Full Icon Tutorial for PSP 8 - Cowboy Dave
I have learned many new and great things here that have made my icons look so much better. Because of that, I thought I'd give my hand at writing up an icon tutorial. This is the first time I've done this and I hope I've done it so the steps are understandable.
I was really pleased with how this icon turned out. I made it for an icon contest for
david_stillness a few weeks ago. It even placed 3rd.
This is the icon we'll be making:
This is the original image that I used:
Step 1
Duplicate the image twice. Make sure the top layer is active. Go to Adjust>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 1.80. Click Okay. Set the Blend Mode to Screen. Right click on the top layer, click Merge, and click Merge Visible.
Step 2
Duplicate the Merged Layer. Go to Adjust>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 5.00. Click Okay. Set the Blend Mode to Screen. Set the Opacity to 50%. (This will be adjustable, depending on your image.) Right click, click Merge, and click Merge Visible.
Step 3
Select your Freehand Selection Tool. Set Feather to 4. Trace around David, just inside the outline of his body. With the Feather Option turned on, it will expand the selection a bit. This way you don't have to be too exact. When that is done, click on Copy. Then right click on your workspace and click Paste as New Image. This is what it should resemble. You will notice there are some pixels outlining David, but don't worry about them. They won't be noticeable on the icon texture. At this point, I exported the tube for future use. Keep the tube open and duplicate it. Minimize the copy (you'll be needing it later).
Step 4
This step is a lot of trial and error (it's all a matter of what you want on the icon and the image you are using.). I cropped the tube to just below the shirt.
Step 5
The texture I used for this icon is by
lily_sunshine.
Copy the cropped tube and paste it as a New Layer on the texture. Click Image>Resize and set the Pixel Dimensions to 30%. Make sure Percent is selected in the dropdown box. Make sure Resize All Layers is unchecked. (You only want to resize the image, not the entire icon.)
Sharpen the resized image - Adjust>Sharpness>Sharpen.
(The percentage of the resize will depend on the image you're using.) Play with it until you get what you want. (This took a lot of trial and error on my part -- Thank God for Undo - LOL.)
You should now have this:
Step 6
With your Mover Tool, move the resized image to the left so it looks like David is leaning against the edge of the icon. Position the image so that the bottom of the image aligns with the top of the light yellow border of the texture. Set the Opacity of the image layer to 50%.
Step 7
Duplicate the top layer. Set the Blend Mode to Burn and the Opacity to 70%.
Step 8
Maximize the full-sized version of the tube. Copy the tube and paste it as a new layer on your icon. Click Image>Resize. I resized it 20%. Again make sure you are resizing by Percent and make sure that Resize All Layers is unchecked.
Sharpen the resized image. Adjust>Sharpness>Sharpen.
Now I wanted David leaning against the right border of the texture. Click Image>Mirror.
With your Mover Tool, move David to the right so it looks like he's leaning against the yellow border and move him so that the bottom of the image is against the bottom of the yellow border.
Set the Opacity of this layer to 50%.
Now drag this layer down until it is the layer above the Background Layer. (I did this so it looked like he was standing behind himself.).
The two images are now overlapping. I didn't want that. I wanted the image of David leaning to the left to be the image in front. So this is what I did. Make sure that this current layer is the active layer (the layer that you just moved down) by clicking on it. (It's very important that this layer is active. If not, you will be erasing the larger image of David.) Select your eraser tool. I used a round brush and set the size of the brush to 10. I found it helpful to zoom in a bit on the icon. Then I moved the eraser over the larger image of David, removing part of the smaller image. You need to be very careful around the edges of the larger image. Undo if necessary (I did many times). When you have it to your liking, zoom out so that the icon is back to it's original size.
It should now look something like this:
Step 9
Duplicate this layer, set the Blend Mode to Burn, and the Opacity to 70%. (You should now have two layers of the resized version of the full-sized tube just above the Background layer.)
