles, "looking" shots, emotive eyes

Working with Blurry Caps

In a perfect world, these caps would also be well lit and not blurry but I'm the sort of stubborn idiot who likes to work with caps that "speak" to me no matter how hard it is to work on. For example:

>>>
icon tutorial here

This is a scene in Hannibal where the statue/image of the devil was superimposed on Hannibal's face. It was something that I immediately wanted to icon because it was just so cool. Well, obviously it worked better in motion because looking at the cap, the scene is dark and you can't see any detail of the devil in his face. The wings are still magnificent though so I chose to focus on that instead, never mind his face is still a messy blob in the final icon. Putting text also helps distract from the blurrier details.

slightly blurry caps + text and boom: profit!

This way, since the text is the "point" of the icon, it doesn't matter if your subjects are a bit soft or they're in motion. I even added an extra blur to the Buffy icon above to add a transient quality to it. Anyway, bottom line is, blurry caps can work as icons!

Manipulated Cropping

Sometimes, no matter how much you love a cap, you can't seem to crop it right. Don't give up! This is where a little manipulation (and blending!) come in. For example, I loved the scene of Brienne and Jamie's fight and I wanted to incorporate it with a famous quote from the books but no matter what i did, I couldn't fit both of them into the square canvas:

>>>
let's begin with this slightly coloured cap>>>this is the best option if i want both of them in the 100x100 frame :/

I could've picked to focus on Brienne alone but that didn't fit the story that I wanted to tell and she couldn't "dance" alone. The solution was to use layer masks and "blend" them so that they're closer

+ = >>>
brienne on foreground, masked + jamie in background = manipulated crop >>> finished icon

See? Easy-peasy! ~~sorta.~~ Of course, sight/body lines are still important and this could be a little harder to pull off if moving one subject closer skews the logic of what you want to achieve. Like I would've loved to get more of Jamie's face in but this:

...looks just wrong! It looks like she swung at him and totally missed! haha. Just pay attention. If it looks too weird then it probably is too weird and that's the time to give up! ~~(and again sometimes covering the manipulation a bit with text works.)~~

~

PART TWO: COMPOSITION

so now that we're done with cropping and ~simple~ icons, it's time to move forward to more complex shores. I think I've said it in my ask the maker q&a last year that my icon making process largely depends on my mood and if I'm feeling inspired or not. Challenges seem to bring out the best in me, especially 20inspirations. Idk, if I'm not prompted I tend to fall back on my lazy ways. Some of my favorite compositions involve:

close crops + text

character portraits with random texture dump

playing with silhouettes

big head + tiny person

I'm fairly predictable lol ~~why is anyone listening to me?~~

Storytelling

But mostly I like to think that I tell stories with my icons. I mean, that's how we got into fandom isn't it? Because we love these stories so much and want to share/relive them over and over again. So initially, my storytelling went in the form of blocking and blending caps in a (hopefully) coherent manner...

storytelling via blocking/blending caps. also, text

Of course the fun part is trying to tell your story in less...obvious ways. You still use all the techniques of blending, blocking, coloring, etc... but instead of trying to literally paint a scene you try to tell your story through visual cues. For example:

In Dollhouse, Echo has many fractured selves so I use duplication to illustrate this. I similarly used blending and duplication in this fan mix cover with reference to the "three flowers in a vase" quote from the show. (I know, different character, but "Caroline" was sort of a sleeper agent inside Echo, wasn't she?)

Or here, where I try to show how The Doctor is often adrift in space but Rose is his anchor or his bottom line.

This icon was made for a challenge at the7days where I was given the prompt to "Create a series of before and after pieces on the theme of breaking in." I immediately thought of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and how they kept trying to break into their brain and change their memories but their love for each other kept returning so I thought of this composition where scenes from the movie were escaping from his head. ~~but I could only blend a couple in :/~~

Symbolism

Another interesting way to tell stories in icons is to incorporate symbolism and imagery. Sometimes, it's as easy as plopping symbol on top or as a background in your icon.

symbols as foreground, background and as a frame.

A more fun approach would be to blend the symbols into your characters. It's a painstaking process of finding the right part that fits. Like it took pages of google images to find the right goat horns (signifying ambition/the capricorn zodiac) for littlefinger. Or how it took me hours to edit that tattoo of thorns in the third icon below so that it hugged the features of her face better.

transforming characters into their symbols

Storytelling and Symbolism

I said this in the original icon post but The Little Mermaid was more of a martyr in the story and that she felt like knives were cutting her with every step she took. And the idiot prince made her walk up mountains oblivious to her pain. So I decided to cut the feet in the icon to illustrate the pain.

In House of Flying Daggers, the lovers consummate their relationship in nature so I thought it'd be fun to put a forest into a silhouette. But then I decided to also show how their love is doomed and by embracing him, she's embracing her eventual death so I added a sort of blood spatter to it.

>>

For this Hannibal icon, I initially started with just the stag head on Hannibal's body but it didn't seem to have any context to it so I decided to add the silhouette of Will so that it's more of a conversation between the two characters.

...And that's basically it! I hope that answers any burning questions about my iconning ~process and how I think. Again, sometimes it comes easier, especially if I'm really invested in what i'm working on but in general...

.071

theotherayn — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 10:15:55 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIALS
requested by monstersinyou

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS6

ONE
I arrange the cap on a 100x100 canvas (seen here over a red background), I wanted to get the wings of the projection in so it meant lots of negative space. Then I create a new layer, take a brush #1c0809 (color picked from the cap's background) and paint over everything so Hannibal stands out.

>>>

TWO
I take a red painty texture by tinebrella and set it to screen, 100%.

>>>

THREE
I take another painty texture by tinebrella, this time in orange, and set it to screen again, 100%.

>>>

FOUR
I like the way the new background looks now but it's too dark so I stamp the image on a new layer and apply the Film Grain filter with these values: Grain: 0 | Highlight: 20 | Intensity: 2.

This is also the time I sharpen so I apply the paint daubs filter (brush size: 1, sharpness: 1; then fade to usually around 50%). Then I lower the opacity of the layer to 50%.

>>>

FIVE
I add a texture by colordrop for a bit of grunge on screen, 50%. The blacks were a bit washed out so I clip on a new layer to the texture and use a black brush on soft light to bring back some shadows.

