Icon Tutorial 01
My first tutorial! Yay! =D
>>>>>>
♠ made with Photoshop Elements 5.0
♠ very translatable: no selective coloring, curves, etc.
♠ PSD included
Because you don't need CS2 to make bright, pretty icons. ; )
Before we start, I'd like to offer a small, but invaluable piece of advice. This procedure that I'm about to share with you is the result of many months of experimentation with various tutorials. That being said, I encourage you to be creative and flexible and do some experimentation yourself. Skip a step, add a step, change up the values and/or blend modes, do whatever leads you to a result you're happy with.
Also remember to be flexible, because all icons are different, so don't be afraid to play around with different values until you're happy with the result.
Think about it. What would you rather do: create icons with your own unique, signature flair, or just make carbon copies of mine?
Now that that's all out of the way, let's begin.
Here's our base, freshly cropped and ready to go.
1. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Levels.
RBG: 5, 1.02, 179
Red: 12, 1.04, 222
Green: 11, 1.02, 252
Blue: 8, 0.98, 220
2. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Hue/Saturation.
Master
Hue: -7
Saturation: +17
Lightness: +6
Set the blend mode to Color.
3. Make a new layer and fill it with with a color that you think will compliment your icon. I used #FF861A for this one. Then set the blend mode to Soft Light and the layer opacity to 46%.
4. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Hue/Saturation.
Reds
Hue: -5
Saturation: +10
Lightness: -5
Yellows
Hue: +4
Saturation: +7
Lightness: +11
Set the blend mode to Color.
5. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Hue/Saturation.
Master
Hue: +2
Saturation: +10
Lightness: +2
Set blend mode to Saturation.
6. Now duplicate the base and open Enchance >>> Adjust Sharpness.
Amount: 27%
Radius: 6.4 pixels
Remove: Gaussian Blur
Set the layer opacity to 10%.
7. Duplicate the base again and open Filter >>> Blur >>> Gaussian Blur.
I set the radius to 1.5 pixels, but it doesn't really matter.
Now set the blend mode to Soft Light and set the layer opacity to 42%.
8. Make a new layer and set the blend mode to Soft Light. Then, use the Brush Tool to highlight and darken parts of your icon. Make sure the edges are soft, and keep the brush below 30%. To draw the eye to a certain area of the icon, I tend to use black on the backgrounds and white on the desired area.
9. Finally, open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Brightness/Contrast.
Brightness: +3
Contrast: +3
Ta-da! We're done! That wasn't too hard, was it?
EDIT: Here's a PSD for those who might want one.
Here are some more examples:
I hope this tutorial has been helpful. And remember, don't be afraid to play around a little until you come out with something you like. ^^
>>>>>> ♠ made with Photoshop Elements 5.0
♠ very translatable: no selective coloring, curves, etc.
♠ PSD included
Because you don't need CS2 to make bright, pretty icons. ; )
Before we start, I'd like to offer a small, but invaluable piece of advice. This procedure that I'm about to share with you is the result of many months of experimentation with various tutorials. That being said, I encourage you to be creative and flexible and do some experimentation yourself. Skip a step, add a step, change up the values and/or blend modes, do whatever leads you to a result you're happy with.
Also remember to be flexible, because all icons are different, so don't be afraid to play around with different values until you're happy with the result.
Think about it. What would you rather do: create icons with your own unique, signature flair, or just make carbon copies of mine?
Now that that's all out of the way, let's begin.
Here's our base, freshly cropped and ready to go.
1. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Levels.
RBG: 5, 1.02, 179
Red: 12, 1.04, 222
Green: 11, 1.02, 252
Blue: 8, 0.98, 220
2. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Hue/Saturation.
Master
Hue: -7
Saturation: +17
Lightness: +6
Set the blend mode to Color.
3. Make a new layer and fill it with with a color that you think will compliment your icon. I used #FF861A for this one. Then set the blend mode to Soft Light and the layer opacity to 46%.
4. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Hue/Saturation.
Reds
Hue: -5
Saturation: +10
Lightness: -5
Yellows
Hue: +4
Saturation: +7
Lightness: +11
Set the blend mode to Color.
5. Open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Hue/Saturation.
Master
Hue: +2
Saturation: +10
Lightness: +2
Set blend mode to Saturation.
6. Now duplicate the base and open Enchance >>> Adjust Sharpness.
Amount: 27%
Radius: 6.4 pixels
Remove: Gaussian Blur
Set the layer opacity to 10%.
7. Duplicate the base again and open Filter >>> Blur >>> Gaussian Blur.
I set the radius to 1.5 pixels, but it doesn't really matter.
Now set the blend mode to Soft Light and set the layer opacity to 42%.
8. Make a new layer and set the blend mode to Soft Light. Then, use the Brush Tool to highlight and darken parts of your icon. Make sure the edges are soft, and keep the brush below 30%. To draw the eye to a certain area of the icon, I tend to use black on the backgrounds and white on the desired area.
9. Finally, open Layer >>> New Adjustment Layer >>> Brightness/Contrast.
Brightness: +3
Contrast: +3
Ta-da! We're done! That wasn't too hard, was it?
EDIT: Here's a PSD for those who might want one.
Here are some more examples:
I hope this tutorial has been helpful. And remember, don't be afraid to play around a little until you come out with something you like. ^^