Tutorial: 001

From to in 8 Simple Steps




Step One:

Open your base.



[NOTE: With my base images, there are several things that I do before I start adding effects and things. To use my technique for making your bases spiffy and clean, duplicate your background image and set the copy to screen. Depending on the quality of the image depends on whether or not you have to sharpen, change opacity, etc. Play around with it so you can find something that works for you.]

Make a new layer (shift+ctrl+n) and use the paint bucket to fill it with a dark blue color. (I used #040446.) Set this layer to Exclusion.



Yeesh, it’s a bit too blue. Never fear, all you have to do is lower the opacity. Play around with it to find the shade that looks the best with your base. (I chose to lower the it down to 35%.)



Yay. You have a brand new shiny base ready for the next step.



Step Two:

Firstly, flatten all of your layers.

Okay. Now, create a new layer (this new layer should be on top of everything) and fill it with a peachy tone. (I used #F1D8BA.) Set this layer to Color.



Pretty icky looking. It’s time to play with the opacity again. (I lowered my opacity to 37%.)



Much better. Next…



Step Three:

It’s time to add some pretty colors to this sucker. I think we’ll play with a simple gradient (courtesy of spectacular)



Make sure your gradient is on top off all of your other layers. This will ensure that it’s color comes out fully.

Set the gradient layer to Soft Light.



Flatten image.



Step Four:

I think that the icon looks pretty good like this, but lately I’ve been drawn to colorful icons with light textures, so I am going to add a few optional effects.

[NOTE: If you like, you may skip the next two step and go straight to the step with the text. However, you may also decide to use some colors or a fun light texture for extra jazz.]

Okay. I have decided on this color gradient type base by colorfilter



Set the opacity of the base you just pasted to around 39%.

Now, go to your background image and duplicate it. Pull this layer to the top. Set the blending mode to Soft light.



Flatten image.

Now we’re going to make a new layer and fill it with a tan tint (such as #D1B28E). Set it to color and lower the opacity to around 25%.

It’s only a slight change, but it’ll make all the difference in the end. I promise.

Flatten image.



Step Five:

Take a light texture by colorfilter and put it on top of all of the other layers. Set the mode to Soft Light.



Now, duplicate your background image and drag it so it is directly beneath the light texture. Set your background image to screen.





Step Six:

Almost done. We just have some finishing touches to hit on.

Flatten image.

I don’t like how bright it looks, so I am going to play around with the saturation (image+adjustments+hue/saturation).

I decided to lower it to about -25.





Step Seven:

Okay, it is time for text. I’m not going to go in depth with this step since text is different for each icon. Play around with it until you find something that you like.

I came up with this…

[NOTE: I decided that I wanted the text to be backwards, so before typing, I flipped my image horizontally. After I was done typing, I made sure to rotate it horizontally again]





Step Eight:

Last but not least, duplicate your background layer. Set it to multiply and lower the opacity. (I lowered it to 30%).

Flatten your image, and voila!



Oooh, prettyful.



Le Fin.



How'd I do? Is it obvious that I am was a tutorial virgin? Let me know.

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{x-posted to __innerfangirl and icon_tutorial}