>>>>>

SIX
Add a black & white adjustment layer at soft light, 50% for contrast

SEVEN
Now it's time for the text. The layers are rasterized so I can't say the exact values but the font is Antrokas Demo in 4 separate layers. I start with the word "Lucifer" in large white letters slanting over the canvas. It's too stark so I duplicate the layer and change the color to #1c0809 and move it a bit to the side so the white forms a shadow effect. It was too strong so I lower the opacity of the white text to 40%. Then I write the rest of the text in each separate layer and arrange to my liking.

>>>>>>>>>

EIGHT
Add a final adjustment layer, Brightness/Contrast at 10, -10 and we're done!

~

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS6

In this next icon, I changed my mind about the coloring halfway through it so sorry in advance for the confusing walkthrough ^_^

ONE
I crop the cap in a 100x100 canvas and lighten it using a new curves adjustment layer with these values:

output: 199 | input: 66
output: 210 | input: 176

>>>

TWO
I want to add shadows so I create a black and white gradient fill layer under the curves layer and place it on soft light, 100%. I don't think the contrast is enough so I duplicate it.

>>

THREE
Add a black & white adjustment layer at soft light, 50%. I'm still not happy with the shadows so I duplicate the adjustment layer and change its blending mode to hard light.

>>>

FOUR
Not happy with her skin tone so I create a new layer (below the bw gradients in step 2) and paint her forehead with the color #eddac6 on color burn, 33%.

>>>

FIVE
Add a texture by innocent_lexys on screen, 44% for some more color and light.

>>>

SIX
Still not happy so I take another texture by innocent_lexys, transform it and place it on screen, 100%.

>>>>>>

SEVEN
I decide to mute the colours a bit so I add new vibrance adjustment layer and lower the vibrance to -50. I stamp the image on a new layer and add the film grain filter to brighten (can't say the exact value but it's probably: Grain: 0 | Highlight: 20 | Intensity: 1) and the paint daubs filter to sharpen.

>>>

EIGHT
This next part is where I changed my mind and decided I wanted a deeper/darker skin tone.

I create a new gradient fill layer #232244 to transparent (shown here on white and set it to hard light, 70%. I rasterise and stretch it so the effect is more subtle then I use a layer mask to erase the parts covering her cap and eyes.

>>>>>>

I create another gradient fill layer #85755b to transparent (still shown here on white background) and place it on hard light, 100%. Again, I rasterise, transform and use a layer mask to remove the parts covering her cap and eyes.

>>>>>>

Finally I create another gradient, black to transparent, rasterised and stretched like below and set it on soft light, 100%.

>>>

NINE
Still wasn't happy with coloring so I experiment more. I create a color fill layer #e5f3f6 and set it to linear burn, 100%

>>>

Then I create another color fill layer #795d6a and set it to soft light, 66%.

>>>

TEN
It's too dull so I create a black & white adjustment layer and set it to soft light, 25%.

ELEVEN
Then I create a vibrance adjustment layer and set it to vibrance -24, saturation 24.

TWELVE
Add a brightness/contrast layer at 20/-20 and we're finally finished!

If you have any more questions, just ask!

Ask The Maker 2015 || My Thread

.070

theotherayn — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 14:23:33 GMT

45 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
02 Agent Carter
06 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
02 Daredevil
03 Hanna
02 Hannibal
23 Mad Max: Fury Road
02 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
02 Outlander
03 Sense8

1-5. agent carter, captain america: the winter soldier

6-10. captain america: the winter soldier, daredevil

11-15. hanna, hannibal

16-20. mad max: fury road

21-25. mad max: fury road

26-30. mad max: fury road

31-35. mad max: fury road

36-40. mad max: fury road, miss fisher's murder mysteries

41-45. outlander, sense8

plus, a quick pimp!

another round of ic0nfest is starting next month! hopefully if I'm not too busy, I'll make a few icons for this next round as well.

...and I know I haven't been iconning much lately but if you guys have any questions about my icons/process, I'll be happy to answer them!

Ask The Maker 2015 || My Thread

.069

theotherayn — Fri, 08 May 2015 18:35:16 GMT

35 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
02 Batman Returns
02 Bright Star
03 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
13 Daredevil
02 Game of Thrones
01 L'Eclisse
01 The Last Five Years
04 Jane the Virgin
04 Outlander
03 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

1-5. batman returns, bright star, captain america: the winter soldier

6-10. captain america: the winter soldier, marvel's daredevil

11-15. marvel's daredevil

16-20. marvel's daredevil

21-25. game of thrones, l'eclisse, the last five years, jane the virgin

26-30. jane the virgin, outlander

31-35. outlander, star wars: the force awakens

er...hi, it's been a while! I haven't exactly been feeling inspired lately so this is a mixed bag of old, old icons and a few recent experiments. i think daredevil got my creativity flowing again so hopefully i'll open photoshop more. just cross your fingers i don't get lazy again. haha XD

.068

theotherayn — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 22:25:21 GMT

30 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
07 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
01 Gone Girl
02 Blank Space Music Video (Olivia Benson)
01 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01 Doctor Who
08 Jane the Virgin
10 Outlander

1-5. captain america: the winter soldier

6-10. captain america: the winter soldier, gone girl, olivia benson (blank space mv)

11-15. buffy, doctor who, jane the virgin

16-20. jane the virgin

21-25. outlander

26-30. outlander

dumping a lot of old icons again. these were mostly unfinished 20inspirations sets (ca:tws for the DIY round; outlander for the contrast). the rest was for challenges over at tasteislife. and taylor swift's cat was...just coz she's adorable. in general, i've been trying to do more contrasty stuff lately though i still can't seem to color properly (or consistently, rather) lately. oh well. me and my muse need to have a serious talk one of these days lol XD

obligatory EVERYONE WATCH JANE THE VIRGIN LIKE IMMEDIATELY! it's one of my favorite new shows—just hilarious and so wonderful<3333

.067

theotherayn — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 15:29:55 GMT

30 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
04 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
01 Sebastian Stan
03 Disney's Sleeping Beauty
02 Gone Girl
01 The Affair
01 Doctor Who
07 Outlander
11 Penny Dreadful

