---
- TO -
Using PSP7
Translatable
Must have basic PSP knowledge
I’ll be using Dean Winchester from Supernatural screencap as my base on this particular tutorial which I snagged from here. I resized my image, cropped it to the most commonly used avatar size (100x100) on an angle I liked.
I don’t normally sharpen until the end, but if you prefer to do it first, go ahead.
Now, when I look at my avatar, I notice that the first thing that needs to be cleared up first is the darkness, and although this might suit some icons, I wanted mine to be kept from out of the shadows. So I create a new Levels adjustment layer to let some colour through and put some brightness in.
(I'd only reccommend doing these few brightening steps if your avatar is quite dark, like the one I'm working with. If your image is light enough, skip to the colouring.)
Levels
RGB:
Input: 12 / 1.70 / 230
Output: 0 / 250
RED:
Input: 0 / 1.00 / 255
Output: 0 / 255
GREEN:
Input: 5 / 0.97 / 240
Output: 0 / 247
BLUE:
Input: 7 / 0.95 / 240
Output: 0 / 255
Already, you can see some colour coming through, but it is still too dark to do anything with and I‘m not overly satisfied with the amount of colour. So I create a Curves adjustment layer.
Curves
RGB:
Input: 63
Output: 126
Note: As far as I know, curves layers on PSP are a little different to other programs, so what I do is lower my opacity to 20 - NORMAL. I do this with every curves layer when using PSP.
If you want/need more lighting on your base, I suggest selecting your base, duplicate it, and set it to SCREEN (do NOT drag to the top). You can mess with opacity if you wish, and you can do this however many times you feel to make your icon reasonably bright. With my base, I only needed to duplicate it once, set to opacity 60.
Your layers should be in this order:
Curves Layer
Levels Layer
Screened Duplicate - 60 opacity (optional)
Base Image
Merge layers.
-------------
Now that you have a decent base to work from, it’s time to start colouring! I first start with a Curves layer, because I want to add a tinge of red to my avatar. I also want more a little more brightness, so I adjust RGB while I’m at it.
Curves
RGB:
Input: 55
Output: 77
RED:
Input: 55
Output: 77
Change the opacity of this layer to 20 opacity - NORMAL.
Next, I’ll use my absolute favourite - Channel Mixer. I think it enhances my the whole picture completely and makes it more interesting, so I open up a new Channel Mixer adjustment layer and input this:
Channel Mixer
RED:
Red: +69 / Green: +40 / Blue: -24 / Constant: +10
GREEN:
Red: -15 / Green: +115 / Blue: +10
BLUE:
Red: 0 / Green: 0 / Blue: +114 / Constant: -1
Next, I want to experiment a little, and see if I could adjust the colours of my avatar to see if it could turn out any better than it already is. I created a Colour Balance adjustment layer for this.
Colour Balance
SHADOWS:
c-r: +35 / m-g: 0 / y-b: 0
MIDTONES:
c-r: 0 / m-g: +35 / y-b: 0
HIGHLIGHTS:
c-r: 0 / m-g: 0 / y-b: +35
Lower the opacity of this layer to 80 opacity - NORMAL.
- #C0C0C0 - 10 opacity - LUMINANCE.
I duplicate my base, drag it to the top, and set it to 50 to 60 opacity - OVERLAY, or whatever opacity you think your avatar looks right at. We don't want it too contrasted. Mine was set at opacity 50.
Now, I open up a Brightness & Contrast adjustment layer, and put in:
Brightness & Contrast
BRIGHTNESS: 5
CONTRAST: 10
See how much better it looks compared to our original, very dark and dull base? I want to put a bit of colour back in Dean's face though. So I open up a new Hue & Saturation adjustment layer and boost the saturation by 5 on MASTER and RED. Set this layer to 100 opacity - COLOUR.
If your base has too red skintone, raise the hue on RED to 10.
Your layers should all be in this order:
Hue & Saturation Layer
Brightness & Contrast Layer
Overlayed Duplicate - 50 - 60 opacity
#C0C0C0 Fill Layer
Colour Balance Layer
Channel Mixer Layer
Curves Layer
Base Image
Merge all layers.
Finally, if you need to, Sharpen your icon as a final touch-up. Mine didn't need any.
After this point, you may add your textures or whatever you feel might make your avatar look even more lovely.
Note: If your avatar is just too sharp for your liking, go to Gaussian Blur, and change the radius to 0.10 - 0.50.
