Icon Tutorial #1
Some of you requested an icon tutorial so here it the first one. I am not sure how many will follow, or when, but this should help you along. It's a very easy tut so everyone should be able to use it. I use Photoshop CS2, but it shouldn't be too hard to translate to other programs.
We'll be making:
I started out with this pic of Pink.
I cropped it and was left with this:
I duplicated that layer and sharpened it once. I felt it was too sharp, so I set that layer's opacity to 60%.
I then added curves.
curves 01 curves 02 curves 03 curves 04
I wasn't completely satisfied, so I duplicated the sharpened layer once more and set it to screen with 60% opacity and 53% fill. I placed it in between the base and the sharpened layer. I duplicated the sharpened layer once more and set it to soft light, opacity 60%, fill 50%. Just play around with the opacities and layer orders. (Note: all these layers are placed under the curves.)
The I added this texture and set it to darken on top of everything else.
by ashke_icons
I added this gradient layer and set it to soft light.
I placed it under the texture layer.
Slap on some text and text brushes and your done.
I hope that is clear, because I assume people know how to make a curves layer etc. It's a very basic icon, but you can go a long way with coloring and the right textures.
We'll be making:
I started out with this pic of Pink.
I cropped it and was left with this:
I duplicated that layer and sharpened it once. I felt it was too sharp, so I set that layer's opacity to 60%.
I then added curves.
curves 01 curves 02 curves 03 curves 04
I wasn't completely satisfied, so I duplicated the sharpened layer once more and set it to screen with 60% opacity and 53% fill. I placed it in between the base and the sharpened layer. I duplicated the sharpened layer once more and set it to soft light, opacity 60%, fill 50%. Just play around with the opacities and layer orders. (Note: all these layers are placed under the curves.)
The I added this texture and set it to darken on top of everything else.
by ashke_icons
I added this gradient layer and set it to soft light.
I placed it under the texture layer.
Slap on some text and text brushes and your done.
I hope that is clear, because I assume people know how to make a curves layer etc. It's a very basic icon, but you can go a long way with coloring and the right textures.