MOVED!

Update: 1 Wallpaper, 1 Fanart, 27 Icons

2005-06-27T16:59:34Z

I'm not sure what this could be used for, but I was playing around with a tutorial and didn't want to delete it, so here you go. The size is 700x225.

Brian/Gale:
1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12.
13. 14. 15.

Brian/Justin:
16. 17. 18. 19.
20. 21.

Non-QAF:
22. 23. 24. 25.
26. 27.

As always, comment, credit, and enjoy!

Moved!

2005-06-26T21:58:33Z

THIS LIVEJOURNAL HAS MOVED! PLEASE JOIN THE NEW COMMUNITY AT DEVIOUS_ART!

For more information, read this entry.

Tutorial: Nich Lachey grunge

2005-06-24T22:41:11Z

In this tutorial we'll go from this image to this: in PS7.

I'm sort of developing a new style, and it's really easy and I love the outcome of the icons I've made so far for my next batch, so I thought I'd share it with you. :) You'll also notice that unlike my former tutorials, I'm not using Gale Harold. I know, scary, but Nick is sexy too so I thought I'd give him a shot.

1. First, I rotate the image a little so it's not all straight and boring. Then, I crop it and resize it to 100x100.

2. Then, I duplicate the base, desaturate it, sharpen it, and set it to Screen at 46% Opacity. I'm not completely happy with the look, so I duplicate the base again, put it on top of everything, and set it to Soft Light at 100% Opacity. Then, I flatten the image.

3. I use the blur tool to make his skin more creamy, avoiding his eyes, nose, and lips. Then, I applied this texture in a new layer and put it below the base. To do this, select the base in the layers pallette and go to layers>new>layer from background. With the texture below the base, set the base layer to Luminosity.

I know what you're thinking: "That looks like shit! This chick sucks!" Well, that's cuz we're not done yet, so shut the fuck up and stop bitching. *g*

4. I erase all of the area around Nick so the texture shows through. There are different ways of doing this, but I find this is the easiest. Then, so it doesn't look like Nick is too prominent, I duplicate the texture layer and place it above everything, setting it to Soft Light at 100% Opacity.

5. I decided I didn't like that all that much, so I duplicated the Nick layer and placed it above everything and set it to Multiply at 100% Opacity. Then, I applied this border and set it to overlay for a darker look.

6. Now for the text. In #F6C380, I wrote "SEX APPEAL" (I know, I'm very original) in Century Gothic, 14 pt. Then, I rotated it so it ran along the left side of the icon. I applied a drop shadow and lowered the opacity of the text to 73%.

I'm not sure I like it, and it's kind of hard to read still, but I don't really care.

7. We're almost done. I flattened the image and went to image>adjustments>hue/saturation and played with that a little until I liked the coloring. My settings were 0, -24, +8.

And voila! We're done.

Here are two other icons I got with this technique (Sorry, I just HAD to put Gale in here somewhere!):

All icons in this tutorial are sharable, as long as you comment and credit. *g*

Tutorial: Thought/Talk bubbles

2005-06-20T18:13:54Z

Here's a tutorial requested by stalkmeback on how to make talk/thought bubbles such as in this icon:

I learned how to make the comic book style speech bubble at the end of this tutorial.

Tools:

Here is where you'll find the custom shape tool.

When you have the custom shap tool selected, you'll find the speech bubble here.

Making a speech bubble is pretty self explanitory after that. You just drag it on your icon until you like it. When you do this, the inside of the bubble will fill with your foreground color.

To add a border to the bubble like I did, just press ctrl+click on the layer in the layers pallette. Then, create a new layer and go to edit>stroke and do the border. Then you can add text on the inside.

Then your icon will look something like this: .

Now, if you want a thought bubble like in this icon: , I can help. There may be an easier way to do this, but this is how I did it:

First, I made an oval using the ellipse tool found here:

Then, I applied a border and switched to the custom shape tool again. Then, I chose the blob shape found here:

I created two small shapes leading up to the person who was thinking and applied a border to those also.

If anything is unclear or you have a question, just ask.

Update: 2 Wallpapers, 1 Colorbar, 26 Icons

2005-06-20T14:51:05Z

Wallpapers:

Colorbars:

River Phoenix is ~~teh sex~~ love.

Icons:

Brian/Gale:
The first three icons are meant to make up for the icons I made two updates ago. I remade them because the old ones were too big to work for LJ or GJ. Also, everything I've been making so far has been turning to shit, so if these suck....well, tough shit.