1-5. captain america: the winter soldier, sebastian stan

6-10. sleeping beauty, gone girl

11-15. the affair, doctor who, outlander

16-20. outlander, penny dreadful

21-25. penny dreadful

26-30. penny dreadful

helloooo everyone! it's been a while. i kept losing my internet connection the past couple of months and then my computer finally died (I'd had it since college which was more than 5 years ago so it was time T_T). Now i have a shiny new laptop and i'm still trying to get used to the brightness of the monitor. Hopefully, I can get my iconning groove back. in the meanwhile, here are some old icons and a couple of new ones (mostly outlander which i'm still trying to figure out how to color correctly. the caps are just so dark! oh well) anyway, i'm gonna attempt to make my 20inspirations set next so wish me luck! :D

.066

theotherayn — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 17:20:21 GMT

40 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
05 Battlestar Galactica
05 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
05 Doctor Who
10 The Fall
15 The Hour

1-5. battlestar galactica

6-10. buffy the vampire slayer

11-15. doctor who

16-20. the fall

21-25. the fall

26-30. the hour

31-35. the hour

36-40. the hour

I seem to be unable to make ~complex icons at the moment so I thought I'd quickly test out this dull/pale coloring on other caps aaaand here's what I ended up with. It was definitely harder to get it to become blue/gray so these are more brownish gray. I think I like it best with The Fall--the rest are a bit...meh but I could probably work with it better given more time haha.

.065

theotherayn — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 05:03:39 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIAL
requested by dixon

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

warning: this is super long jsyk ;D

ONE
First, we make a mermaid. I take this picture of Saoirse Ronan from google and use the layer mask to erase everything except her upper body then I take this mermaid's tail stock picture from linzee777 at deviantart and again use the layer mask to delete the background then attach them together on a 100x100 canvas.

>>>

Obviously, they don't blend well together so I clip a color fill layer #44b645 to the mermaid tail and set it on Hard LIght, 100%. It's not enough so I duplicate the color fill layer and lower the opacity to 27%. Now the color is a close a match as possible.

>>>

TWO
I take this cap from Moonfleet and use it as the background. Then I brighten the image using curves with the ff. values:

output: 124 | input: 81
output: 211 | input: 181

Then I add a black & white adjustment layer at Hard Light, 100% for contrast and clarity.

>>>>>>

THREE
I'm not happy with the color of the background so I create a color fill layer #8d3b3b set it to Soft Light, 100% and drag it below the mermaid. Ten I add the underwater photo filter (still below the mermaid).

>>>>>>

FOUR
Texture time! I take a texture by innocent_lexys and set it to screen, 100$

>>>

Then I take this texture by pandavirus and set it to Soft Light, 100%

FIVE
I create a black and white gradient fill layer and set it to Soft LIght, 100% to add more shadow.

>>>

I think I was just playing around here so I don't know why exactly I did it but I create a gray color fill layer #3d3d3d, drag it under the curves layer and set it to exclusion, 82%

>>>

Then I stamp the result on a new layer, desaturate it and sharpen it using Paint Daubs. I change the layer mode to hard light, 50%. Then I apply a layer mask to the gray color fill layer on exclusion and I paint over the mermaid so she isn't washed out.

>>>>>>

SIX
Texture time! I add texture by pandavirus, blur it and set it to multiply, 100% to add blues to the left side.

I take another texture and blur/edit it (I can't figure out what the original is) and set it again to multiply, 100%

>>>

I take a grunge texture by delorentoes and set it to screen, 100%

>>>

SEVEN
Add a vibrance layer at vibrance 100, saturation -20

EIGHT
I take a texture by hymnah and set it to soft light, 100% but the color wasn't working so I clip on a hue/saturation layer on the texture and change the hue to -180. Then I add a layer mask to it so I can make the red hair pop out again.

>>>>>>>>>

NINE
I'm not happy with the color of the mermaid itself so I start working on that. I create a new layer on saturate and use a black brush over the mermaid's body (except the hair!) to make her black and white.

I create a new color fill layer #ff0000 and set it on difference, 100% then I apply a layer mask and brush over everything except the mermaid tail. I create another layer and use a paint brush #ddd7d3 at multiply 50% over the mermaid's upper half. The effect wasn't strong enough so I duplicate it and set it to color burn, 100%

>>>>>>

TEN
I take this texture by pandavirus and set it to screen, 100% to add grunge.

ELEVEN
Then I add a black and white adjustment layer at soft light, 75%

TWELVE
I add texture by pandavirus on color burn, 50% to make the colors stronger.

THIRTEEN
Then I take the stamped black and white image on step 5, drag it on top and set it to hard light, 20%. I create a new layer, stamp the image, apply the Paint Daubs filter to sharpen and lower the opacity to 50%

>>>

FOURTEEN
The color's great but it's still missing so I go to google to look for red flowers and choose this one, arrange it and set it to screen, 100%. I want it lighter so I duplicate it.

>>

The right side's looking empty so I duplicate the picture again and move it. I add a layer mask and paint over the parts covering the mermaid an dthe left side.

>>>

I take scale texture from google and edit it (don't have the original image anymore) and set it to screen, 100%

>>>

FIFTEEN
I add a gray color fill layer #dbdbdb and set it to linear burn, 33%

>>>

it's not strong enough so I make another gray color fill layer #a4a4a4 and set it to color burn, 100%

>>>

SIXTEEN
I add a photo filter--warming filter (85) to make the colors a little richer

SEVENTEEN
Then I add a black and white adjustment layer at soft light, 50%

EIGHTEEN
I'm happy with everything so I add a brightness/contrast layer at 5/-10

NINETEEN
Now it's time to invert stuff. I take this unknown texture and set it to exclusion, 100%

>>>

TWENTY
I create a gray color fill layer #7a7878 and set it to subtract, 100%. I add a layer mask and paint over the mermaid's upper body.

>>>>>>

TWENTY-ONE
Her coloring needs to stand out more so I create a new layer and paint over her upper body with the color #ffcb87 and change the layer mode to divide, 50%

>>>

TWENTY-TWO
I want darker blacks so I create a levels layer with these settings:

RGB: 73 | 1.27 | 243

and drag it below the gray color fill layer on subtract so the effect is not so strong.

