Ask the Maker - Tutorial 1
I decided to try my hand at participating in the Ask the Maker event this year, and this is the first of the tutorials asked of me. Tutorial requested by adriftingsea.
Made in Photshop CS6. Some techniques may be exclusive to this version of PS.[Tut under here...]
First you will start out with this screencap. This particular cap that I was working with already had rich color. I am uncertain of the source of the caps; I apologize for that.
You are going to crop the above image using your Crop tool so it looks like this:
I generally specify the dimensions that I wish to crop too, or select the portion of the image I want and transform it into a 100 x 100 new graphic. (File ---> New)
Duplicate your base layer and set the new layer to Screen 100%. Duplicate the base layer again and bring the new layer to the top.
Set this new layer to Screen 66%. The image will now look like this:
I thought the sky looked too washed out, so I created a Layer Mask on that 66% Sceen layer. (Layer ---> Layer Mask ---> Reveal All)
I then erased the sky portion from that screen layer. I left all of the ground still bright (even the hills in the background). It then looked like this:
Not much of a difference, but the sky is darker.
Next you will duplicate your base layer again and bring it to the top. Set this new layer to Soft light 100% to give your graphic more contrast.
Now we are starting to look better, but I thought the graphic was still too flat. Its colors needed to pop more. So I added a new Curves adjustment layer. (Layer ---> New Adjustment Layer ---->Curves)
In the RGB tab of your Curves layer, manipulate the arc until it looks something like this. Then add a new Vibrance adjustment layer. (Layer ---> New Adjustment Layer ---> Vibrance). Set your Vibrance setting to +100. These two elements will bright the image and cause the colors,
especially in the sky, to really pop.
Next you are going to add this texture by an unknown artist, bring it to the top of your layers, and set it to Screen 54%.
Duplicate that layer and flip it Horixantal, then flip it Vertical to get this; set it to Screen 100%. Duplicate that layer and set it Screen 100% again. Your graphic will now look like this:
Hazy, washed out, and bright. But the hazy and the bright are the key. Now lets fix that washed out, and give it back a bit of its color.
Add this texture by an unknown artist and set it to Soft Light 100%.
Duplicate the texture, flip it Horizontal, then flip it Vertical to get this; set it to Soft Light 100%.
Duplicate that layer and use the Hue and Saturation tool (Image --- Adjustments ---> Hue/Saturation) to make the texture look like this.
When recoloring textures like that, I almost always use a color that is present in the icon and thus compliments it.
In this graphic, I picked a light blueish, like the sky.
Set it to Soft Light 100%. This makes your graphic look like this:
That looks rich and not too harsh. I thought it was just a bit too dark now though, especially where Gandal's cart is.
So I added this texture again and set it to Screen 100%.
Viola!
Recreation || Original
||
Final note: this tutorial is not to provide for exact duplication of the icon. It is simply for other artists to learn techniques/textures use, etc.
Thank you adriftingsea for requesting, and if you have any questions, please let me know!