Icon tutorial

Step 1:
 
Get your base, mine was Vylette from the movie Jawbreaker. I just cropped it and sharpened it.

Step 2. 
 

Duplicate the base and put it to ‘screen’, I put the opacity to 30% but it depends on your base.

Step 3.

Make a new color balance layer, layer > new adjustment layer > color balance

 

My settings were:

 

Midtones: - 100, -1, +40

Shadows: -10, +50, +35

Highlights: -10, +10, -30

Step 4.

Make a new channel mix layer, layer > new adjustment layer > channel mixer

 

Output channel red: red +114

Output channel blue: blue +80

Step 5. 


Duplicate your base, desaturate it (ctrl + shift + u) and put it on top on 'soft light', opacity: 40%

Step 6:

 

Make a new lightness/contrast layer

 

My settings were: -10, +12

Finished icon:




Other icons made with the same technique (with minor adjustments):
    

hopefully this was helpful ^^