TWENTY-THREE
I want more reds so I create a hue/saturation layer and set it to:

Hue: -27 | Saturation: 0 | Lightness: 6

TWENTY-FOUR
I take the texture by delorentoes that i use in step 6, rotate it and set it to screen, 100%

TWENTY-FIVE
Add a black and white adjustment layer at normal, 50% to desaturate it a bit.

TWENTY-SIX
Then to add lighting, I take a texture by innocent_lexys, rotate it and set it to screen, 100%

>>>

TWENTY-SEVEN
All the screen textures washed it out a bit so I stamp the image on a new layer and set it to multiply, 20%

TWENTY-EIGHT
And finally, I make a gray color fill layer #bfbfbf and set it to linear burn, 10% and we're done!

>>>

~~lol sorry for my indecisiveness~~

.064

theotherayn — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 03:13:29 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIAL
requested by daynawashere

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

ONE
I take this picture of Kate Winslet from Google and place it on a 100x100 canvas

TWO
I mask out the dark background then I take this Moonfleet screencaps from grande_caps and drag it below her

>>>

THREE
I create a new layer then pick a color from her skin tone (#f3e5dc) and using a brush paint over her face

FOUR
now I start blending stuff into her hair. I take this texture by pandavirus, find the sea part of it that i like and set it to hard light, 100%. I drag it below the painted silhouette and use the layer mask to erase the parts that isn't on her hair

>>>

I take another cap from Moonfleet, arrange it so the grassy part is touching her hair (i wanted it to look like seaweed or something) and drag it below the pandavirus texture in the previous step.

FIVE
I add a texture by tinebrella and set it to screen, 100%

>>>

SIX
the texture gave it a very nice color but the whites of her lapels bother me so in a new layer i take a green brush #93d2af and paint over them and set it to multiply, 100%

>>>

SEVEN
I duplicate the base image and drag it to the top. I edit the layer mask further by erasing everything except her face

EIGHT
this next step is me randomly adding textures to see which will work. I take one by colorfilter and set it to color burn, 100 and mask away everything except the lips and upper left side to add a little red to it.

>>>>>>

I take a texture by innocent_lexys and place it on hard light, 75%. this adds a little more grunge

>>>

I take this texture by pandavirus resize it and put it on multiply, 100 to add more color. I mask away the parts covering her face/bottom of the hair so the sea texture is a bit clearer

>>>

I take another texture by innocent_lexys and place it on linear burn, 50%. I decide the colors are too strong so I clip a hue/saturation layer on it and change the hue to +27

>>>>>>

finally, I take this texture by tinebrella, rotate it and set it to soft light, 100%. and layer mask over unwanted parts to get a bit more blues into the sea texture at the bottom.

>>>>>>

NINE
at this point I want to try and get more definition into her hair so I duplicate the base picture again and drag it on top and set it to soft light, 100%. I mask away everything except her hair

>>>

TEN
I create a new layer and take a soft pink brush (can't say which one exactly but it looks splattery) and brush a little shadow on the part where her ear is supposed to be

ELEVEN
It's still missing something so I take another texture by pandavirus, arrange it to my liking and set it to screen, 100%. I want the effect to be stronger so I duplicate it.

>>>

TWELVE
for more grunge I grab another texture by pandavirus and set it to screen, 100%

THIRTEEN
It's looking very nice so I stamp the image on a new layer and sharpen using paint daubs (brush size: 1, sharpness: 1). there was a part of her cheek that was bothering me so I smudge it a bit to blend her face better with the painted silhouette

FOURTEEN
I add a grey color fill layer #f5f4f1 on mutiply 50% to lessen the whites

>>>

FIFTEEN
Then I decide it isn't enough so I create another gray color fill layer #e2e1e0 and set it this time to color burn, 50% and that's it!

>>>

I was aiming for a combination of this and this without having to actually draw anything and I think I almost got there lol. Anyway, I'll be away from my desktop PC in the next few days so I won't be able to post anything here. In the meantime, feel free to ask me more stuff if any of you have burning questions. ;D

Ask The Maker 6.0 || My Thread

.063

theotherayn — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:29:55 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIAL
requested by violateraindrop

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

ONE
crop your image into a 100x100 canvas

TWO
prep your cap. I use curves with these values:

output: 85 | input: 26
output: 208 | input: 153

>>>

THREE
to get contrast/definition out add a black & white adjustment layer at Soft Light, 50%. it's not strong enough so I duplicate it twice

>>>

FOUR
i add a little gold/brown hues with a color fill layer #87847a on Hard Light, 100% then drag it under the curves layer in step 2.

>>>

FIVE
take a B&W grunge texture, blur it and set it to Soft Light, 100. (yes, it's this one by pandavirus)

>>>

SIX
dull it a little bit further by adding a brightness/contrast layer at 0/-20

SEVEN
i was going back and forth between how muted I actually want it to be so I add a little bit more color using vibrance (+50). then I decide to lessen the saturation (-20)

>>>

EIGHT
i create a black and white gradient fill layer and put it on Soft Light, 100 to add shadows and light. the effect wasn't strong enough so I duplicate it.

>>>>>>

NINE
wasn't happy with the color so i experiment a bit with photofilters. i add a blue one at 20% opacity then a tinted one #ac7a33 also at 20% opacity

>>>

TEN
i'm a bit happy with it now so i stamp the image on a new layer and sharpen using paint daubs (brush size: 1, sharpness: 1 > fade to taste)

ELEVEN
I want more contrast again so I take the blurred texture on soft light in step 5, duplicate it and move the layer to the top of the icon and move it around a bit till i'm happy

>>>

TWELVE
add another black & white adjustment layer at Soft Light, 50% to get his eyes to stand out again

FOURTEEN
then add a brightness/contrast layer 10/-10 and we're done!

i used more or less the same layers for most of the CATWS icons in this post so that's mainly how you get the super dull/pale coloring. haven't tried this effect with other caps though! i imagine it will hinge on how much you can wash your cap out using curves.

Ask The Maker 6.0 || My Thread

.062

theotherayn — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 12:16:21 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIALS
requested by lancelotfan

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

ONE
Brighten the cap. I made this icon last year so I was still using my old method to prep caps using duplicated layers. For this cap, we have: Base > Multiply > Screen x4 > Stamped image on Soft Light, 50% and desaturated.