1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10.

Brian/Justin:
11. 12. 13.

Two B/J icons that contain spoilers can be found here (#14) and here (#15).

Misc:
16. 17. 18. 19.
20. 21. 22.

Non-QAF:
23. 24. 25. 26.

Resources: The bases in #18, #21, snf #22 were made by frenchie_icons.

Tutorial: Washed out, repeated image, small text

2005-06-18T01:58:44Z

In this tutorial, we'll be going from this image to this: in PS7.

1. Crop the image. Leave some room along two sides of the icon:

2. Duplicate the base twice. Set the first duplicated layer to screen at 33% opacity and the top one at soft light at 51% opacity. Flatten the image and sharpen it a bit.

3. Use the blur tool on his skin at a 25% strength.

(I got rid of his stubble. If you like it, keep it.)

4. Apply this gradient in soft light, then this gradient in screen at 62% opacity. Then duplicate the bottom layer and set it to normal at 42% opacity for a semi-washed out look. Flatten the image.

5. Open a new 100x100 document and drag our icon so far into the new document. Crop a part of the image to something that's about 35x35 and drag it back over to the original document and place it in the upper right hand corner. Apply a 2px border on the center around the entire icon, and then a 2px border on the outside for the smaller image.

6. Create two new layers. On the first one, using your rectangle marquee tool, draw a thin rectangle from the bottom of the smaller image to the bottom of the icon. Flood fill it with black. On the second layer, draw a similar thin rectangle from the left side of the small image to the left side of the icon. Also flood fill it with black. Apply an outer glow to the two rectangles as well as the icon border and the border we put on the smaller image. You can choose the size and opacity and all that to what you like.

7. Apply this gradient in linear burn to make it not so...shiny. Then apply some small text in the empty areas below and beside the small image.

And tada! You're done.

Any questions, comments, etc? Just ask!

1 Wallpaper, 1 LJ Header, 1 Colorbar, and 37 Icons

2005-06-13T16:38:05Z

Wallpapers:

LJ Headers:

Colorbars:

Boy kissing is ~~sex~~ love.

Icons:

Brian/Gale:
1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12.
13. 14. 15. 16.
17. 18. 19. 20.

Brian/Justin:
21. 22. 23. 24.
25. 26. 27. 28.
29.

Misc:
30. 31. 32. 33.

Non-QAF:
34. 35. 36. 37.

Also be sure to check the recent entries in this journal for extras that I've posted since last week.

ETA: I just figured out that 10 and 11 are too big (the file, that is) to work on LiveJournal or GreatestJournal...so I'm making new ones for this coming Monday. They will be shorter...but more of them. :)

Icon Requests

2005-06-12T18:52:51Z

I just learned how to make icons like this:

I'm offering to make one for anyone who wants me to. Just be as specific in what you want it to say as you can. If you're not sure about something, just ask.

If you want me to make you one, email me or comment on this entry.

And don't forget that I take graphic requests from anyone that wants me to make them something, and it doens't have to be QAF based.

Another Base

2005-06-08T16:28:22Z

Once again, same rules as here.

Three More Bases

2005-06-07T00:14:37Z

Same rules apply as here.

New Bases

2005-06-06T03:23:10Z

I made an icon using all the new pics (well, the ones we've gotten to see yet) and made an animated icon and I figured I'd post these bases just in case anyone wants them. The reason I'm posting them here is because this is the ONLY time I'm letting anyone add text (or ask me to add it) or change the bases any way they want...and you don't even have to credit me...emphasis on have. ;) If you just want to use the bases as icons, that's fine too.

The ones in color were desaturated (for the purpose of the icon I made) and all of them are sharpened and all that good stuff. Here ya go:

x-posted to my journal: brianlvr_1

Update: 4 Wallpapers, 2 FO Banners, 1 Header, 43 Icons

2005-06-04T21:22:43Z

Wallpapers:

FO Banners:

LJ Headers:

Icons:

IMPORTANT: The first 8 icons are from the brand new photos of Gale Harold. Do not change them in any way. Believe it or not, I did more to them than just cropping them and adding a simple border. If you want to add text to any, just ask and I'll add it. If you want to change a lot about it, you can always request it (since I do take requests) or make them for yourself. You can find all of them at qaf_daily. Also, there are more new pictures to come, and more icons of them to come, so keep checking back here on Mondays.