Step 10
We are now ready for the text. Activate the top layer by clicking on it. Activate the Text Tool. (I always set my text as a Vector Layer. It's easier to move around and adjust.) So on the Text Tool Bar, set the Create As to Vector. The font I used was Garmond and I set the size at 10. For the color, I used #E4D980. Set this color as the Background and Fills Properties. Turn off the Foreground and Stroke Properties. Make sure Bold is turned off. I used the title from a Toby Keith song "Should Have Been a Cowboy".
Click in the dark part of the texture at the bottom and the Vector Text Window will open. Type in your text - "Should've been a" and click okay. You will now see a dashed border around the text. Click on the box in the middle. This will allow you to move your text around. Move it to where it looks good to you. When you have your text where you want it, right click on the Vector Layer on your Layer Palette and click on Convert to Raster Layer.
Set the Blend Mode to Hard Light and the Opacity to 80%. I wanted a drop shadow on the text. Click Effects>3D Effects>Drop Shadow. In the Offset Box, set the Vertical and Horizontal to 1.00. In the Attributes Box, set the Opacity to 100, the Blur to 1.00, and the Color to Black. I like putting the drop shadow on a separate layer, so make sure Shadow on a New Layer is checked. Click Okay.
Step 11
Now for the rest of the text. Activate the top layer by clicking on it. Activate the Text Tool, making sure Create As is set to Vector. Use the same font, size and color as the text you just made. The only difference is that the text on this layer is in all caps and is vertical. Click on the right side of the icon in the dark part. When the Vector Text Box opens, type COWBOY (make sure to hit return after each letter). Click okay.
Click on the box in the middle of the border surrounding your Vector Text and move it to where you want it. Then right click on the layer in your Layer Palette and click on Convert to Raster Layer.
Set the Blend Mode to Hard Light and the Opacity to 80%. Set the same drop shadow as you did on the earlier text, making sure the drop shadow is on a separate layer (the settings should still be there). Click Okay once you check that the shadow settings are the same.
Right click on one of the layer, Merge>Merge Visible.
This is how the icon should look.
I hope this was understandable. I made this icon a few weeks ago, so I was going from memory. Thankfully I saved the icon with all the layers intact. Just remember the different settings will depend on the image that you are using
I was really pleased with how this icon turned out. I made it for an icon contest for
david_stillness a few weeks ago. It even placed 3rd.This is the icon we'll be making:
This is the original image that I used:
Step 1
Duplicate the image twice. Make sure the top layer is active. Go to Adjust>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 1.80. Click Okay. Set the Blend Mode to Screen. Right click on the top layer, click Merge, and click Merge Visible.
Step 2
Duplicate the Merged Layer. Go to Adjust>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 5.00. Click Okay. Set the Blend Mode to Screen. Set the Opacity to 50%. (This will be adjustable, depending on your image.) Right click, click Merge, and click Merge Visible.
Step 3
Select your Freehand Selection Tool. Set Feather to 4. Trace around David, just inside the outline of his body. With the Feather Option turned on, it will expand the selection a bit. This way you don't have to be too exact. When that is done, click on Copy. Then right click on your workspace and click Paste as New Image. This is what it should resemble. You will notice there are some pixels outlining David, but don't worry about them. They won't be noticeable on the icon texture. At this point, I exported the tube for future use. Keep the tube open and duplicate it. Minimize the copy (you'll be needing it later).
Step 4
This step is a lot of trial and error (it's all a matter of what you want on the icon and the image you are using.). I cropped the tube to just below the shirt.
Step 5
The texture I used for this icon is by
lily_sunshine.Copy the cropped tube and paste it as a New Layer on the texture. Click Image>Resize and set the Pixel Dimensions to 30%. Make sure Percent is selected in the dropdown box. Make sure Resize All Layers is unchecked. (You only want to resize the image, not the entire icon.)
Sharpen the resized image - Adjust>Sharpness>Sharpen.
(The percentage of the resize will depend on the image you're using.) Play with it until you get what you want. (This took a lot of trial and error on my part -- Thank God for Undo - LOL.)