TWO
I find an image of Edward IV's Emblem (called "The Sunne in Splendour" thus the text) through google and use it as my background. I take the prepared cap, place him on the center and use the layer mask to erase the rest away. I create a black & white adjustment layer, put it on Soft Light, 100% and drag it below the cap so only the stock image is affected.

>>>>>>

THREE
I duplicate the Black & White adjustment layer and drag it to the top to add contrast and to make Edward blend more with the background

FOUR
I'm not happy with the color of his armour so I create a color fill layer #466691 on Hard Light, 100%. I clip it on the cap of Edward then use the layer mask to erase the parts covering the crown.

I create a new layer and use the paint brush to paint the color yellow (#f4fdad) over his crown. I place this on linear burn, 100% then I decide I want it more golden so I clip on a hue/saturation layer on it with the values

hue: -15 | saturation: 100 | lightness: -53

>>>>>>

FIVE
I add another black and white adjustment layer at Soft LIght, 100%

SIX
It's time to add textures so I take a grunge texture by an unknown maker and put it on screen, 100%

>>>

SEVEN
I stamp the image on a new layer and sharpen it using Paint Daubs (brush size: 1. sharpeness: 1) then lower the opacity to 50%

>>>

EIGHT
I decide I want more texture in the background so I take my beloved texture by pandavirus place it on Soft Light, 100% and drag it below the black & white adjustment layer in step 2 so the effect is more subtle.

NINE
I want the sun to look more yellow so I create a new layer below the cap of Edward and use the paint brush #f9ff9a over it on Multiply, 100%. It's still not strong enough so I duplicate it.

>>>

TEN
Back on top of all the layers now, I create a gray color fill layer #e8e8e8 and place it on Linear Burn, 100% to get rid of the whites.

>>>

ELEVEN
I think I'm done so I create a brightness/contrast layer +10/-10

TWELVE
But I decide the whites are still too strong so I create another Gray color fill layer #f1f1f1 and set it to multiply, 50%

>>>

THIRTEEN
I create the text. It's rasterized so I don't have the exact values but the font is Bombshell Pro and I typed each word on a different layer so I could emphasize "sunne" and "splendour"

FOURTEEN
I decide the text is too white so I take the gray color fill layer in step 12, duplicate it and drag it on top of the icon. And we're done!

~

lancelotfan also requested a tutorial for this icon:

but looking at the psd, I realize I prepped the cap on a different canvas so this will be a very short guide on the coloring and text

COLORING
So start with a very dark black and white image but with high contrast then add a photo filter set to underwater, density 25 then change the layer mode to Exclusion, 50%

>>>

I take this texture by pandavirus for the blues and place it on multiply, 50%. For her hair, I use the paint brush on a new layer to color in the yellow (#f4fdad), set it to multiply 50%. For some reason, I get another layer by pandavirus and set it on multiply, 50% ~~I can't explain my brain sometimes XD~~

>>>>>>

I add some grunge textures. It's edited so I don't know exactly

stamp the image on a new layer and sharpen using paint daubs then lower the opacity to 66%. It also looks like I used the Film Grain filter to add contrast. I'm not sure of the exact values but the closest I got was:

Grain: 0 | Highlight: 10 | Intensity: 2

>>>

TEXT
I got the idea for this text from a book cover so to create I get a texture (maker unknown but I'm sure I got it from 20inspirations and type my text over it making sure that there's enough space between letters (the font is Mom's Typewriter.) Then I use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to cut each letter out (use Layer via Copy so you can go back in case you make mistakes.) Then I arrange the letters on my icon, linking all the layers so I can resize them together. When I'm finally happy with placement/size I merge all the text layers and voila!

>>>>>>

there are a few more tweaks after that but that's basically it! if you have any questions about what I did, just ask! ^_^

Ask The Maker 6.0 || My Thread

.061

theotherayn — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:50:58 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIAL
requested by anassa_anemou

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

okay, this is one of those icons where I changed my mind a lot so please be warned, it can get confusing.

ONE
crop the cap into a 100x100 canvas

TWO
to brighten my cap i use a curves adjustment layer with these values:

output: 237 | input: 151

then i create a new layer under the curves one and using a white brush, i paint over the buildings in the background

>>>

THREE
this was made for a challenge over at paintedpixels to make something look like an illustration. i'd sorta done it before so i knew the trick was to get as much detail out of your cap through contrast so for this i first add a black & white adjustment layer on lighten, 100% to lighten his skin tone. then I create a new layer, stamp the image, desaturate it and sharpen it. then i add another black & white adjustment layer on soft light, 100% to add contrast.

>>>>>>

FOUR
texture time! i add a texture by longerthanwedo on mutiply, 100% and masked the parts covering his face. then i apply the dry brush filter on it to make it a bit more abstract

>>>>>>

FIVE
since this is an angry icon, i look for a red texture and settle on one by prettybutt, edit it to my liking and set it on soft light, 100%

>>>>>>

SIX
i want richer colors so i add a color fill layer #7e6257 and set it to hard light, 100%. i stamp the result in a new layer and sharpen it with paint daubs (brush size: 1, sharpness: 1)

>>>>>>

SEVEN
it looks flat so i take a texture by fuuurs, rotate it and set it to screen, 66% and mask away the parts covering his face.

>>>

EIGHT
i'm happy with how textured it looks but it's too dark so i add a black & white adjustment layer and set it to screen, 50%

NINE
this is the part it gets confusing. the colors aren't looking very illustration-y so i experiment. i take a texture by prettybutt and set it on hard light, 100%. i transform and blur it and clip on a hue/saturation layer, -199/-50

>>>>>>

i duplicate the texture and edit it again till i'm happy. this one's on color burn, 100. i mask the color blocking his eyes so it's clearer

>>>>>>

i duplicate the texture again, edit it and set it to soft light, 100%

>>>

TEN
this next part looks like my own version of variations because i honestly did not know what color i wanted it to be lol. anyway, i add a black & white adjustment layer and set it to linear burn, 100% to bring back some details after washing it out after last step. i add a vibrance/saturation layer at +100/-40 then decide i want it more desaturated so i add a black & white adjustment layer at normal, 33%

>>>>>>

ELEVEN
purple wasn't looking so angry so i add a hue/saturation layer at -67/-16 to darken it a bit. i lower the saturation again with a black & white adjustment layer at normal, 33% then I stamp the image on a new layer and set it to linear burn, 33% for darker shadows

>>>>>>

TWELVE
it still isn't working so i decide to try the color red. i take this texture by cleamour and set it to screen, 100% and arrange it so you can see a bit of the dripping blood at the bottom of the icon. i probably also smudge the parts covering his face. i think the effect is too strong so i drag it under the stamped black & white layer on the previous step. i kinda like it so i stamp the image on a new layer, sharpen it with paint daubs and lower the opacity to 50%.

>>>>>>

THIRTEEN
still not happy with coloring so i go back the the hue/saturation layer from step eleven and change the values until i decide on +180/+100. i also delete one of the black & white adjustment layers at normal mode in the earlier step so i get more colors out

>>>

FOURTEEN
i like the combination of red and green but it's too...green. i create a selective color layer and change the green tones to make it a bit more blue/green.

Greens
cyan: 100 | magenta: 100 | yellow: -100 | black: +31

then i create another selective color layer and this time change the white, neutral and black values:

Whites
black: -100

Neutrals
cyan: 29 | magenta: 43 | yellow: 100

Blacks
black: 33

>>>

FIFTEEN
i want him a little angrier so i decide to add a paint texture around his eyes. I take this from an unknown maker, resize it and set it to difference, 100%. i mask the parts covering the whites of his eyes then i clip on a hue/saturation layer to the texture to make it red with these values:

hue: -152 | saturation: 100 | lightness: -1

>>>>>>

it's too strong so i create a new layer and paint over them with a black brush. i clip this layer to the texture and drag it under the clipped hue/saturation layer

>>>

SIXTEEN
i want it a bit darker so i add a black & white adjustment layer at multiply, 25%

SEVENTEEN
then i think it's somewhat done so i add a brightness/contrast layer at 10/-10

EIGHTEEN
as usual i don't like the whites being to white so i create a gray color fill layer #f2f2f2 and set it to multiply, 66%

>>>

NINETEEN
i add another black & white adjustment layer at soft light, 50% for contrast and finally, i'm satisfied

TWENTY
for the text, the final layer is rasterized so I can't say the values but the font is Colors of Autumn and I typed each word in different text layers and arranged it that way so "hell" and "Bucky" is emphasized.

whew! XD

Ask The Maker 6.0 || My Thread

.060

theotherayn — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 03:26:21 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIAL
requested by daynawashere

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

I started this trying to make a muted icon so feel free to ignore the first part of the walkthrough and skip to step 14 if you just want to know how I got the coloring :)

ONE
crop the cap into a 100x100 canvas

TWO
brighten the cap. i used a curves layer with these settings:

output: 107 | input: 31
output: 236 | input: 191

>>>

THREE
i want her to look more...creamy...so i add a dusty pink color fill layer #9d8e8e, place it on soft light, 100% and drag it below the curves layer

>>>

FOUR
i add a black & white adjustment layer at soft light, 50% for contrast

FIVE
that wasn't enough so i put a black & white gradient mask on soft light, 100%

>>>

SIX
i want softer colors so i add a new color fill layer #9f9790 and set it to hard light, 100%
>>>

SEVEN
stamp the image on a new layer and sharpen using paint daubs (brush size: 1, sharpness: 1) then lower the opacity to 75%

EIGHT
it's still a bit flat so i duplicate the black & white gradient map in step 5, and drag it above the layers. i also add a black & white adjustment layer on soft light, 50% to deepen the blacks.

>>>

NINE
i decide to mute the colors a bit so i create a black & white adjustment layer and lower the opacity to 20%

TEN
i sharpen it again using the paint daubs filter on a new stamped layer at 50% opacity

ELEVEN
the whites are too strong so i create a color fill layer #ddddd8 and set it to multiply, 100%

>>>

TWELVE
that darkened it a bit so i create another color fill layer #919191 and set it to hard light, 100%

>>>

THIRTEEN
i want it softer again so i stamp the image on a new layer, blur it then set it to soft light, 20%

>>>

FOURTEEN
at this point, i decide to try and make a two tone icon so i create a gradient fill layer #a31e04 to #0090ff and play around with layer modes. i settle on vivid light, 100% then increase the saturation a bit to +11

>>>>>>

FIFTEEN
add the handy dandy texture by pandavirus on screen for the painty look. i duplicate the texture, blur it and set it on soft light, 100% so it's not too washed out

>>>

SIXTEEN
i add a brightness/contrast layer at +10/-10 ~~because i thought i was done but i wasn't~~

SEVENTEEN
the whites bother me as usual so i add a color fill layer #eae5d9 and set it to color burn, 100%

>>>

EIGHTEEN
i decide to mute the colors a bit so i add a black & white adjustment layer at 20% opacity. then duplicate it and set it to soft light, 50% for contrast

>>>

NINETEEN
then i sharpen again using the paint daubs filter on a new stamped layer at 50% opacity for the painty effect

TWENTY
and the whites are still bothering me so i add a color fill layer #d6c1a5 and set it to linear burn, 20%

>>>

and we're done! as usual, if you need me to clarify anything just ask :)

Ask The Maker 6.0 || My Thread

.059

theotherayn — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:22:34 GMT

PASTEL COLORING: A SHORT GUIDE
requested by fouroux

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

before i begin, i just wanna clarify that this is somewhat a general idea of how i do things but my process always changes depending on the cap, my mood, what textures i happen to randomly slap into an icon, etc... for brevity's sake, this walkthrough will tackle monochrome coloring. you'll see a few other tricks when i write up tutorials on individual icons. okay, let's go!

PROLOGUE: BASIC TOOLS

Color Fill Layers
in many of my psds, there's usually one on hard light, one on screen and one on multiply. but this is the step that probably changes the most because sometimes it's a texture that gives me the color, or a photo filter, or i paint the colors on myself, or i use gradients instead of the color fill.

Grunge/Paint Textures
i rely very much on the kindness of this texture by pandavirus. set on screen, it immediately lightens any color that the icon already has. any grungy/paint stroke texture would probably work though. this is just the one i grab first.

