2011 - tutorial #3 - Community
This to 
Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5 - Non-Translatable.
Involves: Filters, Levels, Curves, Brightness/Contrast, Gradient Map, Color Balance, Vibrance, Selective Colour & Texture Use.
Original Cap: This, found at Fishsticktheatre.
Original Icon | Recreation
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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 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 300px by 300px, 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: 711 px, Height: 400 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: 375px, Height: 375 px > Ctrl + V (Paste).
• We now move the image we’ve pasted into the center of the blank canvas, making sure the pesky logo isn’t visible. I tend to favour center middle crops of images, but if you are working with a different image and would like a closer crop, or more negative space, play around with the size of your new canvas to suit the crop you like.
• Now we resize the image. Image > Image Size > Width: 300 px, Height: 300 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 > 50% 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. I’m changing the opacity of this screen layer because it’s quite bright, and I don’t want the icon to become washed out.
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 9. 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: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Image > Auto Tone (Ctrl + Shift +L). Set this layer to 50% opacity.
I’m a little unhappy with the colouring of the image so far, as well as the contrast, so I see what playing around with the Auto options will give me. Auto Tone/Auto Contrast/Auto Colour are quite wonderful tools when they want to be. Sometimes they can take the most impossible image and turn it into something viable, although this will not always work. As always, watch out for image quality when playing around with them. In this case, I think the Auto Tone added a little too much contrast to the whites of the image, so I lowered the opacity.
Layer 12: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Image > Adjustments > Variations > See Variations Here.
1. Make sure you have ‘Original’ image picked. If you’ve been playing with variations previously, Photoshop will remember what you had picked. So click ‘Original’ first.
2. I wanted to give the image a little more yellow, and really play with yellows and greens. So I hit ‘Yellow’ once. However the yellow overtones were quite prominent, especially in the shadows of the dark hair, so I lowered the opacity of the layer to 50%. Now there are faint yellow hues but they don’t take over the image.
Layer 13: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.20 | 255.
I want to add some brightness to the icon overall, so I only play with the middle section of the levels. It led to the icon being quite washed out without much colour, but that’s okay because there is colour within the image that we’re going to bring out.
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 100.
A vibrance layer will work to bring out all the colours in the image. Sometimes it can be too intense, and can detract from the quality of the image you are working with, but in this case I think it’s okay. We’ve brought out the yellow tones from the variations layer, as well as the green tones in Annie’s shirt.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +15
Black: +15
Yellows -
Yellow: +15
Black: -5
Greens -
Yellow: +30
Black: +20
Neutrals -
Yellow: -5
Black: +10
Blacks -
Cyan: +5
Magenta: +5
Yellow: +5
Black: +15
I’m using Selective Colour here to really add some contrast into the image, as well as draw out some more of the colours. This layer really helps to play on the green and yellow tones of the icon, and give some contrast into the blacks and shadows, which I want to keep strong.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 137, Input: 116.
However with contrast comes a touch too much darkness for me, so I’m throwing in a basic curves layer that gives the icon some brightness, without necessarily removing the contrast of the shadows. It also helps to highlight the colours a little more, and keep the natural tones of Annie’s face quite prominent.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 50.
Another vibrance layer to really draw out the yellows and greens of the image, but also to add a little more overall vibrancy to the image.
Layer 18: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance:
Midtones:
+10 | -10 | -10
Shadows:
0 | 0 | -5
I feel as though I’d like to add a little bit of red/magenta hue into the image, so using colour balance I play up the reds, magenta’s and yellows, but also add a little bit of blue to the shadows. It makes the colouring a little richer overall, but still maintains the yellow/green emphasis we have going on.
Layer 19: Layer > Duplicate Layer > Set this layer to Soft Light at 25% opacity.
Just to add a little more contrast to the image, I duplicate my previous colour balance layer and set it to Soft Light. I love how soft light can enrich the colours of an image, however it’s quite intense at 100%, and I just wanted to add a small amount of contrast, so it’s lowered to 25% opacity.
Layer 20: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black and White > Set this layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity.
This layer is used to add just a touch more black and contrast to the shadows of the icon. On 100% it adds quite a bit of contrast to the whites of the image as well, but on a lower opacity the colour is effected less, and the image as a whole maintains it’s vibrancy.
Step 4. Texturizing the image
I am a huge advocate of using texture upon texture to add some very subtle layers to an icon. Sometimes I will play around with up to 10 textures, changing the overall feel a little at a time. I recommend playing around with whatever textures you can get your hands on, but as a suggestion, consider using larger textures. Within them, there are varied parts that produce different effects that can potentially add a lot to your icon.
