First Tutorial - Shirley Manson Icon
Okay, everyone! After watching this community for about a week, and using several tutorials and tips to improve my graphic skills... Here is what I've come up with! This is my first tutorial evar, and actually one of my first decent icons (really, you should see some of my earlier attempts! You can if you go to my website and go to the "_Icons" section *COUGHshamelessadvertisingCOUGH*)... so please be gentle. I've written it with as much clarity as possible, but if there are any questions, feel free to leave a comment! I'd love the feedback!!
Oh, and by the way, I made all of the gradients and the light texture all by myself! I tried not to rip off other peoples' hard work! And, also, I have dial-up internet, and was not online when I wrote this tutorial, and so even if I used other peoples' gradients/textures I wouldn't have been able to credit properly (because I always forget to keep track of whose stuff I am using)!!! So, yes. This was ALL my own hard work! Hope you enjoy!!
How to go from
to 
in 10 easy steps using PS7 (I so hope this is easily translateable to other programs!).
1.
Get a nice picture and crop it to 100x100 pixels. Desaturate it. Sharpen it once.
2.
Go to Image>> Adjustments>> Brightness/Contrast and play with the image until you get settings resembling mine. For this icon, I had -28 Brightness and +37 Contrast.
3.
Create a new layer and paste this gradient. Set it to overlay at 50%.
4.
Create another new layer and paste this gradient. Set it to screen.
5.
Create yet another new layer and paste this gradient. Set it to overlay at 30%.
6.
Create another layer and paste this, the last gradient. Set it to overlay at 55%.
7.
Now copy this light texture (created by your truly!) and paste it. Set it to screen. It should now look something like this:
8.
Now for a tip I picked up from 
teneraestnox. Select all (Ctrl + A) and go to Edit>> Copy Merged (Shift + Ctrl + C). Paste this new layer. Go to Filter>> Blur>> Gaussian Blur. Select a radius (I used 2 pixels for this icon) and hit OK. Set the layer to darken, and adjust the opacity setting to your liking (I used 44% for this icon). As teneraestnox said in her tutorial, leaving it at 100% does make it look rather cartoonish. It should now have a softer, warmer look:
9. Now for the text. For the little text on the left side of the icon (which, for the record, says, "seek to destroy..."), I used Times New Roman PS MT in #E2881E. My settings were:
Font size: 8 pt
Tracking: 75
Vertical scale: 80%
Horizontal scale: 100%
Anti-aliasing method: Crisp
I also used the All Caps button.
I typed out the text then went to Edit>> Transform>> Rotate 90 CCW and lined it up with the bottom left corner of the icon.
10. For the larger text (which says, "Phoenix Rise") I used the font Scriptina in #6E0B05. Settings:
Font size: 18 pt
Tracking: -25
Vertical and Horizontal Scale: 100%
Anti-aliasing method: Strong
And it was bolded.
And Voila! You are done! Again, here's what my finished product looks like!
Please leave comments and let me know what you thought! If you take the gradients/light texture:
[x] Comment
[x] Credit toshannara
[x] Share the wealth! Tell the masses about my tutorial attempts! ;-P
Go ahead and take the icon, but please credit me! I worked hard on that thing!!!
Oh, and by the way, I made all of the gradients and the light texture all by myself! I tried not to rip off other peoples' hard work! And, also, I have dial-up internet, and was not online when I wrote this tutorial, and so even if I used other peoples' gradients/textures I wouldn't have been able to credit properly (because I always forget to keep track of whose stuff I am using)!!! So, yes. This was ALL my own hard work! Hope you enjoy!!
How to go from
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
teneraestnox. Select all (Ctrl + A) and go to Edit>> Copy Merged (Shift + Ctrl + C). Paste this new layer. Go to Filter>> Blur>> Gaussian Blur. Select a radius (I used 2 pixels for this icon) and hit OK. Set the layer to darken, and adjust the opacity setting to your liking (I used 44% for this icon). As teneraestnox said in her tutorial, leaving it at 100% does make it look rather cartoonish. It should now have a softer, warmer look:9. Now for the text. For the little text on the left side of the icon (which, for the record, says, "seek to destroy..."), I used Times New Roman PS MT in #E2881E. My settings were:
Font size: 8 pt
Tracking: 75
Vertical scale: 80%
Horizontal scale: 100%
Anti-aliasing method: Crisp
I also used the All Caps button.
I typed out the text then went to Edit>> Transform>> Rotate 90 CCW and lined it up with the bottom left corner of the icon.
10. For the larger text (which says, "Phoenix Rise") I used the font Scriptina in #6E0B05. Settings:
Font size: 18 pt
Tracking: -25
Vertical and Horizontal Scale: 100%
Anti-aliasing method: Strong
And it was bolded.
And Voila! You are done! Again, here's what my finished product looks like!
Please leave comments and let me know what you thought! If you take the gradients/light texture:
[x] Comment
[x] Credit to
shannara[x] Share the wealth! Tell the masses about my tutorial attempts! ;-P
Go ahead and take the icon, but please credit me! I worked hard on that thing!!!