Icon Tutorial
Here is my attempt at making an icon tutorial. I learned most of the tools I use in here by playing around with my paint shop pro 7 or reading other tutorials in this community (which have all been amazing). Under the cut I have made a detailed description of how I made this icon:
The first step to making an icon is selecting the right picture to use. Try to get as clear of a picture as possible. For this icon I choose the following screen capture of Julia Stiles from the movie "Wicked"
When using the selection tool I always set the selection type to square when making 100x100 icons. Also be sure that Feather is set at 0 and that the antialias is unchecked. Once you have selected the portion of the picture for your icon, copy and paste as a new image. At this point you can close the original screencap.
Before resizing the image, I always try to 'clean' it so it has a more crisp look. An easy way to do this is to go to Effects --> Enhance Photo --> Clarify. You have the choice between '1' and '5' for Stength of Effect. I usually tend to use '3' or '4', depending on the darkness of the photo. For this one I selected '4' It may appear to be slightly washed out at this point but once you resize it won't.
I've also noticed that the picture is slightly tinted. To fix this go to Effects --> Enhance Photo --> Automatic Color Balance. For strength I usually select between 20 and 40 depending on the photo. For this one, I selected 30. Also I select remove color cast. The illuminant temperature I tend to go with is the default 6500.
After this I go to Effects --> Enhance Photo --> Automatic Saturation Enhancement. For Bias I selected normal. Play around with the three options to find out which one works best with your picture. For Strength I selected weak because I didn't want the change to become overpowering. Also be sure that the Skintone Present option is selected.
My image now looks like this:
Now is the time to resize the image. Go to image --> resize. After you have done this, the image should be 100x100. I've noticed that occasionally paint shop pro will resize it to 100x101. If this is the case go to image --> canvas size and put in 100x100. It should quickly fix the problem.
Now the image looks like this:
It's rather dull, especially the background behind her. Adding texture to the image will give the icon a more detailed and proffesional look. When beginning to use textures download as many as possible (be sure to sort them into different folders depending on who made them so you can give credit). The more textures you have, the larger your selection and easier it is to find what you are looking for. For example, the texture I use in this icon was made by the wonderful
_unfaded. After you have selected your texture, copy it and then paste the image as a new layer over your icon. Then go to Layers --> Properties. For Blend Mode when blending in textures I usually go with multiply, Overlay, or soft light. For this specific time, I have selected multiply. I also do not want the texture to be overpowering so I have lowered the opacity to 70%.
My icon now looks like this:
I love the way the texture looks on the background but not over Julia's face. I use the erase tool to carefully erase the texture located over Julia. For this setting, I have the shape as round and size as 10. When I'm finished the icon now looks like this:
Much better. If you want to add to use more texture, experiment. The best way to get a feel for it is to mess around with the different Blend Modes and Opacity. I don't want to add any more texture to this icon, so I move on to adding text. First, decide what the text is gong to say. If you cannot think of anything look up quotes, song lyrics or subjects that are related to the movie. For example, I am using "like a ghost" from the song Don't Leave Home by Dido. I was paging through the lyrics and this one stuck out to me. I find it helpful to have a stack of the cd booklets that contain song lyrics on the computer desk for quick reference / inspiration.
The next step afterwards is selecting a font. When selecting font, you must take a number of things into consideration. Most importantly is it's readablity. If a person cannot read what it says, it's pointless. Also, select a font that goes with the feeling of your icon. Do not place a cartoonish font on an icon that is serious and/or fancy (or vice-versa). I used a fairly simple font for this icon, Tahoma, and bolded it to make it thicker. I believe that this font comes standard with most computers. Make sure that antialias is checked when doing any font that isn't extremely small.
To get the font effect I want in this image, select the color white for fill and nothing for stroke. Try different sizes of font to give the icon a unique look. Play around with the placement of words in the icon. After you have decided where the text will go, go to Layers --> View --> Current Only. After you have selected this go to Layers --> Merge --> Visible Only. To be able to see all layers again, go to Layers --> View --> All.
My icon now looks like this:
At this point the text seems very out of place on the icon. To blend it in, first go to Layers --> Properties. For Blend Mode select Overlay. The icon now looks like this:
Now the text looks more blended but is harder to read. The text is now in need of a soft border. My favorite way to do this is to go to Effects --> 3D Effects --> Drop Shadow. For Offset, place both vertical and horizontal at '1' For Attributes, put Opacity at 75% and Blur around 4. Select ok. The icon now looks like this:
The text now has an outline, but is less blended. Go back to Layers --> Properties and play around with the Opacity. Depending on the background, this will vary from icon to icon. For this specific icon, I went wtih 55%. The goal is to make the text look like it is part of the actual picture, not placed ontop of it. Once it is finished I prefer it to look like this:
Now all we have left to do is the border. There are a number of brushes out there that allow you to quickly give your icon a jagged, tilted border that has become popular. The best way I've found to do this is to not make these into brushes. It is much simpler to open the brush picture (which should already be sized 100x100) and copy/paste it onto your icon. For this icon, I used a border made by
gegenschein. Once you have pasted it as a new layer onto your icon, go to Layers --> Properties and select Darken for Blend Mode. The next step is to change the Opacity. I changed it to about 40% so it is barely visible, which is the way I like it. Play around with it until you get the Opacity that works best for your icon.
The final step is softing the border. Go to Effects --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur. For the Radius I selected 1.5. Hit OK. If you feel the need to play around with the Opacity some more, go ahead. I changed mine up to 50%. I also moved the text slightly over and down so it would not be covered by the border.
Once you have finished tweeking your icon, it's time to save. For the best quality, I like to save an icon by going to File --> Export --> JPEG Optimizer. I haven't played around with any of the settings, so they are all still on default.
