2011 - tutorial #1 - doctor who
This to 
Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5: Non-Translatable.
Level: Basic/Beginner.
Focus: Extending Background | Colouring | Texture Use
Original Cap: This, found at The Medusa Cascade
Notes: The original icon was slightly darker, however I've tried to replicate it as best I can.
Note: I do Step 1 & 2 in various degrees in almost every icon that I work with. I find that if you work on making a base that is larger, smoother and softer (no matter the quality of the image) then the overall icon is much easier to work with.
Step 1. Cropping your image
• I usually work with my images at 250px by 250px, just because I like the space that it gives me to play with, and when finishing an icon I find it much easier to work with that size and avoid over-sharpening anything.
• First, resize the image (Image > Image Size) to Width: 533 px, Height: 300 px. Now we are going to copy the image, and paste it into a new file.
Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + C (Copy) > Ctrl + N (New) > Image Size: Width: 400px, Height: 400 px > Ctrl + V (Paste).
• We now move the image we’ve pasted into the center of the blank canvas. We want the Doctor and Donna to be the focus of the image, so we move them to the lower center of the canvas. Once that’s done, we now need to extend the background.
• There are various ways in which you can extend the background. Because the top half of the image is very similar in colour, I’m just going to transform an area and drag it upwards. We select the area we want to duplicate like this. Then we hit Ctrl + T (Edit > Free Transform) and drag the part of the image upwards until it covers the canvas like this
• Now we resize the image to 250px. Image > Image Size > Width: 250 px, Height: 250 px.
Step 2. Preparing your base
Layer 1: Base Layer. Remains untouched.
I always leave my first layer untouched. If I stuff something up and need to go back to the start, it’s nice to not have to crop again, especially if you’ve got a really interesting/unique crop going. It’s also handy to have it on hand if you want to use your base to add an extra element to the colours of an icon later on.
Layer 2: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10. Set this layer to 10% opacity.
I think that Box Blur has a really interesting way of working with the backgrounds of images, and helping them blend together. It’s very intense in the way it blurs in tiny squares that are then all joined together though, which is why the layer is only set at 10% opacity, so it doesn’t blur the original image too much.
Layer 3: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius: 1.0. Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Again, we’re trying to blur out any of the flaws and faults within the icon to make the base something nicer to work with. This will soften the edges of your image further, without making the image too blurry again, and distorting the original image.
Layer 4: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 5.0, Threshold: 5.0. Set this layer to 25% opacity.
This can be interchanged with Smart Blur if available. I like the effect Surface Blur/Smart Blur has on softening the features of an icon, makes it smoother in general, and sometimes (especially for lower quality images or darker images that seem pixelated) that’s a real bonus.
Layer 5: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10.0. Set this layer to 15% opacity.
Layer 6: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Set this layer to screen > 100% opacity.
When you copy a merged image, you are copying the sum total of the previous layers together, as opposed to just one layer. This screen layer’s opacity could be anywhere from 10% to 100%, depending on how dark the image you started out with originally was, or how bright and vibrant you would like your icon to be.
Layer 7: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 138, Input: 117.
In this step, I’ve used curves simply to lighten up the image. Later I’ll use it to add some colour, but while I’m preparing the base, I just want to use the RGB layer to add more lightness to the icon.
Layer 8: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.10 | 245.
For the same reason as Layer 6, Levels have been used here to help lighten the image. I generally use this setting, but if the image is especially dark, I’ll lower 245 to 235 to give it that little bit more brightness.
Layer 9: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -10 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to 100% opacity.
This layer is used to add some contrast and depth back into the image. In this image that we’re working with, there’s originally not a lot of contrast to the image, so we leave the opacity at 100%. But if there was more contrast in the original image, lowering the opacity often works to add just enough depth to the image.
Layer 10: Duplicate Layer 8. Set this layer to Soft Light, 40% opacity.
This layer is used to add the same kind of contrast to the image, and also helps to distinguish the various colours in an image, and add contrast to them as well.
Step 3. Colouring your image
Layer 11: Edit > Copy Merged (Ctrl + Shift + C) the image and paste it onto the canvas. Image > Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, Auto Colour this layer. Set it to 20% opacity.
Auto Tone, Auto Contrast and Auto Colour can be particularly useful tools when considering the colouring of an icon (or even a base). If the original image is highly saturated with a certain colour, overly dark, overly light or even lacking in contrast. Sometimes it works to play with just one of them on a single layer, but generally, I change the opacity levels so I don’t loose all of the colouring from the original image.
Layer 12: Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color > Leave settings as they were > #00b4ff. Set the layer to Multiply at 15% opacity.
As much as I love the negative space in this image, I feel the white is a little overwhelming. So I decided to add some blue into the background, just to make the Doctor and Donna pop a little more when the icon is done. I don’t want the blue to completely overwhelm the image however, and by setting the layer to multiply and lowering the opacity, I’ve maintained the blue tinge I wanted over the white, without letting the deep blue become the focus.