The Paint Daubs Filter
use this filter to sharpen any icon with painty textures and it immediately looks more um, painty.

Black & White Adjustment Layer
i've discovered that when you put it on either darken, multiply, color burn or linear burn, it mutes the colors a bit and deepens the blacks.

ONE
brighten up your cap. for this, i used the curves adjustment layer with these values:

output: 102 | input: 33
output: 254 | input: 130

and here's the result:

TWO
create a color fill layer and set it on hard light. remember the vintage coloring process i shared last time? well, this is the opposite of that. you want to wash out your icon as much as you can to get the pastel look so try to pick a color on the upper part the palette:

and here's what it looks like:

>>>

THREE
yeah, that doesn't look pastel yet so here's the trick. create another color fill layer and set it on screen. screen washes out colors more than hard light so pick something from the middle area of your palette. i usually pick in a different hue than the first color fill layer for more fun results

and you get this:

>>>

FOUR
now for the grunge! add this texture by pandavirus on screen then play around until the placement doesn't obscure details so much

but now the icon is super washed out! what do we do?

FIVE
well, add a black & white adjustment layer, set it to linear burn and look at that, magic:

you can play around with different layer modes/opacity depending on your icon but i love that it instantly deepens the color while giving it a muted look and also bringing back the details you washed out with the hard light/screen layers

SIX
sharpen using the paint daubs filter (brush size: 1, sharpness: 1) then fade or lower the opacity for a more subtle effect. this is at 75%

SEVEN
because i hate whites, i add another color fill layer, this time set to multiply so that the whites are not so white.

try to keep it very light, in the gray-ish area

>>>

EIGHT
add another black & white adjustment layer, this time set to Soft Light at 50% to add contrast.

NINE
I want deeper blacks so I use the black & white adjustment layer at Linear Burn, 25% for that

TEN
and finally, add a brightness/contrast layer at 10/-10

easy peasy, right? XD

EPILOGUE: EXPERIMENTING WITH COLORS

here are some other colors I got using this method:

Blue/Purple

hard light layer: #5d94c8
screen layer: #4f2a83
multiply layer: #e8e0ec

Green/Brown

hard light layer: #5bcf60
screen layer: #a47238
multiply layer: #e9eaed

Bright Pink/Purple

hard light layer: #c46fd6
screen layer: #06206b
multiply layer: #dde1f1

Gold/Green

hard light layer: #d6a858
screen layer: #1e7f23
multiply layer: #ecf1df

hope this helped! ~~obligatory there's probably an easier way to do this but i don't know how lol~~

Ask The Maker 6.0 || My Thread

.058

theotherayn — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 05:21:28 GMT

ASK THE MAKER TUTORIAL
requested by dixon

>>>
using Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended

ONE
I resize the image and crop it to a 100x100 canvas. I knew I was gonna put antlers on him so I want to get as much negative space as possible

shown with a color fill layer beneath so you can see the masking later

TWO
add a curves adjustment layer to brighten. the value will change depending on the cap but try to aim for a convex curve.

>>>

the values for this specific cap are:
output: 151 | input: 59
output: 228 | input: 158

THREE
erase the background. since the cap is a bit dark i used a layer mask to do this so i can repair any mistakes. i then replace the background with a blurry part of the original cap.

>>>

FOUR
add a black & white adjustment layer at soft light, 50% for contrast (i do this because i add a lot of grunge textures on screen and it helps not wash out the blacks so much)

FIVE
add this texture by pandavirus to the canvas and place it on screen. play around a bit until you find the perfect placement.

SIX
I want a monochrome icon so i add a black & white adjustment layer at 100% opacity.

SEVEN
attach the antlers. I edited the original image too much to post it but it was from the same book as this vintage picture that i got from archive (dot) org. i desaturate and invert the image and then adjust the brightness/contrast until the antlers are white against a black background. set the image on screen and adjust it on his head.

EIGHT
now for some color--create a new color fill layer at #998180 and set it to hard light, 100%

>>>

NINE
to add the dripping blood, i cut out the bottom part of this texture by cleamour and place it on multiply. resize, smudge, mask and/or erase until it appears like it's dripping from the antlers. this is actually made up of 6 duplicated layers.

TEN
when your happy with how it looks, stamp the image into a new layer and sharpen. i use the paint daubs filter (brush size: 1, sharpness: 1) and lower the opacity to 50%

ELEVEN
for contrast, i stamp the image again to a new layer, desaturate it and set it on hard light, 20%

>>>

TWELVE
the whites were looking too bright so I create a color fill layer #d4cbcb, drag it below the hard light layer in the previous step and set it on multiply, 100$

>>>

THIRTEEN
I want a more metallic color so I duplicate the stamped BW image in step eleven and set it at 33% opacity

FOURTEEN
finally, i add the text. these are lyrics from the song "becomes the color." i choose the words "think" and "become" to emphasize will's fear of becoming a monster like hannibal. the text layers are rasterized so i don't know the exact values but the font is either Modern No. 20 or Baskerville Old Face for the regular text and New Baskerville for the italics. the text layer is also duplicated (normal, 50%) to add more weight.

FIFTEEN
add a brightness/contraste layer at +5/-10 and voila, icon!

hmm...i notice now the end result in my saved PSD is a bit different--i must have deleted/changed a step. the original icon has a bit more gray to it so i guess there's a gray color fill layer on multiply/color burn/linear burn involved but i can't recreate it. it's a tiny difference anyway lol. as usual, if you need any of the steps clarified, just ask! :D

Ask The Maker 6.0 || My Thread

.057

theotherayn — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 12:04:03 GMT

20 THE LITTLE MERMAID
for 20inspirations + 10 alternates

1-20. the little mermaid by hans christian andersen

i started out trying to make a cohesively dark and creepy set but somehow ended up with half that and half over-textured painty messes with weird coloring lol. oh well. the dream cast is as follows:

Saoirse Ronan as The Little Mermaid
Kate Winslet as The Sea Witch
Aneurin Barnard as The Prince*

*chosen mainly because of caps of him near the sea in Moonfleet--which I ended up not really using anyway lol

I was tired/sleepy when I originally posted this so I wasn't able to talk about my inspirations. then yesterday my computer decided to restart in the middle of editing it so i'm hoping this third time's the charm. *deep breath* okay, here we go:

1 art by eugenia loli, graphic by mashamorevna - i wanted to make something collage-y and intricate so I blended the sea and some smoky textures into Saoirse's dress then added red flowers (because TLM only had red flowers in her garden) and the vine tattoo for additional details. will probably work better in a bigger canvas but i'm happy with what i was able to pull off given the tiny space

2 graphic set by cervvo - this was actually my initial inspiration for everything because i love the dark creepiness of it and it suits the mood of the original story which is totally depressing. anyway, if you look at the alt below, I started with a light version before inverting everything.

