manga icon tutorial
so reichi_heika requested a couple tutorials, so here's the first. XD
we will be going from THIS IMAGE to
this icon was made in photoshop CS2, and so was the tutorial, but I'm pretty certain it's translatable to at least PSP. I've never used GIMP, so I can't say for sure, but I don't use anything more than color layers and layer blending modes. *shrug*
1. open up the original image. create a new layer (CTRL + SHIFT + N) and with a small, hard brush at 100% (anywhere from a size 1 to a size 7, depending on the area you're currently painting) and paint over all the black outside. make sure you're painting on the new layer, because if you screw up it's a simple matter of erasing instead of undoing. XD don't forget to zoom in! XD I generally zoom to 600-800%, but you can do whatever you'd like.
it should now look something like this:
2. merge both layers. (CTRL + SHIFT + E) resize to 175 x 132 pixels (image > image size), copy (CTRL + C). open a new image (CTRL + N), size 100 x 100, and paste into the new image (CTRL + V). sharpen once (filter > sharpen > sharpen), and then fade to 40% (edit > fade sharpen). tip: if you can't get the image in the exact place you want it, zoom in and then try moving it.
you should now have this:
now, for the coloring. XD before you do anything, change the setting from black and white to RGB color. image > mode > RGB color.
3. now open a new layer (CTRL + SHIFT + N), and zoom in. using a hard brush, 100% (size anywhere between 1 and 7 pixels, again), paint over the skin with #f8e9cc. don't worry about coloring around the lines in the borders of his arm/finger/face; just paint right over them. be careful around the edges of his skin (the sides of his face and around his eyes), but if you get a little on the black? don't worry about it. XD
right now, it should look something like this:
got that? XD looks weird, doesn't it? well, don't worry, that's easy enough to change. XD simply change the blend mode of the layer to multiply! also, change the opacity to 80%. if you're not sure how to do that, simply go to layers > layer style > blending options. here are my settings.
okay? this is what it should look like now:
4. same basic procedure as before. XD open a new layer, and using a small, hard brush at 100% paint over the sword with #bdbdbd. be careful around the edges that touch the skin and the white background, but otherwise don't worry about the edges.
so you should have something like this:
from there, set it to multiply with 100% opacity.
5. again, same idea here. XD open a new layer, and using a hard, small brush, strength 100%, paint over the white background with #0a98cc. careful of his skin and the sword! set this layer to multiply as well.
6. now, open a new layer. this is going to be a solid color layer, so we'll be using the fill tool. set your foreground color to #101447 and fill the new layer with it. (just select the fill tool, which looks like a paintbucker, and click anywhere over the image. just make sure it's in a new layer, or else it'll...do really weird stuff we don't want it to do. XD;)
so you should have this:
from there, we change the blend mode to exclusion. you remember how to set it to multiply? go to the same place, but down near the bottom you'll see something that says "exclusion". that is the blend mode we want for this layer. XD change the opacity to 75%, and you get this:
7. next, we're gonna paste this texture (by aino-hanako) over it. flip it horizontally (edit > transform > flip horizontal), and you get this.
now, set the blend mode to multiply again, at 100%, and this is what you should end up with:
8. another texture. XD this one, from hybrid-genesis. shift it around until you've got this:
now, set it to soft light so you have this:
(note: this icon may look slightly different from the original one, because I don't remember exactly where I had the texture placed before.)
9. new layer, another color one. XD don't forget to create a new layer! make sure the new layer is selected and fill it with #471010, so you have this:
from there, set the layer blend to lighten. you should have something similar to this:
10. now, for the color blob. XD open another layer and fill it with black (#000000). next, select the paintbrush. change it to a 100 pixel soft-edged brush (not sure how to find it?), and using the color #b61b1b click once in the vague center of the image. you should have something like this:
now, set the layer to lighten, and you get this:
then, move the layer around till you get this:
don't worry about the edges of the black; they won't show up. ^^
11. finally, the text! XD if you're not sure where to find the text tool, it's an icon of a big T. click on it, and then click anywhere on the image (it doesn't really matter where). then, type in "&" (without the apostrophes). now, to change the font/color etc. XD up in the tool options bar you should see something that looks like a file cabinet (here); click on it, and a little drop down menu should show up.
change the font to UT Armenian Serif, 11 pt, sharp, with a color of #461012, with an opacity of 75%. (if you need the font, you can download it here, although you will need winACE to open it because it's not a .zip file) here are my settings, if you're unsure of how to do anything.
now, move this under the first texture layer. not sure how to do it? first, you have to open your layers pallet (simply press the F7 button), click on the text layer, and drag it down until it's one layer below the first texture layer.
shift the actual text around until it looks like this:
12. last and final step. XD the tiny text. I actually do this part on my own without brushes, but you can use one if you'd rather. on my own, I set the font to Garamond, size 1, sharp, with the same color as the "&", and then just wrote random lyrics from a song until it was just the length I wanted it. tip: if you do do the same thing I did, make sure to make another text layer (simply by selecting the text tool and then clicking somewhere on the image) so that the settings for the "&" don't change. XD;
and now, we have the finished product! XD
so, once again. XD
from
to
.
