Full icon tutorial, gradients, gradient map

Making from THIS screencap, using Photoshop 6.0

This icon won Best Colouring at anime_hush a while back.



Step 0: See that the theme at anime_hush is "Innocence". Think "Okay, this is BEGGING for that shot of Shin."

Step 1: Crop the image and resize to 100x100.



Step 2: Go to Filter-->Sharpen-->Unsharp Mask

Amount: 50%
Radius: 1.0 pixels
Threshold: 1 level



I usually use this for sharpening because I find the regular Sharpen filter to be too extreme. Especially for an "Innocence" icon.

Step 3: Layer--> New Adjustment Layer--> Brightness/Contrast

Brightness: -8
Contrast: +21



This gave Shin's body more definition and made it stand out against the bench.

Step 4: Create a new layer, fill it with white. Set this to Overlay at 38% opacity.



Truth be told, I'm not sure why I did this. It probably means I did it after one of the other steps and it made perfect sense THEN. :p

Step 5: Duplicate the base and drag the duplicate to the top. Desaturate this layer and set to soft light.



This is part of my standard first steps to icon making. And a lot of other people's too. :p

Step 6: Layer--> New Adjustment Layer--> Gradient Map
Use the first gradient in the third row of Color Harmonies.



Looks pretty funny, eh? Set this layer to Saturation at 54%.



This brightened up the colours a lot and made Shin look glowy.

Step 7: The icon was getting a strange greenish tinge, so I filled a new layer with a VERY dark green (#011203) and set it to exclusion.



Now Shin's hair is blond instead of pale green. This is an improvement. :p

Step 8: Remember how we just got rid of the greenish tinge? Yeah, well, fill a new layer with a light green (#85AE85) and set to Soft Light.



This is just to make brushes show up at a later step.

Step 9: Duplicate the green soft light layer. This made lower right corner too bright, so I erased the green from the shadow of the bench.





This was added after I realized the brush still wasn't showing up well.

Step 10: Add this texture brush:

by crumblingwalls

in white. Set the layer to soft light.



Again, this is here to make a later brush show up properly.

Step 11: Add this brush:

by Sage

on the left edge of the icon in yellow (#FEEB8C). Set to overlay.



This is what the three previous layers are here to make show up.

Step 12: Duplicate the previous layer and set to soft light.



I'm pretty sure I went back and added this step because the flowers weren't showing up under later layers.

Step 13: This gradient:



It's one of the default gradients from Color Harmonies 1, I just played with the angle until I liked it.



At this angle, it gives the effect of a beam of light falling on Shin's face, which is what I was aiming for.

Step 14: The icon is WAY too bright and WAY too pinkish. I wanted a softer feel, so I added this gradient:



It's one of the default gradients under Simple, tweaked slightly to give more blue and less white. I set it to Lighten at 63%



Much softer now. Mind you, it's too light now.

Step 15: Fill a new layer with dark blue (#011F75) and set to Soft Light.



It's SO CLOSE to being done now. :p

Step 16: I can barely see poor little Shin under all that colouring, so I duplicated the base again and dragged it to the top. Then I set this layer to Overlay.



Aaaaand... we're done. Isn't he cute, incidently?