01 Tutorial
before
after
This tutorial is made for Photoshop Cs. I don't know if it may work with other programs.
FIRST STEP: Choose your picture. I''ve chosen a cap from here. Remember that this tutorial might not work with every picture, so try to pick one with a similar lighting as mine. Crop it as you wish. Flatten.
SECOND STEP: Duplicate the picture 5 times and set every layer to screen, except the top one, which will be set to soft light. Remember that the number of screen layers depends on the brightness/darkness of your picture.
THIRD STEP: Create a Color Balance Layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance), be sure that Midtones is checked and in the Color Levels boxes put +100 / +30 / -70. Uncheck Preserve Luminosity.
FOURTH STEP: Now create a Curve Layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves) and in the RGB section put 2 points (1°: 68/55; 2°: 163/164). Don't touch the rest.
FIFTH STEP: Now this is where the magic happens. Create a new Selective Color Layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Color) and use these settings:
REDS
Cyan: -75%
Magenta: +35%
Yellow: +45%
Black: +100%
GREENS
Cyan: +100%
Magenta: -100%
Yellow: +100%
Black: +100%
CYANS
Cyan: +100%
Magenta: -65%
Yellow: -95%
Black: -45%
WHITES
Cyan: -100%
Magenta: -10%
Yellow: +100%
Black: 0
NEAUTRALS
Cyan: -50%
Magenta: 0%
Yellow: -15%
Black: 0
Don't touch the rest. Don't forget to play with these settings, because they may not work with every picture and also you may find a even better look for your icon.
SIXTH STEP: Et voila! The coloring is done. Now you can add brushes and text. It wasn't that hard, was it?!
My first tutorial. Hope it's clear..and helpful :P
( and let me know if i've made some mistakes..today my english sucks o.o )