Very first tut! :)
This is my very first tutorial, so bare with me. If there's something you find that's not clear, don't be afraid to comment and let me know and I'll gladly try to change my wording.
We're going from
to 
Warning: Image heavy, not dial-up friendly.
Step 1:
For this tutorial, I'm going to be using
from 
prone_tastic. Crop your image down to 100x100 so it looks like this
Step 2:
It looks a litle fuzzy, so lets sharpen it once by going to Filter - Sharpen - Sharpen. That's better.
Step 3:
Now it looks a little dark, lets lighten it up a bit by duplicating the background layer twice and setting both to Screen.
is how it should look.
Step 4 Create a new layer and flood fill it with #04092A. Which looks like this:
. Set the layer to Exclusion, to leave you with 
Now we're going to play with colors a bit.
Step 5a: This layer will help bring out both Shaun and Gus' skin tones, and enhance the background some when we get to the finished product.
Create a new layer and flood fill it with #E519FD so that it now looks like
.
Step 5b: Set the layer to Color Burn. It now looks like
Step 5c: It looks very bright and pink-y. Lets take the opacity down to 26%. It still looks pink, but not nearly as obnoxious.
is what it should look like now.
Step 6a:This layer will enhance the colors of both their shirts and brighten up the icon come the final product.
Create a new layer and flood fill it with #14E9F6 so that it looks like
Step 6b: Set the layer to Color Burn so it looks like
.
Step 6c: Again, the color is very obnoxious, so we're going to take the opacity down to 26% again.
Now it looks dark, but we'll change that in the next few layers.
Step 7a: Copy the bottom layer (your base) twice and drag them to the top setting the top most layer to screen, your layers should look like this:
. With the top layer selected, merge down so both your duplicated layers become one. You can do this by using the keyboard short cut Command - E on a Mac. I'm not quite sure what it is on a PC, though I think it's Control - E or going to Layer - Merge Down.
Step 7b: Create a Gradient Map layer by clicking on Layers - New Adjustment Layer - Gradient Map Select the black to white gradient and hit okay. Merge down again so you only have a grayscale layer. Your layers should now look like this:
.
Step 7c: With the grayscale layer selected, set it to soft light. It should look like:
This darkens the icon, but it also makes the colors deeper. We're going to lighten it up with the next step.
Step 8: Again, duplicate the bottom layer twice and drag them both to the top. Set them both to screen, and you're done. You can add text if you like, or leave it as is. It's your choice.
Final Product
Credit appreciated, but not necessary.
Please comment, constructive criticism welcome.
We're going from
to Warning: Image heavy, not dial-up friendly.
Step 1:
For this tutorial, I'm going to be using
from prone_tastic. Crop your image down to 100x100 so it looks like thisStep 2:
It looks a litle fuzzy, so lets sharpen it once by going to Filter - Sharpen - Sharpen. That's better.
Step 3:
Now it looks a little dark, lets lighten it up a bit by duplicating the background layer twice and setting both to Screen.
is how it should look.Step 4 Create a new layer and flood fill it with #04092A. Which looks like this:
. Set the layer to Exclusion, to leave you with Now we're going to play with colors a bit.
Step 5a: This layer will help bring out both Shaun and Gus' skin tones, and enhance the background some when we get to the finished product.
Create a new layer and flood fill it with #E519FD so that it now looks like
.Step 5b: Set the layer to Color Burn. It now looks like
Step 5c: It looks very bright and pink-y. Lets take the opacity down to 26%. It still looks pink, but not nearly as obnoxious.
is what it should look like now.Step 6a:This layer will enhance the colors of both their shirts and brighten up the icon come the final product.
Create a new layer and flood fill it with #14E9F6 so that it looks like
Step 6b: Set the layer to Color Burn so it looks like
.Step 6c: Again, the color is very obnoxious, so we're going to take the opacity down to 26% again.
Now it looks dark, but we'll change that in the next few layers.Step 7a: Copy the bottom layer (your base) twice and drag them to the top setting the top most layer to screen, your layers should look like this:
. With the top layer selected, merge down so both your duplicated layers become one. You can do this by using the keyboard short cut Command - E on a Mac. I'm not quite sure what it is on a PC, though I think it's Control - E or going to Layer - Merge Down.Step 7b: Create a Gradient Map layer by clicking on Layers - New Adjustment Layer - Gradient Map Select the black to white gradient and hit okay. Merge down again so you only have a grayscale layer. Your layers should now look like this:
.Step 7c: With the grayscale layer selected, set it to soft light. It should look like:
This darkens the icon, but it also makes the colors deeper. We're going to lighten it up with the next step.Step 8: Again, duplicate the bottom layer twice and drag them both to the top. Set them both to screen, and you're done. You can add text if you like, or leave it as is. It's your choice.
Final Product
Credit appreciated, but not necessary.
Please comment, constructive criticism welcome.