Tutorial #8 > Cropping
It took me ages to figure this out, so I just thought I would lend a hand to anyone who was just starting out with icon-making. This simple tutorial will help you make icons that are the perfect size and proportion every time.
For Adobe Photoshop CS3.
First off, let me mention the extreme importance of properly cropping and resizing your caps to make icons. Otherwise, your icons will be smushed and distorted.
1. Open Photoshop.
2. Select the 'crop' tool. It looks like a square where the sides kept going with a diagonal line in the middle.
3. Go to the tool bar and enter in the following numbers:
Width: 100 px (make sure you put the 'px' - PS will automatically default to inches if you don't)
Height: 100 px
Resolution: 100 (keep the 'pixels/inch' option that it gives you)
Of course, if you are on a board or a site where the size requirements are different, you can always change the height and width measurements. I would keep the resolution 100 px/in, though.
4. Open a picture to try it out. Drag the cursor to get the area you want, and either hit the crop button again or double click inside the selected area. Photoshop will automatically crop and resize your picture to 100x100 px.
Icon-making is so much easier when you do this, because it saves you the trouble of trying to manually get it symmetrical and then having to resize, which is what I did for months.
For Adobe Photoshop CS3.
First off, let me mention the extreme importance of properly cropping and resizing your caps to make icons. Otherwise, your icons will be smushed and distorted.
1. Open Photoshop.
2. Select the 'crop' tool. It looks like a square where the sides kept going with a diagonal line in the middle.
3. Go to the tool bar and enter in the following numbers:
Width: 100 px (make sure you put the 'px' - PS will automatically default to inches if you don't)
Height: 100 px
Resolution: 100 (keep the 'pixels/inch' option that it gives you)
Of course, if you are on a board or a site where the size requirements are different, you can always change the height and width measurements. I would keep the resolution 100 px/in, though.
4. Open a picture to try it out. Drag the cursor to get the area you want, and either hit the crop button again or double click inside the selected area. Photoshop will automatically crop and resize your picture to 100x100 px.
Icon-making is so much easier when you do this, because it saves you the trouble of trying to manually get it symmetrical and then having to resize, which is what I did for months.