Layer 21: Texture by softfluorescent.
We want to add a little bit of light to the image, without loosing contrast, so we’re going to play with the lighter part of the texture. Drag it over the image you are playing with, and set the layer to Soft Light. It’s quite bright, so I’ve lowered the opacity to 30%. It makes a noticeable difference with the whites/natural hues of the icon, but doesn’t make it too over-exposed.
Layer 22: Texture by masterjinn.
Again, I want to add some light to the image, so I’m going to invert the colours (Ctrl + I) and drag the image so it’s mostly covered by the cream colour, with the purple streaks crossing the bottom ( like this). Set the layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity. Again, we want the hint of brightness it can bring to the image overall (especially the background) but we don’t want to overwhelm the image completely.
Layer 23: Texture by masterjinn.
This is one of my favourite textures ever. It’s got that lovely handwriting on it, so it can be utilized that way, but I prefer to invert the texture (Ctrl + I) and play with the blue tones and the white letters. So I invert the image and drag it around until the dark blue edges generally cover the image (normally I use the top right or left hand corners of the texture) and set the layer to Soft Light at 30% Opacity. Again, we’re playing with the shadows. If I was going for a darker feel, I may have upped the opacity to 60-70%. But because I don’t want the icon to be too dark, I’m keeping it lower.
Layer 24: Texture by motorized.
This texture is also really fun to add some blue tinges into the shadows of the image. I set it to Soft Light at 20% to provide some darkness in the shadows without overwhelming the image completely. Again, it’s something you can play around with depending on the types of colours you want to draw from the image with the texture.
Layer 25: Texture by mscam.
I lied apparently. Inverting this texture (Ctrl + I), I then set it to Soft Light at 50% opacity. Now we are working with lots of blue tones within the image, as well as some green and some slight yellows. I think here is where the green becomes the focal point of the icon.
Layer 26: Using the eyedropper tool, I pick a green from the image (#7eeb13) that I’m going to create a gradient with. Today, my gradient is going to be green + transparent, so I make sure I click this box. I drag the tool from the left to the right of the image (the area I want to highlight using green), and wind up with something that looks like this.
Set the layer to Lighten at 100%. While it looks amazing at the edges, the green over Annie’s face is quite overwhelming. So we’re going to erase it a little bit. We can do this two ways: using the eraser tool, or masking it away. Because I’m brave, I’m erasing from the actual layer, with a 13px brush, 0% hardness on 50% opacity. But I’d actually recommend using a layer mask, as it’s much easier to use. I basically erase from her hair and face, and over the hand near her chest. I don’t want to remove the colour complete though, just enough so the more natural colours are still quite prominent.
Layer 27: Layer > Duplicate Layer > Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.
I want to add a little bit of green to the other side of the image, but only in the lower right hand corner, because it feels slightly unbalanced without it. So having flipped the green gradient layer, I drag it closer to the edge. Now we’re going to erase most of the green that covers the top half of Annie, until there’s a thin strip running down the right side of the image, and across her arm and the lower half of the chair. I’m using a 35px brush, 0% hardness on about 70% opacity. This doesn’t have to be all that neat, as we’re going to blur the lines in a moment. Erase what you don’t want, and then Filter > Blur > Box Blur, 2 or 3 times. This will help blend the parts that have been erased into the background image.
Layer 28: Texture by mscam.
Time to add a little bit more yellow back into the image! Play around until you arrive with a generally yellow chunk of the texture (you may need to enlarge the size by free transforming it [Ctrl + T]) and then set it to soft light. Depending on how yellow you want the image, play with the opacity, or even mask away certain area’s. I’ve set mine to 20% opacity, so it props the yellow hues of the overall image up, and adds a little to the greens.
Layer 29: Select All (Ctrl + A) > Edit > Copy Merged (Ctrl + Shift + C) > Paste (Ctrl + V).
I want to add a little contrast to the image, but I also want to embrace the slight hazy feel the icon already has. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Soft Light at 50% opacity. This layer will help strengthen the shadows of the icon, and by lowering it to 50%, it doesn’t overwhelm it in terms of blurriness or contrast.
Layer 30: I want to add a little bit more of the natural blue tones back into the image, so I go back to my base layer (which has remained untouched) and duplicate it, then drag it to the top. Set the layer to Lighten at 100% opacity. This allows the slight blue hues to creep back into the image without taking it over again, or losing too much of the contrast.
