First Icon Tutorial
Because I think if I don't store it here, it's a complete waste seeing how I just spent hours writing up this thing. >>;; Ironic seeing how I'm going to get rid of this thing anyway. Oh well.
I tried to keep it simple for beginner's sake, but please feel free to ask me to clarify if I've skipped steps.
How to make
from 
Cap chosen is of James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard) from House MD. This tutorial is intended for Adobe Photoshop users and I have no idea how translate-able is this tute.
Tutorial is image-heavy, please take note! =)
Step 01
- I choose my cap, sized and crop it the way I want it to be. I tend to choose a corner sort of crop, you can just play around with it.
----
Step 02
- The colours of the base bugged me - so this step is mostly playing around with the colourings and the lighting. The commands are located on Image.
- First, press CTRL+ALT+L for Auto Levels. Now, Auto Levels work for some caps and not for others, but it worked for mine because I want to achieve a lighted colour.
- Second, go for Color Balance, and you can play around with this one as well (by shifting the bars), but for this icon, the values used are:
Midtone - +11, +4, -11
Shadows - +13, +11, +12
Highlights - +15, +13, +24
- Brightness/Contrast shifts - values of +17 and +21 respectively.
- Lastly, go for the Curve - Input 105, Output 132
----
Step 03
- Duplicate your base layer, and because I like to have a softer look, I choose to use Gaussian Blur (On the Filter->Blur command), radius 1.5.
- Set it to Soft Light, opacity 80%
----
Step 04
- Duplicate the blurred layer, and set it to Color Dodge, opacity 25%, just to brighten the icon up a little. And it's looking a little blurred, so return to your original layer, Sharpen it (Filter->Sharpen) and fade it 70% (Edit->Fade Sharpen) so it doesn't look too sharp. Soften the face by using the Blur tool (Darken, Opacity 50%).
----
Step 05
- Make a new layer, and fill it with a dark blue (#000623). Set it to Exclusion, opacity 70% - for a lighter and bluish look.
Graphical representation of commands used! (Please feel free to ask for graphical representation of any command, I'll try my best ^.^)
----
Step 06
- Make another new layer, and I used this gradient that I made myself because I wanted a greenish-tinge (don't ask me why, it suits my mood).
- Set that to Overlay, opacity 50%. Now there's a little greenish tinge around the edges and it also makes the icon look a little brighter on the face.
----> 
(Gradient ----> Overlay)
----
Step 07
- Now, use the Eraser tool (set the size to something bigger and softer for a soft erasing effect) and erase the corners. Be careful to keep the general area of the face intact.
----> 
(Erasing ----> Erased)
----
Step 08
- I then added a light texture by
regen (at least I think I got the maker right).
- Set it to Lighten, Opacity 65% and because I don't want spots on the face, I chose to erase that and leave the little sparkling colour in the background.
----> 
(Light Texture ----> Lightened and Erased)
----
Step 09
- Now I think the background is a little too white, so I duplicated the original base layer and enlarged it. It doesn't matter if it's blurred. Dragged it below, under all the other layers, and reduce opacity to 15% (Mode:Normal).
-----> 
(Duplicated image at base ----> Opacity reduced, set below all other layers)
----
Step 10
- To pattern the icon further - I used a common line brush (by myself), and gradient it over with another gradient I made myself.
- Set the mode to Color Burn and reduce opacity to 65%. And I don't like the lines obscuring the face, so erase those off.
----> 
----> 
----> 
(Line brush on image ----> Gradient chosen ----> Line brush filled with gradient ----> Color Burned and Erased)
----
Step 11
- Add a mini-text brush from one of my favourite sets, by_coquettish (Brush color = #000623).
----> 
(Text brush ----> on icon)
----
Step 12
- Added another text brush (of X's) by77words - (another of my favourites) downsized the brush (if it's too big) and reduce opacity to 80% because I think it's too strong at 100%.
----> 
(Brush ----> on icon)
----
Step 13
Nearly there - adding text now!
- The font for "You" is Carpenter ICG, set at 27pt, Strong.
- Blending modes ("You"):
Drop Shadow - 75%, Distance 1px, Spread 0% and Size 5px
Outer Glow - size 5px, color #BEC9FF
----
Step 14
- The font for "w a s" is Arial, Italix, set at 4pt, Strong, Opacity 70%
----
Step 15
- I always like my icons with a border so I added a border brush (by myself) to finish things off for a crisper look. Of course, you can always leave off the border if you want. =)
---->
(Border chosen ----> on icon)
And it's all done!
----
Final Product:
Tips for Photoshop beginners:
1. Playing around with the Image options always helps. Especially if the colours of the original graphic are somewhat dull and dark. Brightness/Contrast and Curve do wonders.
2. Lock your layers if you want to fill something with colour (EG the line brush at Step 10) - and remember to UNLOCK the layer when you want to erase/set other effects to it!
3. And playing around with Blending Modes are always a good way to get creative and stumble upon some nice effects accidentally. =)
4. Sharpening is always a plus, but don't overdo it - my tip is to just sharpen the base layer, it always does the trick for me. Or use the Fade Sharpen option.
5. Experiment with brushes and textures. I'm lazy to make my own so I often used others and there are some really beautiful ones out there. =)
Hope that was an okay tutorial, beam me with suggestions to improve if you can. Since this is my first one, it's probably pretty very ugh. >.<;;
Now I go off and SLEEP. Ho ho ho. I'll love to see the stuff people can make out of my tutorial so feel free to post them! ^.~
I tried to keep it simple for beginner's sake, but please feel free to ask me to clarify if I've skipped steps.