Brian/Gale:
1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12.
13. 14. 15. 16.
17. 18. 19. 20.
21. 22. 23. 24.
25. 26. 27. 28.
29. 30. 31.

Justin/Randy:
Don't hate me after you see the second two. I really made them for someone else. I think Randy has very straight, white, pretty teeth, and a great smile...it's just the picture that makes me laugh.

32. 33. 34.

Brian/Justin:
35. 36.

Misc:
37. 38. 39.

Made for libertyavegrl69 (Feel free to take):
40. 42. 43.

PS. I've seen a few of my icons scattered around without credit to me in their keywords, so I'd like to remind everone to look in the userinfo for the rules on taking my icons/banners/headers/etc.

Tutorial-Very Simple

2005-06-01T19:04:35Z

In this tutorial we'll be going from this: to this: in PS7.

Step 1: Cropping and resizing

A basic rule in cropping is: do not center the image when you crop. I chose to just crop and resize it like this:

Step 2: Brightness

Obviously, this image is way to dark to make an icon out of. So, duplicate the base, and set it to screen. I still think it's a little too dark, so I duplicate the screened layer. Then, merge the layers and change the brightness/contrast (image>adjustments>brightness/contrast) so that the brightness is set to +10 and the contrast at +5. This is what the image should look like now:

Much better.

Step 3: Quality

It's an okay base, but it's a little blurry, so I sharpen the image.

Step 4: Coloring-Tongue

Since the focus of my icon is going to be on his tongue, I want it to stand out in the icon. I use my lasso tool and go around his tongue so the whole thing is selected.

Then, I change the brightness/contrast so the brightness is set to +14 and the contrast is set to +8. This will obviously be different for other images.

Note: Sometimes you can't lasso something perfectly and if you change the brightness/contrast the edge of it looks separate from the rest. This can be easily fixed with the smudge tool.

Step 5: Border

Create a new layer and apply a 2 px black border around the icon.

Step 6: Text

Since I did all that work on his tongue, the focus of the text would obviously be based on that. Something that annoys a lot of people with icons is when the text has nothing to do with what's going on in the picture.

I just did something really simple and silly. I wrote "Gale!Tongue" in Kyanna (or a similar script font) in red (#A01509) in the upper left hand corner of the icon.

It was a little to dark so I rasterized the layer and adjusted the brightness/contrast to a more candy apple red.

(Fell free to snag, as long as you credit me.)

And voila! You're done. It's not the best icon, but you get the point. :)

2 Wallpapers, 2 Colorbars, 10 Icons

2005-05-30T23:32:26Z

Text: It doesn't end here (and other small text)

Text: Lyrics from Save the Last Dance for Me

Gale's facial expressions are ~~OMG SO FUNNY~~ hot.

Young Gale is OMIGOSH TOO CUTE!!

Brian:

1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7.

Brian/Justin:
8. 9.

Brian/Michael:

10.

Remember, comments are my heroine. :)

Make skin look perfect with these two tutorials!

2005-05-27T18:29:12Z

Blur Tool

No one's skin is perfect, but it's okay to want to make it look that way in your images. They better the person in you image looks, the better the image is. In this tutorial I'm going to show you the tool I use for doing this.

It's called the Blur Tool. It's located here:

It's very simple to use. It's best to magnify your image, but not too much. Just enough to navigate around the skin easily. Run your blur tool over the image and let it do it's magic. Avoid the eyes. Working around the eyes to remove bags and other imperfections is fine, but not directly on the eye. What the tool does is just what it's name implies, it blurs. If you use it everywhere, your photo will look blurry and everything will seem to run together. Also avoid hair, the bottom of the nose, and lips. When you put the image back to it's original size, you should see a big difference.

Here's an example of overusing the tool: Before- After-. See how blurry it turned out? But even despite that, you can see the skin looks a lot smoother and milkier, which is always a good thing.

Here are two good examples:

1. Before: (photo courtesy of sandstorm63)
Even though he's as close to perfect as I've ever seen, he looks like he didn't get much sleep the night before this picture was taken. Notice the bags under his eyes.

After:
Voila! No more bags, and he still looks natural and oh-so-yummy.

2. Before:
Obviously, this is an old picture. I mean, it was taken in the 70's when Gale was this young. The picture is really pixy and in very bad quality.

After:
It's definitely not perfect, but can you see the improvement in his skin?

Healing Brush Tool

Want to hide blotchy or pimply skin? The Healing Brush Tool is a gift from God, and it's so simple!

