tutorial 9 - morgana
As requested by aftersix. Sorry for the lateness!
to
Made in Photoshop CS4.
Translatable.
I never really save PSD's for icons, but I usually use the same methods anyway so it wasn't really hard to remake the original icon, although it doesn't look exactly the same.
So, first off, after you cropped the icon to 100x100px (I used this as the original image), duplicate the image two times. The first duplicated layer put on Soft Light 100% (to have some depth to start with) and the second one to Screen 100%. The second layer's opacity may vary depending on your image, and you may need more than one Screen layer if the icon still looks too dark. Afterwards, duplicate the Soft Light layer again and put it on top.
The previous step is standard for most of my icons (except if they're too bright/contrasted already). I like my icons contrasted, but if you don't like it, you can try and remove the bottom Soft Light layer. It doesn't really change much but maybe you like it better without it. It's up to you.
There's still one more step before we start on the coloring, and that is the inclusion of this texture (according to marylou_gr by drankmywar, so if it's wrong, blame her :P). I usually desaturate the texture, put it above the last Screen layer (but before the top Soft Light layer), and put it on Soft Light 100%. I owe this texture so much, because I use it on everything. It changes a lot about the picture.
Now we're going to color the icon. I like simplicity, and I don't use twenty-billion layers to get the result I want. (although maybe I should, get out of my comfort zone, but meh. That's not for now!).
So, remember that texture we just added? Right above it, I put a dark yellow/light orange layer put on Soft Light to brighten things up a little. (in my case I used #efb401, but it mostly depends on the icon).
Final steps! And maybe the most important one of them: Color Balance! It's the first layer going above the second Soft Light one. I mainly use it to get some Red shadows and Yellow highlights, but it doesn't really matter what you choose; your icon just wouldn't be the same without the Color Balance. :)
Yay contrast! Still, I personally like to darken the blacks, so I added a little Levels layer too. (set on 20).
...Too much? Maybe. This is the point where I add a couple Light textures to lose a bit of that contrast that came with the Levels layer, but not get rid of it. A couple textures I always use are this one and this one. Don't know who made these either though. I usually do know where all my textures come from.
Aaaand then we go back to the top Soft Light layer, and sharpen it!
And it's done :) I hope some of you find this useful.
to
Made in Photoshop CS4.
Translatable.
I never really save PSD's for icons, but I usually use the same methods anyway so it wasn't really hard to remake the original icon, although it doesn't look exactly the same.
So, first off, after you cropped the icon to 100x100px (I used this as the original image), duplicate the image two times. The first duplicated layer put on Soft Light 100% (to have some depth to start with) and the second one to Screen 100%. The second layer's opacity may vary depending on your image, and you may need more than one Screen layer if the icon still looks too dark. Afterwards, duplicate the Soft Light layer again and put it on top.
The previous step is standard for most of my icons (except if they're too bright/contrasted already). I like my icons contrasted, but if you don't like it, you can try and remove the bottom Soft Light layer. It doesn't really change much but maybe you like it better without it. It's up to you.
There's still one more step before we start on the coloring, and that is the inclusion of this texture (according to marylou_gr by drankmywar, so if it's wrong, blame her :P). I usually desaturate the texture, put it above the last Screen layer (but before the top Soft Light layer), and put it on Soft Light 100%. I owe this texture so much, because I use it on everything. It changes a lot about the picture.
Now we're going to color the icon. I like simplicity, and I don't use twenty-billion layers to get the result I want. (although maybe I should, get out of my comfort zone, but meh. That's not for now!).
So, remember that texture we just added? Right above it, I put a dark yellow/light orange layer put on Soft Light to brighten things up a little. (in my case I used #efb401, but it mostly depends on the icon).
Final steps! And maybe the most important one of them: Color Balance! It's the first layer going above the second Soft Light one. I mainly use it to get some Red shadows and Yellow highlights, but it doesn't really matter what you choose; your icon just wouldn't be the same without the Color Balance. :)
Yay contrast! Still, I personally like to darken the blacks, so I added a little Levels layer too. (set on 20).
...Too much? Maybe. This is the point where I add a couple Light textures to lose a bit of that contrast that came with the Levels layer, but not get rid of it. A couple textures I always use are this one and this one. Don't know who made these either though. I usually do know where all my textures come from.
Aaaand then we go back to the top Soft Light layer, and sharpen it!
And it's done :) I hope some of you find this useful.