You should now have this:
Step 6
With your Mover Tool, move the resized image to the left so it looks like David is leaning against the edge of the icon. Position the image so that the bottom of the image aligns with the top of the light yellow border of the texture. Set the Opacity of the image layer to 50%.
Step 7
Duplicate the top layer. Set the Blend Mode to Burn and the Opacity to 70%.
Step 8
Maximize the full-sized version of the tube. Copy the tube and paste it as a new layer on your icon. Click Image>Resize. I resized it 20%. Again make sure you are resizing by Percent and make sure that Resize All Layers is unchecked.
Sharpen the resized image. Adjust>Sharpness>Sharpen.
Now I wanted David leaning against the right border of the texture. Click Image>Mirror.
With your Mover Tool, move David to the right so it looks like he's leaning against the yellow border and move him so that the bottom of the image is against the bottom of the yellow border.
Set the Opacity of this layer to 50%.
Now drag this layer down until it is the layer above the Background Layer. (I did this so it looked like he was standing behind himself.).
The two images are now overlapping. I didn't want that. I wanted the image of David leaning to the left to be the image in front. So this is what I did. Make sure that this current layer is the active layer (the layer that you just moved down) by clicking on it. (It's very important that this layer is active. If not, you will be erasing the larger image of David.) Select your eraser tool. I used a round brush and set the size of the brush to 10. I found it helpful to zoom in a bit on the icon. Then I moved the eraser over the larger image of David, removing part of the smaller image. You need to be very careful around the edges of the larger image. Undo if necessary (I did many times). When you have it to your liking, zoom out so that the icon is back to it's original size.
It should now look something like this:
Step 9
Duplicate this layer, set the Blend Mode to Burn, and the Opacity to 70%. (You should now have two layers of the resized version of the full-sized tube just above the Background layer.)
Step 10
We are now ready for the text. Activate the top layer by clicking on it. Activate the Text Tool. (I always set my text as a Vector Layer. It's easier to move around and adjust.) So on the Text Tool Bar, set the Create As to Vector. The font I used was Garmond and I set the size at 10. For the color, I used #E4D980. Set this color as the Background and Fills Properties. Turn off the Foreground and Stroke Properties. Make sure Bold is turned off. I used the title from a Toby Keith song "Should Have Been a Cowboy".
Click in the dark part of the texture at the bottom and the Vector Text Window will open. Type in your text - "Should've been a" and click okay. You will now see a dashed border around the text. Click on the box in the middle. This will allow you to move your text around. Move it to where it looks good to you. When you have your text where you want it, right click on the Vector Layer on your Layer Palette and click on Convert to Raster Layer.
Set the Blend Mode to Hard Light and the Opacity to 80%. I wanted a drop shadow on the text. Click Effects>3D Effects>Drop Shadow. In the Offset Box, set the Vertical and Horizontal to 1.00. In the Attributes Box, set the Opacity to 100, the Blur to 1.00, and the Color to Black. I like putting the drop shadow on a separate layer, so make sure Shadow on a New Layer is checked. Click Okay.
Step 11
Now for the rest of the text. Activate the top layer by clicking on it. Activate the Text Tool, making sure Create As is set to Vector. Use the same font, size and color as the text you just made. The only difference is that the text on this layer is in all caps and is vertical. Click on the right side of the icon in the dark part. When the Vector Text Box opens, type COWBOY (make sure to hit return after each letter). Click okay.
Click on the box in the middle of the border surrounding your Vector Text and move it to where you want it. Then right click on the layer in your Layer Palette and click on Convert to Raster Layer.
Set the Blend Mode to Hard Light and the Opacity to 80%. Set the same drop shadow as you did on the earlier text, making sure the drop shadow is on a separate layer (the settings should still be there). Click Okay once you check that the shadow settings are the same.
Right click on one of the layer, Merge>Merge Visible.
This is how the icon should look.
I hope this was understandable. I made this icon a few weeks ago, so I was going from memory. Thankfully I saved the icon with all the layers intact. Just remember the different settings will depend on the image that you are using