However, now there’s a blue tinge across Donna and the Doctor that doesn’t look all that appealing. To remove this, we’re going to mask that part of the layer away, however you can also erase the lower part of the layer as well.
To do this, I hit the button highlighted at the top here, followed by making sure the area circled in the lower half of the image is also selected. I then ensure that my foreground colour in my tools palette is set on black, I hit the brush tool, and start erasing the cyan colour from the Doctor and Donna.
The difference between masking away the colour and erasing it is that, if you make a mistake while masking, you can simply change the foreground colour to white and bring back the colour you erased. This is useful if you are working with removing the background completely and want to work with finer details of an image, especially the edges of an image.
Layer 13: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance.
Midtones:
+10 | -5 | -15
Shadows:
+5 | -5 | -5
This colour balance layer has been used to add some yellows and reds back into the image, to contrast against the blue/cyan background. I wanted to give them depth, without removing the neutral colour scheme.
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Color
Reds -
Magenta: - 5
Yellow: +5
Black: + 5
Yellows -
Yellow: + 50
Black: +15
Greens -
Red: +5
Magenta: +100
Yellow: - 40
Black: - 50
Cyans -
Red: +100
Magenta: - 100
Yellow: -100
Black: +100
Neutrals -
Red: +5
Magenta: -6
Yellow: - 16
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: + 10
I used this layer of selective color to really add some contrast to colours of the image, while adding some vibrancy to the background as well. It’s helped to add even more depth to the colours on the Doctor and Donna, while brighten up the cyan and blues of the background without overwhelming it.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance.
Vibrance: +30
Saturation: +10
With this layer, I wanted to draw out the natural saturation in the icon without overwhelming it. I only upped the Saturation by 10, but upped the Vibrance a little more to draw something extra out of it, without adding too much Saturation.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves
RGB Point 1: Output: 136, Input: 114
This layer has been used to simply brighten up the image. It was getting a touch dull, and I wanted to add some brightness without taking away the contrast.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment layer > Vibrance.
Vibrance: +50
This layer is to add a little more punch to the vibrancy of the icon. We just wanted to up the saturation enough to draw out a little more of the reds and yellows, but not enough to take over the image and cause pixilation.
Layer 18: Texture by motorized. Set layer to Screen at 50% opacity.
I love this texture. I think it gives such a dreamy effect on icons, and playing around with it has been so much fun. It’s important to not overwhelm the image though, so while I love the effect it has on helping to add a unique colour to the image, especially over the Doctor and Donna, I lowered the opacity to avoid overwhelming the icon.
Layer 19: Texture by mscam. Set layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity.
This is another texture I love playing with, because of the yellows (and if inverted, blues) it holds. I did move this texture upwards a little before setting it to soft light however, to ensure that the image was covered with the yellowish colour. By setting it to soft light, I added some contrast, as well as brought back some yellow colour over the Doctor and Donna.
Layer 20: Layer New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance
Vibrance: +50
This vibrance layer was used to add a touch of colour and contrast into the lower half of the image. It’s not really on their faces, but rather their clothes. I just felt that it needed a touch more vibrance before adding the final layers of contrast.
Layer 21: New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour
Blacks -
Black: +20
This layer is to ensure that the shadows have enough blacks in them, so any potential graininess in the image are lessened by the blacks overwhelming them. It’s also to add a slight bit of contrast into the image, to help draw attention downwards.
Step 4. Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured and textured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon.
These next couple of steps are always involved when finishing off an icon for me. Like preparing an icon base, I think that when you’re finishing an icon, it needs to look finished, rather than haphazardly thrown together.
Before we do anything though, I always re-size the image to 200 px by 200 px. Just because I’m neurotic, and I think the blur/sharpening combo works best on that size image before it gets resized to 100px.
We therefore need to do this:
Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 200 (pixels), Height 200 (pixels).
Layer 22: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius 1.0 > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
Again, I use Gaussian Blur to soften the image before sharpening the edges. I think the sharpening effect just looks a little bit softer if this is done, as it takes away that absolute sharp edge that can sometimes occur in an icon.
Layer 23: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen. Set this layer to 75% opacity.
Depending on the image you began with, the sharpen layer will be anything between 10% & 100% opacity. And while you’re image may look a touch too sharp now - remember we still have to resize the image to 100 px by 100 px, which will also take away a little of the sharpness.
You have to be cautious here, because sometimes sharpening can lead to rough, harsh edges. It’s always good to have a little bit of leeway on each side.
We’re finally ready to resize the image: Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 100 (pixels), Height 100 (pixels).
--
PSD Pre-Resize | Final Icon PSD
As always, comments are love. Please let me know if you found this useful, or alternatively, hard to follow!
Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5: Non-Translatable.
Level: Basic/Beginner.
Focus: Extending Background | Colouring | Texture Use
Original Cap: This, found at The Medusa Cascade
Notes: The original icon was slightly darker, however I've tried to replicate it as best I can.
Note: I do Step 1 & 2 in various degrees in almost every icon that I work with. I find that if you work on making a base that is larger, smoother and softer (no matter the quality of the image) then the overall icon is much easier to work with.
Step 1. Cropping your image
• I usually work with my images at 250px by 250px, just because I like the space that it gives me to play with, and when finishing an icon I find it much easier to work with that size and avoid over-sharpening anything.
• First, resize the image (Image > Image Size) to Width: 533 px, Height: 300 px. Now we are going to copy the image, and paste it into a new file.
Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + C (Copy) > Ctrl + N (New) > Image Size: Width: 400px, Height: 400 px > Ctrl + V (Paste).
• We now move the image we’ve pasted into the center of the blank canvas. We want the Doctor and Donna to be the focus of the image, so we move them to the lower center of the canvas. Once that’s done, we now need to extend the background.
• There are various ways in which you can extend the background. Because the top half of the image is very similar in colour, I’m just going to transform an area and drag it upwards. We select the area we want to duplicate like this. Then we hit Ctrl + T (Edit > Free Transform) and drag the part of the image upwards until it covers the canvas like this
• Now we resize the image to 250px. Image > Image Size > Width: 250 px, Height: 250 px.
Step 2. Preparing your base
Layer 1: Base Layer. Remains untouched.
I always leave my first layer untouched. If I stuff something up and need to go back to the start, it’s nice to not have to crop again, especially if you’ve got a really interesting/unique crop going. It’s also handy to have it on hand if you want to use your base to add an extra element to the colours of an icon later on.
Layer 2: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10. Set this layer to 10% opacity.
I think that Box Blur has a really interesting way of working with the backgrounds of images, and helping them blend together. It’s very intense in the way it blurs in tiny squares that are then all joined together though, which is why the layer is only set at 10% opacity, so it doesn’t blur the original image too much.
Layer 3: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius: 1.0. Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Again, we’re trying to blur out any of the flaws and faults within the icon to make the base something nicer to work with. This will soften the edges of your image further, without making the image too blurry again, and distorting the original image.
Layer 4: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 5.0, Threshold: 5.0. Set this layer to 25% opacity.
This can be interchanged with Smart Blur if available. I like the effect Surface Blur/Smart Blur has on softening the features of an icon, makes it smoother in general, and sometimes (especially for lower quality images or darker images that seem pixelated) that’s a real bonus.
Layer 5: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10.0. Set this layer to 15% opacity.
Layer 6: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Set this layer to screen > 100% opacity.
When you copy a merged image, you are copying the sum total of the previous layers together, as opposed to just one layer. This screen layer’s opacity could be anywhere from 10% to 100%, depending on how dark the image you started out with originally was, or how bright and vibrant you would like your icon to be.
Layer 7: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 138, Input: 117.
In this step, I’ve used curves simply to lighten up the image. Later I’ll use it to add some colour, but while I’m preparing the base, I just want to use the RGB layer to add more lightness to the icon.
Layer 8: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.10 | 245.
For the same reason as Layer 6, Levels have been used here to help lighten the image. I generally use this setting, but if the image is especially dark, I’ll lower 245 to 235 to give it that little bit more brightness.
Layer 9: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -10 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to 100% opacity.
This layer is used to add some contrast and depth back into the image. In this image that we’re working with, there’s originally not a lot of contrast to the image, so we leave the opacity at 100%. But if there was more contrast in the original image, lowering the opacity often works to add just enough depth to the image.
Layer 10: Duplicate Layer 8. Set this layer to Soft Light, 40% opacity.
This layer is used to add the same kind of contrast to the image, and also helps to distinguish the various colours in an image, and add contrast to them as well.
Step 3. Colouring your image
Layer 11: Edit > Copy Merged (Ctrl + Shift + C) the image and paste it onto the canvas. Image > Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, Auto Colour this layer. Set it to 20% opacity.
Auto Tone, Auto Contrast and Auto Colour can be particularly useful tools when considering the colouring of an icon (or even a base). If the original image is highly saturated with a certain colour, overly dark, overly light or even lacking in contrast. Sometimes it works to play with just one of them on a single layer, but generally, I change the opacity levels so I don’t loose all of the colouring from the original image.
Layer 12: Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color > Leave settings as they were > #00b4ff. Set the layer to Multiply at 15% opacity.
As much as I love the negative space in this image, I feel the white is a little overwhelming. So I decided to add some blue into the background, just to make the Doctor and Donna pop a little more when the icon is done. I don’t want the blue to completely overwhelm the image however, and by setting the layer to multiply and lowering the opacity, I’ve maintained the blue tinge I wanted over the white, without letting the deep blue become the focus.
