OMG I MADE A TUTORIAL
Tutorial the first (and probably the last!)
Learn how to make this:
In PSP9. (Probably will work for PS and other versions of PSP.)
So, the picture I started off with was this of the lovely Billie Piper thanks to lovepollution at billie_love.
Crop the picture into a square as you like. I'm particularly partial right now to the slightly off-center crop, but honestly, go with whatever you feel works best. There are no rules to icon making!
After cropping, resize it to 200x200 pixels. This size is only for the preliminary adjustments I'll be making. My image now looks like this:
Now to brighten the image up, I create a new levels adjustment layer (layers / new adjustment layer / levels) and set the input to:
0 1.22 231
Fiddle around with these settings so you can find what best suits the image you're using. Just don't make it too bright and you'll be fine. My image now looks like this:
Nice and bright. But a tad washed-out, so to give it a bit of depth of contrast, open up a new curves layer. (layers / new adjustment layer / curves) Make your RGB channel look like this:
Basically pulling the dot on the bottom across to the left will darken the contrast, and pulling the top dot across towards the right will lighten the contrast. The deal here is the same as the levels layer; fiddle around with the settings so you can find something that works with your image. Mine looks like this now:
Lovely! We're ready to merge all the layers (layers / merge / merge all) and resize it to 100x100 pixels.
Now, it looks sharp enough for my likes but by all means sharpen yours if you think it needs it. Because we PSP users don't have the fade sharpen function, a great tip is to duplicate the base layer before sharpening. Sharpen the duplicate and then you can simply reduce the opacity of the layer if it's too sharp.
Let's get coloring. Open up a new color balance layer. (layers / new adjustment layer / color balance) Uncheck 'preserve luminance' and then stick some values in. My values are:
midtones: 40 0 15
shadows: 33 0 0
highlights: 42 0 0
Again, these are by no means set in stone. Fiddle around with the values you enter, and find something that works for you. The best icons are created by experimentation. My image looks like this now:
Wonderful. Now, just to give it a little more, create a new raster layer and fill it with a light blue, something along the lines of #afe8eb.
Set that to burn:
Now, to add a little texture to the icon, create a new raster layer and apply this brush by teh_indy in black:
Set it to overlay and then using the eraser tool, erase any of the brush that covers Billie's face. My image looks like this now:
I then create a new raster layer and, using the selection tool, set to rounded rectangle, I select a part of the icon, incorporating the background and Billie's face.
Invert the selection (selection / modify / invert) and fill with black. Right click somewhere on your icon to 'de-select' that part. Mine looks like this now:
Because the black bit looks kinda harsh, I'll soften the look of it by blurring the layer. Make sure the black is the selected layer and blur twice. (adjust / blur / blur)
And there you have it! Add text if you like. I tried it with text and it looked over-complicated, but try it if you like. :-)
Hope that was coherent useful for someone. If you have any questions, by all means ask!
This is merely meant as a guide. Please don't reproduce the icon.
Use your own picture and fiddle around with the settings, but most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT! I'd love to see what you come up with. :-)
Learn how to make this:
In PSP9. (Probably will work for PS and other versions of PSP.)
So, the picture I started off with was this of the lovely Billie Piper thanks to lovepollution at billie_love.
Crop the picture into a square as you like. I'm particularly partial right now to the slightly off-center crop, but honestly, go with whatever you feel works best. There are no rules to icon making!
After cropping, resize it to 200x200 pixels. This size is only for the preliminary adjustments I'll be making. My image now looks like this:
Now to brighten the image up, I create a new levels adjustment layer (layers / new adjustment layer / levels) and set the input to:
0 1.22 231
Fiddle around with these settings so you can find what best suits the image you're using. Just don't make it too bright and you'll be fine. My image now looks like this:
Nice and bright. But a tad washed-out, so to give it a bit of depth of contrast, open up a new curves layer. (layers / new adjustment layer / curves) Make your RGB channel look like this:
Basically pulling the dot on the bottom across to the left will darken the contrast, and pulling the top dot across towards the right will lighten the contrast. The deal here is the same as the levels layer; fiddle around with the settings so you can find something that works with your image. Mine looks like this now:
Lovely! We're ready to merge all the layers (layers / merge / merge all) and resize it to 100x100 pixels.
Now, it looks sharp enough for my likes but by all means sharpen yours if you think it needs it. Because we PSP users don't have the fade sharpen function, a great tip is to duplicate the base layer before sharpening. Sharpen the duplicate and then you can simply reduce the opacity of the layer if it's too sharp.
Let's get coloring. Open up a new color balance layer. (layers / new adjustment layer / color balance) Uncheck 'preserve luminance' and then stick some values in. My values are:
midtones: 40 0 15
shadows: 33 0 0
highlights: 42 0 0
Again, these are by no means set in stone. Fiddle around with the values you enter, and find something that works for you. The best icons are created by experimentation. My image looks like this now:
Wonderful. Now, just to give it a little more, create a new raster layer and fill it with a light blue, something along the lines of #afe8eb.
Set that to burn:
Now, to add a little texture to the icon, create a new raster layer and apply this brush by teh_indy in black:
Set it to overlay and then using the eraser tool, erase any of the brush that covers Billie's face. My image looks like this now:
I then create a new raster layer and, using the selection tool, set to rounded rectangle, I select a part of the icon, incorporating the background and Billie's face.
Invert the selection (selection / modify / invert) and fill with black. Right click somewhere on your icon to 'de-select' that part. Mine looks like this now:
Because the black bit looks kinda harsh, I'll soften the look of it by blurring the layer. Make sure the black is the selected layer and blur twice. (adjust / blur / blur)
And there you have it! Add text if you like. I tried it with text and it looked over-complicated, but try it if you like. :-)
Hope that was coherent useful for someone. If you have any questions, by all means ask!
This is merely meant as a guide. Please don't reproduce the icon.
Use your own picture and fiddle around with the settings, but most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT! I'd love to see what you come up with. :-)