And here is the final product
I would love any feedback on this tutorial (or to see any icons that were made by this process) :)
The first step to making an icon is selecting the right picture to use. Try to get as clear of a picture as possible. For this icon I choose the following screen capture of Julia Stiles from the movie "Wicked"
When using the selection tool I always set the selection type to square when making 100x100 icons. Also be sure that Feather is set at 0 and that the antialias is unchecked. Once you have selected the portion of the picture for your icon, copy and paste as a new image. At this point you can close the original screencap.
Before resizing the image, I always try to 'clean' it so it has a more crisp look. An easy way to do this is to go to Effects --> Enhance Photo --> Clarify. You have the choice between '1' and '5' for Stength of Effect. I usually tend to use '3' or '4', depending on the darkness of the photo. For this one I selected '4' It may appear to be slightly washed out at this point but once you resize it won't.
I've also noticed that the picture is slightly tinted. To fix this go to Effects --> Enhance Photo --> Automatic Color Balance. For strength I usually select between 20 and 40 depending on the photo. For this one, I selected 30. Also I select remove color cast. The illuminant temperature I tend to go with is the default 6500.
After this I go to Effects --> Enhance Photo --> Automatic Saturation Enhancement. For Bias I selected normal. Play around with the three options to find out which one works best with your picture. For Strength I selected weak because I didn't want the change to become overpowering. Also be sure that the Skintone Present option is selected.
My image now looks like this:
Now is the time to resize the image. Go to image --> resize. After you have done this, the image should be 100x100. I've noticed that occasionally paint shop pro will resize it to 100x101. If this is the case go to image --> canvas size and put in 100x100. It should quickly fix the problem.
Now the image looks like this:
It's rather dull, especially the background behind her. Adding texture to the image will give the icon a more detailed and proffesional look. When beginning to use textures download as many as possible (be sure to sort them into different folders depending on who made them so you can give credit). The more textures you have, the larger your selection and easier it is to find what you are looking for. For example, the texture I use in this icon was made by the wonderful
_unfaded. After you have selected your texture, copy it and then paste the image as a new layer over your icon. Then go to Layers --> Properties. For Blend Mode when blending in textures I usually go with multiply, Overlay, or soft light. For this specific time, I have selected multiply. I also do not want the texture to be overpowering so I have lowered the opacity to 70%.My icon now looks like this:
I love the way the texture looks on the background but not over Julia's face. I use the erase tool to carefully erase the texture located over Julia. For this setting, I have the shape as round and size as 10. When I'm finished the icon now looks like this:
Much better. If you want to add to use more texture, experiment. The best way to get a feel for it is to mess around with the different Blend Modes and Opacity. I don't want to add any more texture to this icon, so I move on to adding text. First, decide what the text is gong to say. If you cannot think of anything look up quotes, song lyrics or subjects that are related to the movie. For example, I am using "like a ghost" from the song Don't Leave Home by Dido. I was paging through the lyrics and this one stuck out to me. I find it helpful to have a stack of the cd booklets that contain song lyrics on the computer desk for quick reference / inspiration.
The next step afterwards is selecting a font. When selecting font, you must take a number of things into consideration. Most importantly is it's readablity. If a person cannot read what it says, it's pointless. Also, select a font that goes with the feeling of your icon. Do not place a cartoonish font on an icon that is serious and/or fancy (or vice-versa). I used a fairly simple font for this icon, Tahoma, and bolded it to make it thicker. I believe that this font comes standard with most computers. Make sure that antialias is checked when doing any font that isn't extremely small.
To get the font effect I want in this image, select the color white for fill and nothing for stroke. Try different sizes of font to give the icon a unique look. Play around with the placement of words in the icon. After you have decided where the text will go, go to Layers --> View --> Current Only. After you have selected this go to Layers --> Merge --> Visible Only. To be able to see all layers again, go to Layers --> View --> All.
My icon now looks like this:
At this point the text seems very out of place on the icon. To blend it in, first go to Layers --> Properties. For Blend Mode select Overlay. The icon now looks like this:
Now the text looks more blended but is harder to read. The text is now in need of a soft border. My favorite way to do this is to go to Effects --> 3D Effects --> Drop Shadow. For Offset, place both vertical and horizontal at '1' For Attributes, put Opacity at 75% and Blur around 4. Select ok. The icon now looks like this:
The text now has an outline, but is less blended. Go back to Layers --> Properties and play around with the Opacity. Depending on the background, this will vary from icon to icon. For this specific icon, I went wtih 55%. The goal is to make the text look like it is part of the actual picture, not placed ontop of it. Once it is finished I prefer it to look like this:
Now all we have left to do is the border. There are a number of brushes out there that allow you to quickly give your icon a jagged, tilted border that has become popular. The best way I've found to do this is to not make these into brushes. It is much simpler to open the brush picture (which should already be sized 100x100) and copy/paste it onto your icon. For this icon, I used a border made by
gegenschein. Once you have pasted it as a new layer onto your icon, go to Layers --> Properties and select Darken for Blend Mode. The next step is to change the Opacity. I changed it to about 40% so it is barely visible, which is the way I like it. Play around with it until you get the Opacity that works best for your icon.The final step is softing the border. Go to Effects --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur. For the Radius I selected 1.5. Hit OK. If you feel the need to play around with the Opacity some more, go ahead. I changed mine up to 50%. I also moved the text slightly over and down so it would not be covered by the border.
Once you have finished tweeking your icon, it's time to save. For the best quality, I like to save an icon by going to File --> Export --> JPEG Optimizer. I haven't played around with any of the settings, so they are all still on default.
And here is the final product
I would love any feedback on this tutorial (or to see any icons that were made by this process) :)