we will be going from THIS IMAGE to
this icon was made in photoshop CS2, and so was the tutorial, but I'm pretty certain it's translatable to at least PSP. I've never used GIMP, so I can't say for sure, but I don't use anything more than color layers and layer blending modes. *shrug*
1. open up the original image. create a new layer (CTRL + SHIFT + N) and with a small, hard brush at 100% (anywhere from a size 1 to a size 7, depending on the area you're currently painting) and paint over all the black outside. make sure you're painting on the new layer, because if you screw up it's a simple matter of erasing instead of undoing. XD don't forget to zoom in! XD I generally zoom to 600-800%, but you can do whatever you'd like.
it should now look something like this:
2. merge both layers. (CTRL + SHIFT + E) resize to 175 x 132 pixels (image > image size), copy (CTRL + C). open a new image (CTRL + N), size 100 x 100, and paste into the new image (CTRL + V). sharpen once (filter > sharpen > sharpen), and then fade to 40% (edit > fade sharpen). tip: if you can't get the image in the exact place you want it, zoom in and then try moving it.
you should now have this:
now, for the coloring. XD before you do anything, change the setting from black and white to RGB color. image > mode > RGB color.
3. now open a new layer (CTRL + SHIFT + N), and zoom in. using a hard brush, 100% (size anywhere between 1 and 7 pixels, again), paint over the skin with #f8e9cc. don't worry about coloring around the lines in the borders of his arm/finger/face; just paint right over them. be careful around the edges of his skin (the sides of his face and around his eyes), but if you get a little on the black? don't worry about it. XD
right now, it should look something like this:
got that? XD looks weird, doesn't it? well, don't worry, that's easy enough to change. XD simply change the blend mode of the layer to multiply! also, change the opacity to 80%. if you're not sure how to do that, simply go to layers > layer style > blending options. here are my settings.
okay? this is what it should look like now:
4. same basic procedure as before. XD open a new layer, and using a small, hard brush at 100% paint over the sword with #bdbdbd. be careful around the edges that touch the skin and the white background, but otherwise don't worry about the edges.
so you should have something like this:
from there, set it to multiply with 100% opacity.
5. again, same idea here. XD open a new layer, and using a hard, small brush, strength 100%, paint over the white background with #0a98cc. careful of his skin and the sword! set this layer to multiply as well.
6. now, open a new layer. this is going to be a solid color layer, so we'll be using the fill tool. set your foreground color to #101447 and fill the new layer with it. (just select the fill tool, which looks like a paintbucker, and click anywhere over the image. just make sure it's in a new layer, or else it'll...do really weird stuff we don't want it to do. XD;)
so you should have this:
from there, we change the blend mode to exclusion. you remember how to set it to multiply? go to the same place, but down near the bottom you'll see something that says "exclusion". that is the blend mode we want for this layer. XD change the opacity to 75%, and you get this:
7. next, we're gonna paste this texture (by aino-hanako) over it. flip it horizontally (edit > transform > flip horizontal), and you get this.
now, set the blend mode to multiply again, at 100%, and this is what you should end up with:
8. another texture. XD this one, from hybrid-genesis. shift it around until you've got this:
now, set it to soft light so you have this:
(note: this icon may look slightly different from the original one, because I don't remember exactly where I had the texture placed before.)
9. new layer, another color one. XD don't forget to create a new layer! make sure the new layer is selected and fill it with #471010, so you have this:
from there, set the layer blend to lighten. you should have something similar to this:
10. now, for the color blob. XD open another layer and fill it with black (#000000). next, select the paintbrush. change it to a 100 pixel soft-edged brush (not sure how to find it?), and using the color #b61b1b click once in the vague center of the image. you should have something like this:
now, set the layer to lighten, and you get this:
then, move the layer around till you get this:
don't worry about the edges of the black; they won't show up. ^^
11. finally, the text! XD if you're not sure where to find the text tool, it's an icon of a big T. click on it, and then click anywhere on the image (it doesn't really matter where). then, type in "&" (without the apostrophes). now, to change the font/color etc. XD up in the tool options bar you should see something that looks like a file cabinet (here); click on it, and a little drop down menu should show up.
change the font to UT Armenian Serif, 11 pt, sharp, with a color of #461012, with an opacity of 75%. (if you need the font, you can download it here, although you will need winACE to open it because it's not a .zip file) here are my settings, if you're unsure of how to do anything.
now, move this under the first texture layer. not sure how to do it? first, you have to open your layers pallet (simply press the F7 button), click on the text layer, and drag it down until it's one layer below the first texture layer.
shift the actual text around until it looks like this:
12. last and final step. XD the tiny text. I actually do this part on my own without brushes, but you can use one if you'd rather. on my own, I set the font to Garamond, size 1, sharp, with the same color as the "&", and then just wrote random lyrics from a song until it was just the length I wanted it. tip: if you do do the same thing I did, make sure to make another text layer (simply by selecting the text tool and then clicking somewhere on the image) so that the settings for the "&" don't change. XD;
and now, we have the finished product! XD
so, once again. XD
from
to
.