However, now there’s a blue tinge across Donna and the Doctor that doesn’t look all that appealing. To remove this, we’re going to mask that part of the layer away, however you can also erase the lower part of the layer as well.
To do this, I hit the button highlighted at the top here, followed by making sure the area circled in the lower half of the image is also selected. I then ensure that my foreground colour in my tools palette is set on black, I hit the brush tool, and start erasing the cyan colour from the Doctor and Donna.
The difference between masking away the colour and erasing it is that, if you make a mistake while masking, you can simply change the foreground colour to white and bring back the colour you erased. This is useful if you are working with removing the background completely and want to work with finer details of an image, especially the edges of an image.
Layer 13: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance.
Midtones:
+10 | -5 | -15
Shadows:
+5 | -5 | -5
This colour balance layer has been used to add some yellows and reds back into the image, to contrast against the blue/cyan background. I wanted to give them depth, without removing the neutral colour scheme.
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Color
Reds -
Magenta: - 5
Yellow: +5
Black: + 5
Yellows -
Yellow: + 50
Black: +15
Greens -
Red: +5
Magenta: +100
Yellow: - 40
Black: - 50
Cyans -
Red: +100
Magenta: - 100
Yellow: -100
Black: +100
Neutrals -
Red: +5
Magenta: -6
Yellow: - 16
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: + 10
I used this layer of selective color to really add some contrast to colours of the image, while adding some vibrancy to the background as well. It’s helped to add even more depth to the colours on the Doctor and Donna, while brighten up the cyan and blues of the background without overwhelming it.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance.
Vibrance: +30
Saturation: +10
With this layer, I wanted to draw out the natural saturation in the icon without overwhelming it. I only upped the Saturation by 10, but upped the Vibrance a little more to draw something extra out of it, without adding too much Saturation.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves
RGB Point 1: Output: 136, Input: 114
This layer has been used to simply brighten up the image. It was getting a touch dull, and I wanted to add some brightness without taking away the contrast.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment layer > Vibrance.
Vibrance: +50
This layer is to add a little more punch to the vibrancy of the icon. We just wanted to up the saturation enough to draw out a little more of the reds and yellows, but not enough to take over the image and cause pixilation.
Layer 18: Texture by motorized. Set layer to Screen at 50% opacity.
I love this texture. I think it gives such a dreamy effect on icons, and playing around with it has been so much fun. It’s important to not overwhelm the image though, so while I love the effect it has on helping to add a unique colour to the image, especially over the Doctor and Donna, I lowered the opacity to avoid overwhelming the icon.
Layer 19: Texture by mscam. Set layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity.
This is another texture I love playing with, because of the yellows (and if inverted, blues) it holds. I did move this texture upwards a little before setting it to soft light however, to ensure that the image was covered with the yellowish colour. By setting it to soft light, I added some contrast, as well as brought back some yellow colour over the Doctor and Donna.
Layer 20: Layer New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance
Vibrance: +50
This vibrance layer was used to add a touch of colour and contrast into the lower half of the image. It’s not really on their faces, but rather their clothes. I just felt that it needed a touch more vibrance before adding the final layers of contrast.
Layer 21: New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour
Blacks -
Black: +20
This layer is to ensure that the shadows have enough blacks in them, so any potential graininess in the image are lessened by the blacks overwhelming them. It’s also to add a slight bit of contrast into the image, to help draw attention downwards.
Step 4. Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured and textured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon.
These next couple of steps are always involved when finishing off an icon for me. Like preparing an icon base, I think that when you’re finishing an icon, it needs to look finished, rather than haphazardly thrown together.
Before we do anything though, I always re-size the image to 200 px by 200 px. Just because I’m neurotic, and I think the blur/sharpening combo works best on that size image before it gets resized to 100px.
We therefore need to do this:
Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 200 (pixels), Height 200 (pixels).
Layer 22: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius 1.0 > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
Again, I use Gaussian Blur to soften the image before sharpening the edges. I think the sharpening effect just looks a little bit softer if this is done, as it takes away that absolute sharp edge that can sometimes occur in an icon.
Layer 23: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen. Set this layer to 75% opacity.
Depending on the image you began with, the sharpen layer will be anything between 10% & 100% opacity. And while you’re image may look a touch too sharp now - remember we still have to resize the image to 100 px by 100 px, which will also take away a little of the sharpness.
You have to be cautious here, because sometimes sharpening can lead to rough, harsh edges. It’s always good to have a little bit of leeway on each side.
We’re finally ready to resize the image: Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 100 (pixels), Height 100 (pixels).
--
PSD Pre-Resize | Final Icon PSD
As always, comments are love. Please let me know if you found this useful, or alternatively, hard to follow!