How to make
from Cap chosen is of James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard) from House MD. This tutorial is intended for Adobe Photoshop users and I have no idea how translate-able is this tute.
Tutorial is image-heavy, please take note! =)
Step 01
- I choose my cap, sized and crop it the way I want it to be. I tend to choose a corner sort of crop, you can just play around with it.
----
Step 02
- The colours of the base bugged me - so this step is mostly playing around with the colourings and the lighting. The commands are located on Image.
- First, press CTRL+ALT+L for Auto Levels. Now, Auto Levels work for some caps and not for others, but it worked for mine because I want to achieve a lighted colour.
- Second, go for Color Balance, and you can play around with this one as well (by shifting the bars), but for this icon, the values used are:
Midtone - +11, +4, -11
Shadows - +13, +11, +12
Highlights - +15, +13, +24
- Brightness/Contrast shifts - values of +17 and +21 respectively.
- Lastly, go for the Curve - Input 105, Output 132
----
Step 03
- Duplicate your base layer, and because I like to have a softer look, I choose to use Gaussian Blur (On the Filter->Blur command), radius 1.5.
- Set it to Soft Light, opacity 80%
----
Step 04
- Duplicate the blurred layer, and set it to Color Dodge, opacity 25%, just to brighten the icon up a little. And it's looking a little blurred, so return to your original layer, Sharpen it (Filter->Sharpen) and fade it 70% (Edit->Fade Sharpen) so it doesn't look too sharp. Soften the face by using the Blur tool (Darken, Opacity 50%).
----
Step 05
- Make a new layer, and fill it with a dark blue (#000623). Set it to Exclusion, opacity 70% - for a lighter and bluish look.
Graphical representation of commands used! (Please feel free to ask for graphical representation of any command, I'll try my best ^.^)
----
Step 06
- Make another new layer, and I used this gradient that I made myself because I wanted a greenish-tinge (don't ask me why, it suits my mood).
- Set that to Overlay, opacity 50%. Now there's a little greenish tinge around the edges and it also makes the icon look a little brighter on the face.
----> (Gradient ----> Overlay)
----
Step 07
- Now, use the Eraser tool (set the size to something bigger and softer for a soft erasing effect) and erase the corners. Be careful to keep the general area of the face intact.
----> (Erasing ----> Erased)
----
Step 08
- I then added a light texture by
regen (at least I think I got the maker right).- Set it to Lighten, Opacity 65% and because I don't want spots on the face, I chose to erase that and leave the little sparkling colour in the background.
----> (Light Texture ----> Lightened and Erased)
----
Step 09
- Now I think the background is a little too white, so I duplicated the original base layer and enlarged it. It doesn't matter if it's blurred. Dragged it below, under all the other layers, and reduce opacity to 15% (Mode:Normal).
-----> (Duplicated image at base ----> Opacity reduced, set below all other layers)
----
Step 10
- To pattern the icon further - I used a common line brush (by myself), and gradient it over with another gradient I made myself.
- Set the mode to Color Burn and reduce opacity to 65%. And I don't like the lines obscuring the face, so erase those off.
----> ----> ----> (Line brush on image ----> Gradient chosen ----> Line brush filled with gradient ----> Color Burned and Erased)
----
Step 11
- Add a mini-text brush from one of my favourite sets, by
_coquettish (Brush color = #000623). ----> (Text brush ----> on icon)
----
Step 12
- Added another text brush (of X's) by
77words - (another of my favourites) downsized the brush (if it's too big) and reduce opacity to 80% because I think it's too strong at 100%. ----> (Brush ----> on icon)
----
Step 13
Nearly there - adding text now!
- The font for "You" is Carpenter ICG, set at 27pt, Strong.
- Blending modes ("You"):
Drop Shadow - 75%, Distance 1px, Spread 0% and Size 5px
Outer Glow - size 5px, color #BEC9FF
----
Step 14
- The font for "w a s" is Arial, Italix, set at 4pt, Strong, Opacity 70%
----
Step 15
- I always like my icons with a border so I added a border brush (by myself) to finish things off for a crisper look. Of course, you can always leave off the border if you want. =)
----> (Border chosen ----> on icon)
And it's all done!
----
Final Product:
Tips for Photoshop beginners:
1. Playing around with the Image options always helps. Especially if the colours of the original graphic are somewhat dull and dark. Brightness/Contrast and Curve do wonders.
2. Lock your layers if you want to fill something with colour (EG the line brush at Step 10) - and remember to UNLOCK the layer when you want to erase/set other effects to it!
3. And playing around with Blending Modes are always a good way to get creative and stumble upon some nice effects accidentally. =)
4. Sharpening is always a plus, but don't overdo it - my tip is to just sharpen the base layer, it always does the trick for me. Or use the Fade Sharpen option.
5. Experiment with brushes and textures. I'm lazy to make my own so I often used others and there are some really beautiful ones out there. =)
Hope that was an okay tutorial, beam me with suggestions to improve if you can. Since this is my first one, it's probably pretty very ugh. >.<;;
Now I go off and SLEEP. Ho ho ho. I'll love to see the stuff people can make out of my tutorial so feel free to post them! ^.~