3 general theme - one of, if not my first idea...i knew i wanted to photoshop/animate moving clouds into TLM's eyes to signify her longing for the world above. again, would probably work better in a bigger canvas so you can see the clouds more lol

4 general theme/graphic set by cervvo - another attempt at being dark and creepy, this time with an obscure crop

5 general theme - aaah, one of my failures in this set. i wanted to animate this like she was disappearing (an effect similar to this which i sort of pulled off better) but nothing was working so i just gave up and posted the static version

6 graphic by renlybaratheon, texture by lookslikerain - started out by trying to blend the shipwreck into Saoirse's face but none of the compositions were working. finally slapped that texture into the psd i was so happy because it was exactly what it needed

7 general theme/graphic set by cervvo - me trying to be dark again. i've always been afraid of absolute blacks and i started out this set hoping to conquer that (not!) but at least i tried even if i only have a handful of icons to show for it

8 texture by madeofstone - i'm looking at the psd right now and i have a bajillion textures in this thing i'm kinda surprised it ended up sort of coherent lol.

9 art by megan lara - i confess i picked kate winslet to be the sea witch because she has amazing cleavage and the introduction to TSW had sea snakes and toads in her bosom or something like that so I wanted to make a portrait of her cradling all these snakes and toads and i tried and tried but i only managed to sneak in that one toad into the picture and then settled for weird coloring instead *hangs head in shame*

10 art by phil noto, graphic by mashamorevna - i've been trying to get that textured look by phil noto into an icon for aaaaages and this is the closest i could get it while also trying to blend stuff into her hair a la the mashamorevna graphic (who if you haven't noticed yet, is kinda my idol at the moment)

11 graphic by mashamorevna - this started out as me trying to make TSW look like a statue with a snake but somehow ended up with inverted flowers instead haha

12 art by sandra chevrier - because TLM becomes mute, i wanted to make a collage obscuring the bottom half of her face (see alt below) but i liked the way the painty texture made her look broken so I decided to blacken everything leaving just the upper part of her head

13 Dracula Untold poster - this poster ended up on ONTD while i was making icons so i though, i should do that with TLM's tail except with fish. well, not possible on a 100x100 canvas unfortunately. at least it kinda looks like she's still deteriorating--but into blobs instead of fish.

14 general theme - i think i was running out of ideas so i was just slapping on textures on top of her face but i kinda liked it so here it is

15 general theme - although i love Disney's version of TLM i also kinda hate it for all the cutesyness. EVERY STEP SHE TOOK HURT, YO! (see quote in cut text) so this is me trying to convey that hurt albeit not very well

16 general theme - another icon where i had no idea what i was doing so i just kept slapping textures on it until it was passable

17 word: careless - i wanted to make an icon that conveys the Prince's carelessness with TLM (he makes her dance and climbs mountains even though her feet hurt and everyone else notices but him! also, he marries someone else, the little shit--um, anyway...) once again, nothing was really working composition wise so I settled for weird coloring /lazy

18 word: sharp - i was trying to incorporate a dagger into the icon but couldn't make it work then i had the epiphany to cut it up into triangles and block it instead

19 word: invert - this was also inspired by a graphic by jonquille that is sadly no longer on the internet and i don't have it saved either but i remember it so well. *sad face*

20 graphic set by nickigrants - apparently the user got hacked so all I have is a piece of the set that I saved to my inspiration folder. anyway. the vibrant alt (below) seemed incomplete so I was trying to find a way to fix it when i stumbled on that graphic on my folder so i started to add more grunge textures and that's how i ended up with it.

overall, i'm a bit disappointed that this set ended more pastel, storybook like as opposed to the dark set i wanted to make at the beginning but i won't complain because i learned a lot when it comes to blending/manipulating stuff together. but honestly, i never want to touch a mermaid's tail photo in the next few months at least haha

21-30. alternates

.056

theotherayn — Sat, 31 May 2014 16:24:08 GMT

55 MULTIFANDOM ICONS
03 Agora
02 Bright Star
10 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
02 Captain America: The First Avenger
03 La Belle et La Bete (1946)
05 Paper Heart/Charlyne Yi
03 Game of Thrones
02 Hannibal
05 The Hour
05 Masters of Sex
03 Sleepy Hollow
07 True Detective
05 Richard Ayoade

MOVIES
1-5. agora, bright star

6-10. captain america: the winter soldier

11-15. captain america: the winter soldier

16-20. captain america: the first avenger, la belle et la bete (1946)

21-25. paper heart (charlyne yi)

TV
26-30. game of thrones, hannibal

31-35. the hour

36-40. masters of sex

41-45. sleepy hollow, true detective

46-50. true detective

PEOPLE
51-55. richard ayoade

icon dump! mostly made for contests and tasteislife i also seem to be in a mode lately where my icons are either really simple or really arsty ~~fartsy~~ lol /kanyeshrug.gif

.055

theotherayn — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 20:24:30 GMT

20 WINTER SOLDIER ICONS
~~because I'm obsessed~~ + 3 iphone/ipod wallpapers

1-20. captain america: the winter soldier x14, the first avenger x3, bucky/nat x3

~

1. captain america: the winter soldier

1-2. bucky/nat based on the winter soldier comics

so this new obsession came out of nowhere. I went to watch the movie not really expecting much and came out totally in love with everyone. slowly going through the comics now and I just...BUCKYYYYYYY!!!!!<3333333 I haven't been this in love with a comic book character since Batman. lol anyway, these are mostly made out of tumblr graphics. and yes, i just might be obsessed with sebastian stan's nekkid torso too. XD I need them to release it in HD already so I can make moaaaarr.