(no subject)
Colouring Tutorial
(as requested by tearcreek)
From
to
Program: Photoshop (CS2 but not for it specifically)
Difficulty: Moderate (selective colours, no curves)
Please note: I have included brief explanations why I have set something a particular way, so if you go to do it yourself, you are not blindly copying the settings - because each image you use is different and will require some adjustments to suit it, after all! By all means, choose these settings if you wish, but feel free to use your initiative and change them accordingly.
Step 1.
We started off with this picture (although the original was much bigger), and cropped it accordingly so it's 100x100. You can sharpen it if you wish, but this can also be done later. Now we have our base.
into
Step 2.
It's a bit dull, for want of a better word, and by making it lighter, it's easier to work with. So we duplicate the layer, and set it to Screen (100%). So now we have:
Step 3.
It's lighter, but still looking lifeless. (And we all know how pretty Michael looks in blue.) So let's make a new layer, and fill it with a moderately light blue and set it to Color Burn (100%).
(I used #ADDBFF. As we can see, the original cap is already slightly blue-tinted. If your image isn't, and you want it to be, make it a more intense blue. Only make it a lighter/darker shade of blue if you want your image to be lighter/darker, although I prefer to adjust the previous Screen layer if it's too light/dark.)
-->
Step 4.
It's looking really blue now. But that's okay, because it's already standing out, isn't it? But it's a bit much. So to counter-act against this sudden intense blueness, we'll make a new layer, and fill it with a pale pink and set it on Soft Light (100%) . I used #F1C7C7, but could have used an even 'bolder' pink, because it didn't really add much 'pinkness' to it in the end. But we can fix that later.
-->
Step 5.
I'll be the first to admit, I love a nice Exclusion layer. I feel it makes the icon warmer and less stark, but it just depends what effect you're after. So for the sake of this tute, we'll make a new layer, and fill it with a dark blue and set it at Exclusion. I used #0D243E. However, I only set it at 50%, or else it would look too washed together (as you can see in the third image, where it is set at 100%).
-->
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Step 6.
Now we got a pretty nicely coloured icon, but we can always make it look a little better. I personally think it is still a touch too blue, so we'll make a Selective Layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Color).
Now, this is the part that is hard to explain, because it really depends on what image you're using, and what your personal colouring preferences are.
For me, I like the blue of this icon so far, but Michael himself is looking too blue. So I'll take the cyan out of the 'Red' parts of the icon, and up the yellow slightly (or else he'll start looking sunburnt).
I'll also increase the 'Yellow' parts of the icon by, once again, taking out the cyan, and putting the yellowness of the 'Yellow' full blast. (Basically, all I'm doing is making the reds and yellows in the icon stronger.)
Because I'm a fussy dipstick, I want the blue parts of the icon to really stand out. So I'll increase the Cyan slightly, but not so much that it is too overpowering (it's all a fine balance, people). Now, adjusting the amount of yellow in the 'Cyan' all depends on what you like. Getting back to primary school basics, when you increase the amount of yellow in blue, it turns green, right? So I'll increase the yellow to +16 here, but only because I like a slight greeny-tilt. Sometimes I don't want any green whatsoever, so I take all the yellow away.
Last of all, notice how the dark parts are actually blue, rather than black? That's mainly due to the Exclusion layer from before. So we'll up the blackness of the 'Black' somewhat.
So just from this Selective Color layer, we've gone from this:
to
I know, so it really doesn't look much different, except that Michael's skin is a bit less blue, but the background is a bit more so. S'okay, that's what we wanted.
Step 7.
But it's not enough, the skin is still too blue for my liking. So we create another Selective Color layer, and make the 'Red': Cyan, -100 and Yellow +38. For the 'Yellow', I made it Cyan -100 and Yellow +42. Hopefully by now you can see the reasoning behind these colouring decisions, rather than simply remembering the numbers I set them to.
So now with this additional Selective Color layer, we've gone from this:
to
Yeah, so it's all about the subtle differences in the skin tone. Maybe I'm just far too fussy for my own good!
Step 8.
Just a couple more things, which are just finishing touches. I find that adding a Brightness/Contrast layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast) and increasing the 'Contrast' slightly, it can make the colours you've just enhanced, stand out that little bit more. Or maybe you think that it's too white 'n' bright, and want to decrease the 'Brightness'. Up to you. Play around and see. In this case, I decreased and increased both respectively.
Step 9.
Now I simply added the text of 'Scofield' (font was Acoustic Light, if you were wondering, as a size 6 and a bit of spacing between the letters) and then added a spot of an airbrush (found in 'Basic Brushes'), set at size 65, colour at a bright red (#D12121 in this case) and set at 'Screen'.
So all in all, your layer panel will look something like this:
And you're done!
I realise this tutorial is rather lengthy, but the icon making itself is really not that complicated once you know what you're doing, and why. Hopefully this helped in some way! :) Finished icon is up for grabs, but please credit me cecism if you snag.
Any questions, feel free to ask.
(as requested by tearcreek)
From
to
Program: Photoshop (CS2 but not for it specifically)
Difficulty: Moderate (selective colours, no curves)
Please note: I have included brief explanations why I have set something a particular way, so if you go to do it yourself, you are not blindly copying the settings - because each image you use is different and will require some adjustments to suit it, after all! By all means, choose these settings if you wish, but feel free to use your initiative and change them accordingly.
Step 1.
We started off with this picture (although the original was much bigger), and cropped it accordingly so it's 100x100. You can sharpen it if you wish, but this can also be done later. Now we have our base.
into
Step 2.
It's a bit dull, for want of a better word, and by making it lighter, it's easier to work with. So we duplicate the layer, and set it to Screen (100%). So now we have:
Step 3.
It's lighter, but still looking lifeless. (And we all know how pretty Michael looks in blue.) So let's make a new layer, and fill it with a moderately light blue and set it to Color Burn (100%).
(I used #ADDBFF. As we can see, the original cap is already slightly blue-tinted. If your image isn't, and you want it to be, make it a more intense blue. Only make it a lighter/darker shade of blue if you want your image to be lighter/darker, although I prefer to adjust the previous Screen layer if it's too light/dark.)
-->
Step 4.
It's looking really blue now. But that's okay, because it's already standing out, isn't it? But it's a bit much. So to counter-act against this sudden intense blueness, we'll make a new layer, and fill it with a pale pink and set it on Soft Light (100%) . I used #F1C7C7, but could have used an even 'bolder' pink, because it didn't really add much 'pinkness' to it in the end. But we can fix that later.
-->
Step 5.
I'll be the first to admit, I love a nice Exclusion layer. I feel it makes the icon warmer and less stark, but it just depends what effect you're after. So for the sake of this tute, we'll make a new layer, and fill it with a dark blue and set it at Exclusion. I used #0D243E. However, I only set it at 50%, or else it would look too washed together (as you can see in the third image, where it is set at 100%).
-->
///
Step 6.
Now we got a pretty nicely coloured icon, but we can always make it look a little better. I personally think it is still a touch too blue, so we'll make a Selective Layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Color).
Now, this is the part that is hard to explain, because it really depends on what image you're using, and what your personal colouring preferences are.
For me, I like the blue of this icon so far, but Michael himself is looking too blue. So I'll take the cyan out of the 'Red' parts of the icon, and up the yellow slightly (or else he'll start looking sunburnt).
I'll also increase the 'Yellow' parts of the icon by, once again, taking out the cyan, and putting the yellowness of the 'Yellow' full blast. (Basically, all I'm doing is making the reds and yellows in the icon stronger.)
Because I'm a fussy dipstick, I want the blue parts of the icon to really stand out. So I'll increase the Cyan slightly, but not so much that it is too overpowering (it's all a fine balance, people). Now, adjusting the amount of yellow in the 'Cyan' all depends on what you like. Getting back to primary school basics, when you increase the amount of yellow in blue, it turns green, right? So I'll increase the yellow to +16 here, but only because I like a slight greeny-tilt. Sometimes I don't want any green whatsoever, so I take all the yellow away.
Last of all, notice how the dark parts are actually blue, rather than black? That's mainly due to the Exclusion layer from before. So we'll up the blackness of the 'Black' somewhat.
So just from this Selective Color layer, we've gone from this:
to
I know, so it really doesn't look much different, except that Michael's skin is a bit less blue, but the background is a bit more so. S'okay, that's what we wanted.
Step 7.
But it's not enough, the skin is still too blue for my liking. So we create another Selective Color layer, and make the 'Red': Cyan, -100 and Yellow +38. For the 'Yellow', I made it Cyan -100 and Yellow +42. Hopefully by now you can see the reasoning behind these colouring decisions, rather than simply remembering the numbers I set them to.
So now with this additional Selective Color layer, we've gone from this:
to
Yeah, so it's all about the subtle differences in the skin tone. Maybe I'm just far too fussy for my own good!
Step 8.
Just a couple more things, which are just finishing touches. I find that adding a Brightness/Contrast layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast) and increasing the 'Contrast' slightly, it can make the colours you've just enhanced, stand out that little bit more. Or maybe you think that it's too white 'n' bright, and want to decrease the 'Brightness'. Up to you. Play around and see. In this case, I decreased and increased both respectively.
Step 9.
Now I simply added the text of 'Scofield' (font was Acoustic Light, if you were wondering, as a size 6 and a bit of spacing between the letters) and then added a spot of an airbrush (found in 'Basic Brushes'), set at size 65, colour at a bright red (#D12121 in this case) and set at 'Screen'.
So all in all, your layer panel will look something like this:
And you're done!
I realise this tutorial is rather lengthy, but the icon making itself is really not that complicated once you know what you're doing, and why. Hopefully this helped in some way! :) Finished icon is up for grabs, but please credit me cecism if you snag.
Any questions, feel free to ask.