Tutorial 002
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likealight asked for a tutorial for this icon, and she also wondered whether or not I'm aware of the way I use light and shadows and if I use some specific steps to accentuate them. The first part of this post is some general rambling about lighting, so if you're just here for the tutorial feel free to skip to that part ^^
Lighting
I went to art school for three years when I was in my teens, and a lot of my basic steps or even how I approach the whole process still comes from those years. For instance I always crop my icons using the three-of-rule cropping grid, and use those lines to make the composition. Of course a lot of icon making comes from choosing dramatic crops and do the unexpected, but even when I do that I always start by looking at the cap through those lines. They can help you put focus in your icon.
And the other thing I always think about is light and shadows. For me a successful icon is dependent on good contrast between the two, and I'm always conscious on where I place my light. I'm always envious on people who can make good monochrome icons because it's not something that comes natural to me. I always keep in mind where my light source is (I had a teacher who always talked about light sources, to the point where you just wanted to scream). If you look at a screencap there is always one (or more) sources of light. The people filming the show/movie is always going to think about how the light hits the subject, and when I make icons I like to work with that. For me it's important to find the direction the light take, or make a direction that fits my crop. I always like to start with one completely white point and one black point. Lately I've gotten a bit more adventurous in adding light/color to my shadows and visa versa, but when preparing my base I like to find the complete spectrum in my icons.
My lighting/shadow tools: Levels, Curves and soft light layers.
All of these lets you play with light and shadows. Levels and curves lets you manipulate the whole icon, or specific tones. While the soft light layers gives you a softer, more controlled look that can work on specific area's of the icons. I'm going to talk more about Levels in this tutorial, and go closer in on curves and soft light layers in the next tutorial I have planned. You can also see more about my curves use in this tutorial, although it's mostly used for coloring there.
Of course all I've said here is just a personal way of thinking about it. All makers have a different view point and there's no right answer.
Actual tutorial
My base:
Step 1
First I added a Levels layer. This is a step I use on a lot of icons, especially if they are dark. As I've talked about earlier I like my icons to have one completely light point and one dark. Levels is a great way of laying the groundwork for this as it actually tells you how the light works in your icon.
The dark lines is the color in your icon, and the three arrows are the dark, light and mid tones. You can change the light/dark of your icon by moving them. To get a complete light and dark in your icon, you simply move the cursor on either side until they hit the black.
This is what I ended with:
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Step 2
I added a brightness/contrast layer.
Brightness: 9
Contrast: 7
And I set it on soft light. This is a great way to bring out some colors and increasing the contrast. I ended up lowering the opacity to 28%
I added another brightness/contrast layer.
Contrast: 28
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Step 3
I then added a curves layer. I love them <3
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Step 4
I added a Color Balance layer.
Shadows:
Yellow/Blue +5
Highlights:
Yellow/Blue -13
Mostly to add more color to the background. It helps with the 'glowing effect' I wanted on the yellows.
Step 5
Hue/Saturation layer.
+17 on saturation to bring out the colors.
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Step 6
I copy/merged everything into a new layer (select all, edit > copy merged). I used glassurian blur at 4.0 and lowered the opacity to 13%. This doesn't do that much, but it softens the edges a bit.
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Step 7
I copy/merged it all once more, set it to screen and lowered it to opacity 27%. I then used glassurian blur on 4.6. I did this to create the effect that the light shines out between them.
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Step 8
I made a new layer, and used the blur tool on some of the harder edges. Remember to check the box for use all layers.
Step 9
I created a new layer and painted on some whites just where the light hits the shadows to soften the edges. Mostly on their faces and her hair.
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Step 10
I created another layer, set it to soft light and painted over with purple and yellows to create color. What I painted on a black background.
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Step 11
I added a hue/saturation layer with saturation at +13.
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And that's that :) Final layers. It's a pretty simple icon, based on a great cap :) Any questions please ask! :)