Layer 31: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 30
To add a little bit of oomph to the image, we put in another vibrance layer. It’s just going to play with the colours overall, bring them all up a bit but not too much.
Layer 32: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
RGB Point 1: Output: 71, Input: 62.
RGB Point 2: Output: 132, Input: 122.
Blue Point 1: Output: 67, Input: 54.
Blue Point 2: Output 179, Input: 196.
This layer lightens up the overall feel of the image, and also works to play on the blue tones that we’ve put into the image. It also softens the general feel of the image a little, and takes away a little more of the contrast.
Layer 33: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black and White > Green Filter > Set this layer to Soft Light at 15% opacity.
I love playing with the various filters in Black & White, especially green, because it generally plays up the whites in the image overall, without taking away the contrast of the shadows. I’ve lowered the opacity quite dramatically, because I didn’t need it to be too intense, but contemplate playing around with something like black and white to see what you can get.
Layer 34: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance:
Midtones:
+15 | -15 | +10
Shadows:
-10 | +10 | -10
Set this layer to 50% opacity. This layer basically adds some contrast to the image overall. Each of the colours are played with, especially the blue shadows, but to just give that little bit of contrast to the colours.
Layer 35: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +20
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +5
This layer is basically to play up the blue tones in the reds, and the blacks in the shadows. I set it at 50% opacity because I don’t want it to be too contrasted, and I don’t want the bluish purple tones to become too overwhelming either.
Layer 36: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -20 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity.
This layer adds back the contrast of the shadows, but doesn’t take away the lightness from Annie’s facial features, which I wanted to keep highlighted. It also deepens the blacks which I wanted to stay quite black.
Layer 37: Texture by softfluorescent.
This time, I want to use the darker parts of the texture to add some more contrast to the image. So I play with it until I end up with quite a dark area. Set the layer to Soft light at 30%. I also blurred this layer, because I felt it was quite harsh originally with the intense white lines running through the image. Although this is definitely a personal preference, and something you don’t need to do.
Step 5. Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured and textured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon. 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.
Layer 38: 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.
I used 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 39: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen.
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).
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Layer Summary
In case you were lost, this is what my final layers looked like:
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This was written for the Ask the Maker meme hosted at icon_talk.
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.
Involves: Filters, Levels, Curves, Brightness/Contrast, Gradient Map, Color Balance, Vibrance, Selective Colour & Texture Use.
Original Cap: This, found at Fishsticktheatre.
Original Icon | Recreation
|
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 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 300px by 300px, 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: 711 px, Height: 400 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: 375px, Height: 375 px > Ctrl + V (Paste).
• We now move the image we’ve pasted into the center of the blank canvas, making sure the pesky logo isn’t visible. I tend to favour center middle crops of images, but if you are working with a different image and would like a closer crop, or more negative space, play around with the size of your new canvas to suit the crop you like.
• Now we resize the image. Image > Image Size > Width: 300 px, Height: 300 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 > 50% 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. I’m changing the opacity of this screen layer because it’s quite bright, and I don’t want the icon to become washed out.
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 9. 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: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Image > Auto Tone (Ctrl + Shift +L). Set this layer to 50% opacity.
I’m a little unhappy with the colouring of the image so far, as well as the contrast, so I see what playing around with the Auto options will give me. Auto Tone/Auto Contrast/Auto Colour are quite wonderful tools when they want to be. Sometimes they can take the most impossible image and turn it into something viable, although this will not always work. As always, watch out for image quality when playing around with them. In this case, I think the Auto Tone added a little too much contrast to the whites of the image, so I lowered the opacity.
Layer 12: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Image > Adjustments > Variations > See Variations Here.
1. Make sure you have ‘Original’ image picked. If you’ve been playing with variations previously, Photoshop will remember what you had picked. So click ‘Original’ first.
2. I wanted to give the image a little more yellow, and really play with yellows and greens. So I hit ‘Yellow’ once. However the yellow overtones were quite prominent, especially in the shadows of the dark hair, so I lowered the opacity of the layer to 50%. Now there are faint yellow hues but they don’t take over the image.
Layer 13: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.20 | 255.
I want to add some brightness to the icon overall, so I only play with the middle section of the levels. It led to the icon being quite washed out without much colour, but that’s okay because there is colour within the image that we’re going to bring out.
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 100.