-------------
Other examples, with slight adjustments:
-TO-
-TO-
- TO - Using PSP7
Translatable
Must have basic PSP knowledge
I’ll be using Dean Winchester from Supernatural screencap as my base on this particular tutorial which I snagged from here. I resized my image, cropped it to the most commonly used avatar size (100x100) on an angle I liked.
I don’t normally sharpen until the end, but if you prefer to do it first, go ahead.
Now, when I look at my avatar, I notice that the first thing that needs to be cleared up first is the darkness, and although this might suit some icons, I wanted mine to be kept from out of the shadows. So I create a new Levels adjustment layer to let some colour through and put some brightness in.
(I'd only reccommend doing these few brightening steps if your avatar is quite dark, like the one I'm working with. If your image is light enough, skip to the colouring.)
Levels
RGB:
Input: 12 / 1.70 / 230
Output: 0 / 250
RED:
Input: 0 / 1.00 / 255
Output: 0 / 255
GREEN:
Input: 5 / 0.97 / 240
Output: 0 / 247
BLUE:
Input: 7 / 0.95 / 240
Output: 0 / 255
Already, you can see some colour coming through, but it is still too dark to do anything with and I‘m not overly satisfied with the amount of colour. So I create a Curves adjustment layer.
Curves
RGB:
Input: 63
Output: 126
Note: As far as I know, curves layers on PSP are a little different to other programs, so what I do is lower my opacity to 20 - NORMAL. I do this with every curves layer when using PSP.
If you want/need more lighting on your base, I suggest selecting your base, duplicate it, and set it to SCREEN (do NOT drag to the top). You can mess with opacity if you wish, and you can do this however many times you feel to make your icon reasonably bright. With my base, I only needed to duplicate it once, set to opacity 60.
Your layers should be in this order:
Curves Layer
Levels Layer
Screened Duplicate - 60 opacity (optional)
Base Image
Merge layers.
-------------
Now that you have a decent base to work from, it’s time to start colouring! I first start with a Curves layer, because I want to add a tinge of red to my avatar. I also want more a little more brightness, so I adjust RGB while I’m at it.
Curves
RGB:
Input: 55
Output: 77
RED:
Input: 55
Output: 77
Change the opacity of this layer to 20 opacity - NORMAL.
Next, I’ll use my absolute favourite - Channel Mixer. I think it enhances my the whole picture completely and makes it more interesting, so I open up a new Channel Mixer adjustment layer and input this:
Channel Mixer
RED:
Red: +69 / Green: +40 / Blue: -24 / Constant: +10
GREEN:
Red: -15 / Green: +115 / Blue: +10
BLUE:
Red: 0 / Green: 0 / Blue: +114 / Constant: -1
Next, I want to experiment a little, and see if I could adjust the colours of my avatar to see if it could turn out any better than it already is. I created a Colour Balance adjustment layer for this.
Colour Balance
SHADOWS:
c-r: +35 / m-g: 0 / y-b: 0
MIDTONES:
c-r: 0 / m-g: +35 / y-b: 0
HIGHLIGHTS:
c-r: 0 / m-g: 0 / y-b: +35
Lower the opacity of this layer to 80 opacity - NORMAL.
- #C0C0C0 - 10 opacity - LUMINANCE.I duplicate my base, drag it to the top, and set it to 50 to 60 opacity - OVERLAY, or whatever opacity you think your avatar looks right at. We don't want it too contrasted. Mine was set at opacity 50.
Now, I open up a Brightness & Contrast adjustment layer, and put in:
Brightness & Contrast
BRIGHTNESS: 5
CONTRAST: 10
See how much better it looks compared to our original, very dark and dull base? I want to put a bit of colour back in Dean's face though. So I open up a new Hue & Saturation adjustment layer and boost the saturation by 5 on MASTER and RED. Set this layer to 100 opacity - COLOUR.
If your base has too red skintone, raise the hue on RED to 10.
Your layers should all be in this order:
Hue & Saturation Layer
Brightness & Contrast Layer
Overlayed Duplicate - 50 - 60 opacity
#C0C0C0 Fill Layer
Colour Balance Layer
Channel Mixer Layer
Curves Layer
Base Image
Merge all layers.
Finally, if you need to, Sharpen your icon as a final touch-up. Mine didn't need any.
After this point, you may add your textures or whatever you feel might make your avatar look even more lovely.
Note: If your avatar is just too sharp for your liking, go to Gaussian Blur, and change the radius to 0.10 - 0.50.
-------------
Other examples, with slight adjustments:
-TO- -TO-