Here's where it's located:

Again, it's best to magnify your image. Find a place close to the area you want to clear up that doesn't contain acne or other imperfections like that. With the tool selected, press alt, then click on the clear patch of skin near the unclear part. Then, click away and watch it clear up the skin in no time. Don't go crazy with it though. Take your time or else it won't come out right. If you go into a completely different area of skin, alt+click again on an area closer to the part you're working on so the colors stay the same. Working around lips and eyes and noses are really hard, so avoid those areas.

Here's a good example of what I did:
Before: Not to attractive, huh? Let's erase it!
After: Seriously, it's like magic. No signs of acne here!

If anything in these tutorials aren't clear, please ask me and I'll try to further explain it.

Good Tutorial Sites

2005-05-26T14:52:20Z

Here are a few more places to find good Photoshop Tutorials:

Icon Tutorials
Memorable Tutorials
Photoshop Links
Good-Tutorials.com

And here is a place where you can find basic and vague tutorials on how to work the tools in Photoshop.

*If you know of anymore links like this, please let me know.*

Also, don't forget about all the great tutorials I'm putting in my memories. I add at least 1 new one almost every day.

Update: 12 Icons

2005-05-24T00:34:23Z

Sorry there aren't a lot this time. I promise I'll have more next week.

Brian:

1. 2. 3.

Brian/Justin:

4. 5. 6. 7.

Misc:

8. 9. 10. 11.
12.

Comment, Credit, Take, you know the drill.

Slight Change in Posting

2005-05-19T21:12:47Z

From now on, I'll be updating my site (and graphics) every Monday instead of every Sunday until Queer as Folk ends. The reason is that I'll be making episode recaps for season 5 and posting them on my LiveJournal and my Website.

Icon Tutorials

2005-05-19T00:19:51Z

I found a new Icon Tutorial community at icontutorials. If you go here you'll be able to pick out tutorials that you want instead of having to look at every single one trying to figure out which will work for you and which won't.

I just bookmarked a lot of tutorials so you can expect a bunch more to be added to my memories soon.

Other icon communities in which to get tutorials, brushes, gradients, help, etc. can be found on my userinfo under brianlvr_1.

There is also a very helpful list of Photoshop terms here for people who are new to Photoshop 7. (I added this to my memories anyways)

Saving Tutorial w/ Pics

2005-05-18T02:50:03Z

Experienced icon-makers will find nothing new here, this is basically just for those who are just starting out. This is my first tutorial and it's very simple, but it's essential in making your icons look their best. I know that I didn't save my icons correctly until I got my tutor, so I know there are some out there who haven't learned yet either.

Saving Icons

1. After making an icon, go to file>save as. Do not go to just file>save or file>save for web!

2. When the Save As window pops up, find the location you'd like to keep your icon. Then, on the bottom drop-down menu labled Format, select JPEG. Do not chose any of the others when making a static (still) icon!

(Notice the two icons I made pre-tutor that were saved as the default format Photoshop PDF. Bad!)

3. Next, chose a name for your icon and press save, just like saving a document...this is common sense.

4. Finally, a box will pop up labled JPEG Options will pop up. Make sure it is set on 12 (no less!) and click OK.

If you put the quality on anything less than 12, your icon will most likely come out looking like this: instead of this: . See the difference?

The same steps in this tutorial apply for saving anything in Photoshop: wallpaper, banners, fanart...anything!

1 Wallpaper, 31 Icons

2005-05-15T15:06:26Z

There are some of these that I know suck a big one, and if you're asking why I'd post them if I don't like them is because when I do tutorials, most of the time the first one I do isn't all that great, but I post all my icons anyways. When I get better hopefully I won't have to say anything about this.

(No Text)

Brian/Gale:

1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12.
13. 14. 15.

Brian/Justin:

16. 17. 18. 19.
20. 21.

Misc:

22. 23. 24. 25.
26.

Non-QAF:

27. 28. 29. 30.
31.

Comment, Credit, you know the drill.

New: Wallpaper, Friends Only Banners, Icons

2005-05-05T22:25:36Z

I'm brand new to all of this, so be gentle and bear with me until I get better at it. :)

Text: You think you know, but you don't know, you know?

Text: The Many Faces of Gale

Text: Make me feel alive...

Brian/Gale:

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

Brian/Justin:

17. 18.

Brian/Michael:

19. 20. 21. 22.

Misc:

23. 24.

Non-QAF icons:

25. 26.

Like them? Hate them? Tell me! Please comment.