A vibrance layer will work to bring out all the colours in the image. Sometimes it can be too intense, and can detract from the quality of the image you are working with, but in this case I think it’s okay. We’ve brought out the yellow tones from the variations layer, as well as the green tones in Annie’s shirt.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +15
Black: +15
Yellows -
Yellow: +15
Black: -5
Greens -
Yellow: +30
Black: +20
Neutrals -
Yellow: -5
Black: +10
Blacks -
Cyan: +5
Magenta: +5
Yellow: +5
Black: +15
I’m using Selective Colour here to really add some contrast into the image, as well as draw out some more of the colours. This layer really helps to play on the green and yellow tones of the icon, and give some contrast into the blacks and shadows, which I want to keep strong.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 137, Input: 116.
However with contrast comes a touch too much darkness for me, so I’m throwing in a basic curves layer that gives the icon some brightness, without necessarily removing the contrast of the shadows. It also helps to highlight the colours a little more, and keep the natural tones of Annie’s face quite prominent.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 50.
Another vibrance layer to really draw out the yellows and greens of the image, but also to add a little more overall vibrancy to the image.
Layer 18: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance:
Midtones:
+10 | -10 | -10
Shadows:
0 | 0 | -5
I feel as though I’d like to add a little bit of red/magenta hue into the image, so using colour balance I play up the reds, magenta’s and yellows, but also add a little bit of blue to the shadows. It makes the colouring a little richer overall, but still maintains the yellow/green emphasis we have going on.
Layer 19: Layer > Duplicate Layer > Set this layer to Soft Light at 25% opacity.
Just to add a little more contrast to the image, I duplicate my previous colour balance layer and set it to Soft Light. I love how soft light can enrich the colours of an image, however it’s quite intense at 100%, and I just wanted to add a small amount of contrast, so it’s lowered to 25% opacity.
Layer 20: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black and White > Set this layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity.
This layer is used to add just a touch more black and contrast to the shadows of the icon. On 100% it adds quite a bit of contrast to the whites of the image as well, but on a lower opacity the colour is effected less, and the image as a whole maintains it’s vibrancy.
Step 4. Texturizing the image
I am a huge advocate of using texture upon texture to add some very subtle layers to an icon. Sometimes I will play around with up to 10 textures, changing the overall feel a little at a time. I recommend playing around with whatever textures you can get your hands on, but as a suggestion, consider using larger textures. Within them, there are varied parts that produce different effects that can potentially add a lot to your icon.
Layer 21: Texture by softfluorescent.
We want to add a little bit of light to the image, without loosing contrast, so we’re going to play with the lighter part of the texture. Drag it over the image you are playing with, and set the layer to Soft Light. It’s quite bright, so I’ve lowered the opacity to 30%. It makes a noticeable difference with the whites/natural hues of the icon, but doesn’t make it too over-exposed.
Layer 22: Texture by masterjinn.
Again, I want to add some light to the image, so I’m going to invert the colours (Ctrl + I) and drag the image so it’s mostly covered by the cream colour, with the purple streaks crossing the bottom ( like this). Set the layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity. Again, we want the hint of brightness it can bring to the image overall (especially the background) but we don’t want to overwhelm the image completely.
Layer 23: Texture by masterjinn.
This is one of my favourite textures ever. It’s got that lovely handwriting on it, so it can be utilized that way, but I prefer to invert the texture (Ctrl + I) and play with the blue tones and the white letters. So I invert the image and drag it around until the dark blue edges generally cover the image (normally I use the top right or left hand corners of the texture) and set the layer to Soft Light at 30% Opacity. Again, we’re playing with the shadows. If I was going for a darker feel, I may have upped the opacity to 60-70%. But because I don’t want the icon to be too dark, I’m keeping it lower.
Layer 24: Texture by motorized.
This texture is also really fun to add some blue tinges into the shadows of the image. I set it to Soft Light at 20% to provide some darkness in the shadows without overwhelming the image completely. Again, it’s something you can play around with depending on the types of colours you want to draw from the image with the texture.
Layer 25: Texture by mscam.
I lied apparently. Inverting this texture (Ctrl + I), I then set it to Soft Light at 50% opacity. Now we are working with lots of blue tones within the image, as well as some green and some slight yellows. I think here is where the green becomes the focal point of the icon.
Layer 26: Using the eyedropper tool, I pick a green from the image (#7eeb13) that I’m going to create a gradient with. Today, my gradient is going to be green + transparent, so I make sure I click this box. I drag the tool from the left to the right of the image (the area I want to highlight using green), and wind up with something that looks like this.
Set the layer to Lighten at 100%. While it looks amazing at the edges, the green over Annie’s face is quite overwhelming. So we’re going to erase it a little bit. We can do this two ways: using the eraser tool, or masking it away. Because I’m brave, I’m erasing from the actual layer, with a 13px brush, 0% hardness on 50% opacity. But I’d actually recommend using a layer mask, as it’s much easier to use. I basically erase from her hair and face, and over the hand near her chest. I don’t want to remove the colour complete though, just enough so the more natural colours are still quite prominent.
Layer 27: Layer > Duplicate Layer > Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.
I want to add a little bit of green to the other side of the image, but only in the lower right hand corner, because it feels slightly unbalanced without it. So having flipped the green gradient layer, I drag it closer to the edge. Now we’re going to erase most of the green that covers the top half of Annie, until there’s a thin strip running down the right side of the image, and across her arm and the lower half of the chair. I’m using a 35px brush, 0% hardness on about 70% opacity. This doesn’t have to be all that neat, as we’re going to blur the lines in a moment. Erase what you don’t want, and then Filter > Blur > Box Blur, 2 or 3 times. This will help blend the parts that have been erased into the background image.
Layer 28: Texture by mscam.
Time to add a little bit more yellow back into the image! Play around until you arrive with a generally yellow chunk of the texture (you may need to enlarge the size by free transforming it [Ctrl + T]) and then set it to soft light. Depending on how yellow you want the image, play with the opacity, or even mask away certain area’s. I’ve set mine to 20% opacity, so it props the yellow hues of the overall image up, and adds a little to the greens.
Layer 29: Select All (Ctrl + A) > Edit > Copy Merged (Ctrl + Shift + C) > Paste (Ctrl + V).
I want to add a little contrast to the image, but I also want to embrace the slight hazy feel the icon already has. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Soft Light at 50% opacity. This layer will help strengthen the shadows of the icon, and by lowering it to 50%, it doesn’t overwhelm it in terms of blurriness or contrast.
Layer 30: I want to add a little bit more of the natural blue tones back into the image, so I go back to my base layer (which has remained untouched) and duplicate it, then drag it to the top. Set the layer to Lighten at 100% opacity. This allows the slight blue hues to creep back into the image without taking it over again, or losing too much of the contrast.
Layer 31: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 30
To add a little bit of oomph to the image, we put in another vibrance layer. It’s just going to play with the colours overall, bring them all up a bit but not too much.
Layer 32: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
RGB Point 1: Output: 71, Input: 62.
RGB Point 2: Output: 132, Input: 122.
Blue Point 1: Output: 67, Input: 54.
Blue Point 2: Output 179, Input: 196.
This layer lightens up the overall feel of the image, and also works to play on the blue tones that we’ve put into the image. It also softens the general feel of the image a little, and takes away a little more of the contrast.
Layer 33: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black and White > Green Filter > Set this layer to Soft Light at 15% opacity.
I love playing with the various filters in Black & White, especially green, because it generally plays up the whites in the image overall, without taking away the contrast of the shadows. I’ve lowered the opacity quite dramatically, because I didn’t need it to be too intense, but contemplate playing around with something like black and white to see what you can get.
Layer 34: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance:
Midtones:
+15 | -15 | +10
Shadows:
-10 | +10 | -10
Set this layer to 50% opacity. This layer basically adds some contrast to the image overall. Each of the colours are played with, especially the blue shadows, but to just give that little bit of contrast to the colours.
Layer 35: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +20
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +5
This layer is basically to play up the blue tones in the reds, and the blacks in the shadows. I set it at 50% opacity because I don’t want it to be too contrasted, and I don’t want the bluish purple tones to become too overwhelming either.
Layer 36: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -20 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity.
This layer adds back the contrast of the shadows, but doesn’t take away the lightness from Annie’s facial features, which I wanted to keep highlighted. It also deepens the blacks which I wanted to stay quite black.
Layer 37: Texture by softfluorescent.
This time, I want to use the darker parts of the texture to add some more contrast to the image. So I play with it until I end up with quite a dark area. Set the layer to Soft light at 30%. I also blurred this layer, because I felt it was quite harsh originally with the intense white lines running through the image. Although this is definitely a personal preference, and something you don’t need to do.
Step 5. Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured and textured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon. 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.
Layer 38: 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.
I used 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 39: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen.
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).
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Layer Summary
In case you were lost, this is what my final layers looked like:
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This was written for the Ask the Maker meme hosted at icon_talk.
As always, comments are love. Please let me know if you found this useful, or alternatively, hard to follow!