Tutorial 05 ; Bethany Joie Coloring

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USING PS7 in 10 layers

01. I used this image from The Joie Luck Club. Crop and resize your base to 100x100. Don't sharpen. I wanted to brighten up the base a little, so I went to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

Brightness: +10, Contrast: 0.

Then, I went to Image > Adjustments > Levels.

Use the following settings: 0, 1.13, 255.

(Where do I find Brighten/Contrast, Levels in PS7? - Screenshot)

02. Duplicate the base and set the blend mode to Screen. I wanted to create a dreamy sort-of effect, so I went to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the radius from 0.7 - 1.0 (depending on how blurry you want it to be).

(Where do I find Gaussian Blur? - Screenshot)

03. Go back to your base (not the blurred Screen layer) and duplicate it (Ctrl+J). Bring it above everything and set to Screen. Lower the opacity to 50%.

05. Now we're finally ready to start coloring! Create a new layer (Ctrl+Shift+N) above everything and fill it with pink (#FFB6E5). Set the layer to Soft Light and lower the opacity to 60% (varies with bases).

06. Create another new layer and fill with a darkish blue (#001B70). Set that layer to Soft Light at 100%. Now it's starting to come together! =)

07. Create yet another new layer and fill it with a dark, forest green (#00353B). Set the layer to Exclusion and lower the opacity to 80%. This pinks up Bethany's skin tone.

08. Create a new layer and fill it with a sky blue (#8FE1FF). Set the layer to Color Burn at 100%. I wanted a little bit more blue, so I duplicated (Ctrl+J) the color burn layer and lowered the opacity to 30%.

09. Now the icon is looking washed out. So go back to your original base and duplicate it. Drag it above ALL the layers: EVERYTHING. Set that layer to Overlay at 100%. Looking good!

10. Finally, create a new layer and fill it with the same dark blue we used for the soft light layer. Set it to Soft Light and lower the opacity to 20%.

And there you have it! You can add text, textures, brushes, whatever you want! I'd love to see your results. :)

MY FINAL LAYER PALETTE: