2011 - tutorial #4 - Smallville
This and this to 
Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5 - Non-Translatable.
Involves: Filters, Levels, Curves, Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Vibrance, Selective Colour & Texture Use.
Original Caps: This and this, found at Home of the Nutty
Original Icon | Recreation
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Note: This is not an average tutorial for me. It involves blending of images why I shy away from, and is much more about how the textures provide layers and colour for the icon rather than the colouring tools themselves. So forgive me if I skim over the basic colouring of the images (which I fully intend to do) and focus more on the texture work (which is still quite insane in a not really making any sense kind of way!)
Step 1. Preparing your base
(Note: This process is the same for both images!)
Layer 1: Base Layer. Remains untouched.
I always leave my first layer untouched. If I stuff something up and need to go back to the start, it’s nice to not have to crop again, especially if you’ve got a really interesting/unique crop going. It’s also handy to have it on hand if you want to use your base to add an extra element to the colours of an icon later on.
Layer 2: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10. Set this layer to 10% opacity.
I think that Box Blur has a really interesting way of working with the backgrounds of images, and helping them blend together. It’s very intense in the way it blurs in tiny squares that are then all joined together though, which is why the layer is only set at 10% opacity, so it doesn’t blur the original image too much.
Layer 3: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius: 1.0. Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Again, we’re trying to blur out any of the flaws and faults within the icon to make the base something nicer to work with. This will soften the edges of your image further, without making the image too blurry again, and distorting the original image.
Layer 4: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 5.0, Threshold: 5.0. Set this layer to 25% opacity.
This can be interchanged with Smart Blur if available. I like the effect Surface Blur/Smart Blur has on softening the features of an icon, makes it smoother in general, and sometimes (especially for lower quality images or darker images that seem pixelated) that’s a real bonus.
Layer 5: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10.0. Set this layer to 15% opacity.
Layer 6: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Set this layer to screen > 50% opacity.
When you copy a merged image, you are copying the sum total of the previous layers together, as opposed to just one layer. This screen layer’s opacity could be anywhere from 10% to 100%, depending on how dark the image you started out with originally was, or how bright and vibrant you would like your icon to be. I’m changing the opacity of this screen layer because it’s quite bright, and I don’t want the icon to become washed out.
Layer 7: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 138, Input: 117.
In this step, I’ve used curves simply to lighten up the image. Later I’ll use it to add some colour, but while I’m preparing the base, I just want to use the RGB layer to add more lightness to the icon.
Layer 8: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.10 | 245.
For the same reason as Layer 6, Levels have been used here to help lighten the image. I generally use this setting, but if the image is especially dark, I’ll lower 245 to 235 to give it that little bit more brightness.
Layer 9: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -10 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to 100% opacity.
This layer is used to add some contrast and depth back into the image. In this image that we’re working with, there’s originally not a lot of contrast to the image, so we leave the opacity at 100%. But if there was more contrast in the original image, lowering the opacity often works to add just enough depth to the image.
Layer 10: Duplicate Layer 9. Set this layer to Soft Light, 40% opacity.
This layer is used to add the same kind of contrast to the image, and also helps to distinguish the various colours in an image, and add contrast to them as well.
Step 2a. Colouring your image
We’ll start with this image. I’ve resized it to 711px width, 400px height. However you can choose to crop the image before you do any of this, or crop it after. It’s really up to you.
Layer 11: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Tone (Ctrl + Shift + L) > Set this layer to 50% opacity.
Layer 12: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Alt + Shift + Ctrl + L) > Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Layer 13: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Shift + Ctrl + B) > Set this layer to 20% opacity.
The process behind these three steps here is to see what kind of colours I can bring out in the image. Sometimes they can bring out some hidden colours in an image that is quite dark or dense with one colour, but sometimes they can also completely destroy the quality of the image. It’s one of those guess-work tools photoshop has that I love and loathe all at once.
Basically, this has played with the colours of the hair in the image. It’s given them an interesting lustre that I quite appreciate.
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
RGB Point 1: Output: 50, Input: 37.
RGB Point 2: Output: 130, Input: 89.
Basically, we want to lighten up the image, but not in a way that removes contrast, so by putting two separate points on the line, this sort of helps with the contrast and the lightening of the image all at once.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
+10 | +10 | -20
Shadows:
0 | 0 | -25
Now we want to play with the yellows, because I love the yellow nature of both the caps. So this colour balance layer really begins to emphasise the yellow of the cap we are playing with.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +20
Black: +5
Yellows -
Yellow: +14
Black: +5
Neutrals -
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +5
Again, we want to add to the yellows of the image, so we really play with the yellows of the reds and yellow tones in selective colour. We also add a bit of contrast by playing with the blacks.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: +50
This layer adds some sheen to the yellow tones of the image. Yes. Sheen. That’s the word I’m using and I’m sticking with it.
Step 2b. Colouring your image
Now we’ll be moving on to this image. Again, I’m working with it sized 711px by 400px, however please feel free to resize your images before we begin colouring.
Layer 11: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Tone (Ctrl + Shift + L) > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
Layer 12: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Alt + Shift + Ctrl + L) > Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Layer 13: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Shift + Ctrl + B) > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
With the same reasoning as before, I simply played with these three layers to see what colours I could play up that were in the image (or that could be in the image).
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
RGB Point 1: Output: 50, Input: 37.
RGB Point 2: Output: 130, Input: 89.
Is it cheating to use the same curves layer as the other image? I’d like to think no, because I’m trying to achieve the same sorts of colours in the yellow.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
+10 | +5 | -25
Shadows:
0 | +15 | -25
The major difference between the images is the green shades that I want to bring out in this one. So I played around with the greens in this colour balance layer a lot more than I did previously.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 100
This is to draw out the yellows and the greens in the image completely. Normally such an intense vibrant layer would probably overwhelm the image, but because I want the colours to be rich, I’m okay with putting the layer at 100.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +20
Black: +5
Yellows -
Yellow: +100
Black: +5
Greens -
Cyan: +100
Magenta: -100
Yellow: +100
Black: +100
Neutrals -
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +10
Set this layer to 40% opacity.
This selective colour layer is all about playing with the greens within the image, as well as heightening the yellows. It’s at 40% opacity mainly because I’m a freak and wanted to add a second selective colour layer that really brought out the greens, without necessarily playing with the yellows.
Layer 18: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Yellows -
Black: +5
Greens -
Magenta: -100
Yellow: +100
Black: +100
Neutrals -
Yellow: -5
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +5
Now we just really want to play with the greens. And that is basically what this layer does, as well as adds a touch more contrast to the black.
Step 3. Blending the Images
Now we’ve coloured our two images, it’s time to figure out how they are going to work in the same canvas. I started with Image 1 (Chloe) because a) its quite a close crop and b) she’ll be much harder to work around when it comes to blending. So I select all (Ctrl + A) and copy the merged image (Ctrl + Shift + C) and then create a new canvas (Ctrl + N). I make it 390px by 390px because I want to keep most of Chloe within the new icon, but in case there are those horrible black or green parts to the sides of an icon that could be hiding, I create it slightly smaller than the original canvas.
I paste the image into the new canvas, and move it around until I’m comfortable with the positioning. It’s centered without being dead center, because I wanted the second image to sort of counter-act the placement of the first and take up the other half. Now it looks like this.
We then need to place Image 2 (Oliver) onto the canvas as well. I wanted him on the left side, to balance out the image of Chloe that I just centered. But I didn’t want to take over Chloe completely. So I played around with placements until I came up with something like this. The canvas looks like this if I lower the opacity of the top layer to 50%. See how both images are quite prominent without one overpowering the other? That’s what I believe I was going for.
It’s at this stage that I resize the image to 300px by 300px, however you can always resize your image whenever you want to. And now to blend the images together.
Image 1: Remains untouched for now. Image 2: Set to Screen at 100%. Why? I think I liked the way it blended across the bottom, and the intense yellow it added to Image 1. However we now need to mask away areas of both images so that they are visible.
Layer 1: Attach a layer mask to Image 1. Mask away the area which you think should be visible. For me, it’s the top half of Image 2 as the lovely green we wanted to provide has been overwhelmed by the yellow of image 1. I’m using a brush on about 20px (but it will become smaller for the more finite details) on 75% hardness. I’ve also zoomed in on the image so I can see the details a little more as well.
Once I’ve masked everything away, Layer 1 looks like this.
Layer 2: Attach a layer mask to Image 2. While I love how bright and yellow the background has become, it’s taken over Chloe’s face completely. So now we’re going to mask part of Image 2 away, so the yellow remains in the background but doesn’t take over Chloe’s face. I used the same size brush as before, on the same level of hardness. The colour of the brush isn’t completely black though. Instead I used #282828. Using a lighter shade of black (or a dark gray) allows for some of the image to remain. It’s like changing the opacity without actually changing the opacity.
The trick here is to be careful that you don’t double mask away areas from both images and reveal the blank canvas beneath. You’ll probably have to play around with both layer masks to get it right. Give and take a little from both, and the blending won’t be completely clean. But that’s okay, because everything that comes after this very wordy step will fix that.
This is what Layer 2 looks like now, and this is what both layers look like together.
Step 4. Texturizing the Icon
As I said originally, this icon is quite texture heavy. So please bear with me as I try to communicated my convoluted reasoning behind everything that I am about to do.
Layer 3: Before I add any textures however. Some blobs of various descriptions. In the lower center, there is a sharp area of sort of blackness that is attached to Chloe’s jumper. I feel it looks out of place, so I create a new layer (Layer > New Layer) and with my paintbrush and #c08b04 colour, I stroke over it. I then set the layer to 20% opacity. Now everything seems to blend a little better for me.
Layer 4: Now I want to blend in the edges of both images together. I create a new layer again (Layer > New Layer) and with a paintbrush (30px in size, 20% hardness) I use #7eff00 to stroke from the top of the canvas to the bottom, making sure that I cover where the edges join. I box blur it 4-5 times (with the radius at 10) and then set the layer to screen at 50% opacity.
Layer 5: The icon appears to be lacking in contrast now, so I duplicate layer 2 (Image 2) and drag it to the top. I set it to Normal at 50%. However now the yellow vibrancy in the lower left hand corner has been lessened so we just mask away that part of the image as well, and now the yellow .
Layer 6: Texture by drankmywar.
With this texture, I wanted the yellow to highlight the lower half of the image. So using free transform (Ctrl + T) I drag it out until it looks like this. I set the layer to screen at 100% opacity. Now we have an awesome yellow overlay, and Chloe’s dark jacket looks a less out of place.
Layer 7: Texture by drankmywar.
Using the same texture, this time I want to play with the greens in the top right hand corner of the icon with the hopes of hiding a little bit of the blending that we’ve done. So this time I use the free transform (Ctrl + T) to drag the texture out until it looks like this. This layer is also set to screen at 100% opacity.
Layer 8: Texture by drankmywar.
I’ve used this texture to add some contrast into the icon, as well as to play around a little with the colours. It’s lovely and soft, so it really helps to even out the tones in the center as well. You’ll need to free transform (Ctrl + T) this layer over the entire image. This layer is set to soft light at 50% opacity.
Layer 9: Texture by ? (I assume it’s drankmywar however I’m currently unable to locate the texture).
This layer adds a little more intensity to the other colours… subtly. There are some magenta colours that are emphasised with this texture, as well as a slight modification in contrast. Set the layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity.
Layer 10: Texture by mscam. Aka my favourite texture ever
I want to use this texture in all it’s goodness, but I feel as though I’ve done enough for the yellows in this icon. So we invert the texture (Ctrl + I) and then drag it across the canvas until it looks like this. We then set the layer to Soft Light at 100%. Now there’s a lot more magenta, some contrast, but the yellows and greens are still quite prominent.
Layer 11: Texture by motorized. Aka my other favourite texture ever
Stretch/Move the texture around the canvas until you settle with something that looks like this. The thing about this texture (and all dark blue/purpleish textures) is that they are wonderful to play with on Screen and Soft Light. They can add some really fun colours into the icon (especially the shadows) and as long as you play with the opacity settings you can ensure that at the same time they don’t overwhelm anything.
Set this layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity. I used this texture to add some more depth into the magenta colours, but limited it so it didn’t overwhelm the image. It also adds some lightness to the top right hand corner, playing up the yellows and the greens.
Layer 12: Texture by motorized.
Now we want to add a little more light to the icon. So I use the same texture but turn it black and white (Ctrl + Shift + U). Shuffle the texture around until you find somewhere that it works. If you are trying to lighten quite a dark area, you’d want to have the lighter areas of the texture on the darker parts of the icon. However if you are trying to add contrast at the same time (which is how I’m using the texture) then try to have the darker parts over the areas you’d like to keep contrasted, and the lighter parts of the texture over the area you want to brighten. The texture on my icon looks like this, and I set the layer to Screen at 50% opacity.
Layer 13: Texture by elli.
Another texture I tend to use with inverse colours. I love the blues and purples this texture has went I do invert the colours, along with the textured feel of it all. So I invert (Ctrl + I) the texture, and shuffle it around until the canvas looks like this. I then set the layer to Soft Light at 60% opacity. It brings out more of the magentas in the icon without completely taking away the yellows and greens. It also adds some more contrast in, especially on the blacks.
Layer 14: Texture by mscam.
Again, inverted (Ctrl + I), but this time looking like this. Set the layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity. I love this part of the texture, because it draws from the images two different colours. It helps to highlight the light magenta and natural colours of Chloe, but plays up the yellows and greens of Oliver all at once.
Layer 15: Texture by elli.
Invert (Ctrl + I) the texture and then play around with it until you find somewhere you’d like it to sit. Mine looks like this because I wanted to add some framing to the edges of the image, as well as play with the contrast of the image as well. Set the layer to Soft Light at 50% opacity. Now it has this wonderful textured border on the upper and left hand sides, and some wonderful contrast over the rest of the image.
Layer 16: Texture by elli.
This sort of texture is so much fun to play with. It can add that wonderful yellow antiquity to an icon if you are playing with it on exclusion, but I’ve also learned that if you play with subtract, you can get some wonderful results as well. I generally smooth it out first (Box Blur it several times) and then I’ve set the layer to Subtract at 30% opacity. In the case of this image, it really adds a little to the magentas that are over Chloe’s face. It also adds some depth overall to the icon.
Layer 17: Texture by elli.
Duplicate Layer 16 (Layer > Duplicate Layer) and set the layer to Exclusion at 50% opacity. Now we are playing with the sort of softness that comes from a dark blue exclusion layer. I lowered the opacity to 50%, because otherwise it threatens to take all the contrast from the image. As it stands, it’s taken some, but we’re about to add some more colour layers that will help add to the overall contrast and depth.
Layer 18: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 35
Basically I feel as though the icon could use a little more colour overall, so I added a vibrance layer (with quite a low setting) to just give the overall image that little bit of oomph that I’d like it to have.
Layer 19: Select All (Ctrl + A) > Copy Merged (Ctrl + Shift + C) > Paste (Ctrl + V) > Set this layer to Soft Light at 100% opacity.
This is where a lot of the contrast in the final image comes from. Generally I’m tentative about a soft light layer at 100% opacity because of the sheer intensity the layer can bring, but I think I wanted that intensity for this icon, because it has an intense feel overall, and the episode was intense as well. So I’ve chosen to leave this layer at 100%, however if you are playing with different images, or feel as though you’d like to lessen the opacity, do it. Soft light is a wonderful tool, and playing with the opacity gives you a range of options as to the direction you can take an icon in.
Layer 20: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 79, Input: 57.
I do want to lighten the image up though, so I use a curves layer to add some lightness into the image. Now the icon is looking both bright and contrasted.
Layer 21: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
Green Point 1: Output: 46, Input: 61.
Green Point 2: Output: 81, Input: 84.
Blue Point 1: Output: 61, Input: 48.
Blue Point 2: Output: 92, Input: 96.
With this curves layer, I really wanted to accentuate the yellows and greens and magentas in the image. I love playing with curves in this manner using the Greens to really draw out some lighter greens and the Blues to make the yellows look a little older, and I think this sort of curves layer works for this icon because of the intensity. I also think because there is such a collection of colours now (thanks to the textures) that there is a lot for it to draw on and coax out of the image.
Layer 22: Layer > New > Layer.
However, the image is quite blue over Oliver’s legs, and I’d really rather there was more black involved. So I pick my trusty paint brush tool (20px in size, 25% hardness), and using black (#000000) I trace over the areas of Oliver’s suit that I want to darken until it looks like this. I then set the layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity. It adds that touch of black to areas, but allowed for the blues (which I secretly kind of loved) to remain highlighted as well.
Layer 23: Layer > New > Layer.
We’re going to add a yellow gradient now, just to add some final yellow back into the image. Using #ffed00, I select the horizontal gradient, and make sure that it’s set to yellow and transparent ( shown here) and drag a gradient out over a small area in the bottom left hand corner till it looks like this. However this is too bold for my liking, so I add a mask to the layer (Layer > Layer Mask > Apply) and erase away parts of the gradient randomly until it looks like this. I set the layer to Screen at 50% opacity.
Layer 24: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
0 | +10 | -15
Shadows:
0 | 0 | -15
This layer is basically to add some yellow back in that we originally had in the images. I wanted to highlight the yellow because well, I’m a fan. And also because I think it added a lovely overall connection between the two images. My blending is not superb either, so by drawing out the yellows everywhere in the icon, it helps that to sort of blend more rather than stand out.
Layer 25: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 70, Input: 55.
Now we have one final curves layer that brightens the image up completely. I think I threw this in
Step 5. Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured and textured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon. Before we do anything though, I always re-size the image to 200 px by 200 px. Just because I’m neurotic, and I think the blur/sharpening combo works best on that size image before it gets resized to 100px.
Layer 26: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius 1.0 > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
I used Gaussian Blur to soften the image before sharpening the edges. I think the sharpening effect just looks a little bit softer if this is done, as it takes away that absolute sharp edge that can sometimes occur in an icon.
Layer 27: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen.
Depending on the image you began with, the sharpen layer will be anything between 10% & 100% opacity. And while you’re image may look a touch too sharp now - remember we still have to resize the image to 100 px by 100 px, which will also take away a little of the sharpness.
You have to be cautious here, because sometimes sharpening can lead to rough, harsh edges. It’s always good to have a little bit of leeway on each side.
We’re finally ready to resize the image: Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 100 (pixels), Height 100 (pixels).
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Layer Summary
In case you were lost, this is what my final layers looked like:
Image 1 Colouring
Image 2 Colouring
Icon Layers
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This was written for the Ask the Maker meme hosted at icon_talk.
As always, comments are love. Please let me know if you found this useful, or alternatively, hard to follow!
Program: Adobe Photoshop CS5 - Non-Translatable.
Involves: Filters, Levels, Curves, Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Vibrance, Selective Colour & Texture Use.
Original Caps: This and this, found at Home of the Nutty
Original Icon | Recreation
|
Note: This is not an average tutorial for me. It involves blending of images why I shy away from, and is much more about how the textures provide layers and colour for the icon rather than the colouring tools themselves. So forgive me if I skim over the basic colouring of the images (which I fully intend to do) and focus more on the texture work (which is still quite insane in a not really making any sense kind of way!)
Step 1. Preparing your base
(Note: This process is the same for both images!)
Layer 1: Base Layer. Remains untouched.
I always leave my first layer untouched. If I stuff something up and need to go back to the start, it’s nice to not have to crop again, especially if you’ve got a really interesting/unique crop going. It’s also handy to have it on hand if you want to use your base to add an extra element to the colours of an icon later on.
Layer 2: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10. Set this layer to 10% opacity.
I think that Box Blur has a really interesting way of working with the backgrounds of images, and helping them blend together. It’s very intense in the way it blurs in tiny squares that are then all joined together though, which is why the layer is only set at 10% opacity, so it doesn’t blur the original image too much.
Layer 3: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius: 1.0. Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Again, we’re trying to blur out any of the flaws and faults within the icon to make the base something nicer to work with. This will soften the edges of your image further, without making the image too blurry again, and distorting the original image.
Layer 4: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 5.0, Threshold: 5.0. Set this layer to 25% opacity.
This can be interchanged with Smart Blur if available. I like the effect Surface Blur/Smart Blur has on softening the features of an icon, makes it smoother in general, and sometimes (especially for lower quality images or darker images that seem pixelated) that’s a real bonus.
Layer 5: Duplicate the base layer, and drag it to the top. Filter > Blur > Box Blur > Radius: 10.0. Set this layer to 15% opacity.
Layer 6: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Set this layer to screen > 50% opacity.
When you copy a merged image, you are copying the sum total of the previous layers together, as opposed to just one layer. This screen layer’s opacity could be anywhere from 10% to 100%, depending on how dark the image you started out with originally was, or how bright and vibrant you would like your icon to be. I’m changing the opacity of this screen layer because it’s quite bright, and I don’t want the icon to become washed out.
Layer 7: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 138, Input: 117.
In this step, I’ve used curves simply to lighten up the image. Later I’ll use it to add some colour, but while I’m preparing the base, I just want to use the RGB layer to add more lightness to the icon.
Layer 8: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.10 | 245.
For the same reason as Layer 6, Levels have been used here to help lighten the image. I generally use this setting, but if the image is especially dark, I’ll lower 245 to 235 to give it that little bit more brightness.
Layer 9: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -10 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to 100% opacity.
This layer is used to add some contrast and depth back into the image. In this image that we’re working with, there’s originally not a lot of contrast to the image, so we leave the opacity at 100%. But if there was more contrast in the original image, lowering the opacity often works to add just enough depth to the image.
Layer 10: Duplicate Layer 9. Set this layer to Soft Light, 40% opacity.
This layer is used to add the same kind of contrast to the image, and also helps to distinguish the various colours in an image, and add contrast to them as well.
Step 2a. Colouring your image
We’ll start with this image. I’ve resized it to 711px width, 400px height. However you can choose to crop the image before you do any of this, or crop it after. It’s really up to you.
Layer 11: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Tone (Ctrl + Shift + L) > Set this layer to 50% opacity.
Layer 12: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Alt + Shift + Ctrl + L) > Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Layer 13: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Shift + Ctrl + B) > Set this layer to 20% opacity.
The process behind these three steps here is to see what kind of colours I can bring out in the image. Sometimes they can bring out some hidden colours in an image that is quite dark or dense with one colour, but sometimes they can also completely destroy the quality of the image. It’s one of those guess-work tools photoshop has that I love and loathe all at once.
Basically, this has played with the colours of the hair in the image. It’s given them an interesting lustre that I quite appreciate.
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
RGB Point 1: Output: 50, Input: 37.
RGB Point 2: Output: 130, Input: 89.
Basically, we want to lighten up the image, but not in a way that removes contrast, so by putting two separate points on the line, this sort of helps with the contrast and the lightening of the image all at once.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
+10 | +10 | -20
Shadows:
0 | 0 | -25
Now we want to play with the yellows, because I love the yellow nature of both the caps. So this colour balance layer really begins to emphasise the yellow of the cap we are playing with.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +20
Black: +5
Yellows -
Yellow: +14
Black: +5
Neutrals -
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +5
Again, we want to add to the yellows of the image, so we really play with the yellows of the reds and yellow tones in selective colour. We also add a bit of contrast by playing with the blacks.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: +50
This layer adds some sheen to the yellow tones of the image. Yes. Sheen. That’s the word I’m using and I’m sticking with it.
Step 2b. Colouring your image
Now we’ll be moving on to this image. Again, I’m working with it sized 711px by 400px, however please feel free to resize your images before we begin colouring.
Layer 11: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Tone (Ctrl + Shift + L) > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
Layer 12: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Alt + Shift + Ctrl + L) > Set this layer to 20% opacity.
Layer 13: Ctrl + V (Paste) > Image > Auto Contrast (Shift + Ctrl + B) > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
With the same reasoning as before, I simply played with these three layers to see what colours I could play up that were in the image (or that could be in the image).
Layer 14: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
RGB Point 1: Output: 50, Input: 37.
RGB Point 2: Output: 130, Input: 89.
Is it cheating to use the same curves layer as the other image? I’d like to think no, because I’m trying to achieve the same sorts of colours in the yellow.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
+10 | +5 | -25
Shadows:
0 | +15 | -25
The major difference between the images is the green shades that I want to bring out in this one. So I played around with the greens in this colour balance layer a lot more than I did previously.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 100
This is to draw out the yellows and the greens in the image completely. Normally such an intense vibrant layer would probably overwhelm the image, but because I want the colours to be rich, I’m okay with putting the layer at 100.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Reds -
Yellow: +20
Black: +5
Yellows -
Yellow: +100
Black: +5
Greens -
Cyan: +100
Magenta: -100
Yellow: +100
Black: +100
Neutrals -
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +10
Set this layer to 40% opacity.
This selective colour layer is all about playing with the greens within the image, as well as heightening the yellows. It’s at 40% opacity mainly because I’m a freak and wanted to add a second selective colour layer that really brought out the greens, without necessarily playing with the yellows.
Layer 18: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Yellows -
Black: +5
Greens -
Magenta: -100
Yellow: +100
Black: +100
Neutrals -
Yellow: -5
Black: +5
Blacks -
Black: +5
Now we just really want to play with the greens. And that is basically what this layer does, as well as adds a touch more contrast to the black.
Step 3. Blending the Images
Now we’ve coloured our two images, it’s time to figure out how they are going to work in the same canvas. I started with Image 1 (Chloe) because a) its quite a close crop and b) she’ll be much harder to work around when it comes to blending. So I select all (Ctrl + A) and copy the merged image (Ctrl + Shift + C) and then create a new canvas (Ctrl + N). I make it 390px by 390px because I want to keep most of Chloe within the new icon, but in case there are those horrible black or green parts to the sides of an icon that could be hiding, I create it slightly smaller than the original canvas.
I paste the image into the new canvas, and move it around until I’m comfortable with the positioning. It’s centered without being dead center, because I wanted the second image to sort of counter-act the placement of the first and take up the other half. Now it looks like this.
We then need to place Image 2 (Oliver) onto the canvas as well. I wanted him on the left side, to balance out the image of Chloe that I just centered. But I didn’t want to take over Chloe completely. So I played around with placements until I came up with something like this. The canvas looks like this if I lower the opacity of the top layer to 50%. See how both images are quite prominent without one overpowering the other? That’s what I believe I was going for.
It’s at this stage that I resize the image to 300px by 300px, however you can always resize your image whenever you want to. And now to blend the images together.
Image 1: Remains untouched for now. Image 2: Set to Screen at 100%. Why? I think I liked the way it blended across the bottom, and the intense yellow it added to Image 1. However we now need to mask away areas of both images so that they are visible.
Layer 1: Attach a layer mask to Image 1. Mask away the area which you think should be visible. For me, it’s the top half of Image 2 as the lovely green we wanted to provide has been overwhelmed by the yellow of image 1. I’m using a brush on about 20px (but it will become smaller for the more finite details) on 75% hardness. I’ve also zoomed in on the image so I can see the details a little more as well.
Once I’ve masked everything away, Layer 1 looks like this.
Layer 2: Attach a layer mask to Image 2. While I love how bright and yellow the background has become, it’s taken over Chloe’s face completely. So now we’re going to mask part of Image 2 away, so the yellow remains in the background but doesn’t take over Chloe’s face. I used the same size brush as before, on the same level of hardness. The colour of the brush isn’t completely black though. Instead I used #282828. Using a lighter shade of black (or a dark gray) allows for some of the image to remain. It’s like changing the opacity without actually changing the opacity.
The trick here is to be careful that you don’t double mask away areas from both images and reveal the blank canvas beneath. You’ll probably have to play around with both layer masks to get it right. Give and take a little from both, and the blending won’t be completely clean. But that’s okay, because everything that comes after this very wordy step will fix that.
This is what Layer 2 looks like now, and this is what both layers look like together.
Step 4. Texturizing the Icon
As I said originally, this icon is quite texture heavy. So please bear with me as I try to communicated my convoluted reasoning behind everything that I am about to do.
Layer 3: Before I add any textures however. Some blobs of various descriptions. In the lower center, there is a sharp area of sort of blackness that is attached to Chloe’s jumper. I feel it looks out of place, so I create a new layer (Layer > New Layer) and with my paintbrush and #c08b04 colour, I stroke over it. I then set the layer to 20% opacity. Now everything seems to blend a little better for me.
Layer 4: Now I want to blend in the edges of both images together. I create a new layer again (Layer > New Layer) and with a paintbrush (30px in size, 20% hardness) I use #7eff00 to stroke from the top of the canvas to the bottom, making sure that I cover where the edges join. I box blur it 4-5 times (with the radius at 10) and then set the layer to screen at 50% opacity.
Layer 5: The icon appears to be lacking in contrast now, so I duplicate layer 2 (Image 2) and drag it to the top. I set it to Normal at 50%. However now the yellow vibrancy in the lower left hand corner has been lessened so we just mask away that part of the image as well, and now the yellow .
Layer 6: Texture by drankmywar.
With this texture, I wanted the yellow to highlight the lower half of the image. So using free transform (Ctrl + T) I drag it out until it looks like this. I set the layer to screen at 100% opacity. Now we have an awesome yellow overlay, and Chloe’s dark jacket looks a less out of place.
Layer 7: Texture by drankmywar.
Using the same texture, this time I want to play with the greens in the top right hand corner of the icon with the hopes of hiding a little bit of the blending that we’ve done. So this time I use the free transform (Ctrl + T) to drag the texture out until it looks like this. This layer is also set to screen at 100% opacity.
Layer 8: Texture by drankmywar.
I’ve used this texture to add some contrast into the icon, as well as to play around a little with the colours. It’s lovely and soft, so it really helps to even out the tones in the center as well. You’ll need to free transform (Ctrl + T) this layer over the entire image. This layer is set to soft light at 50% opacity.
Layer 9: Texture by ? (I assume it’s drankmywar however I’m currently unable to locate the texture).
This layer adds a little more intensity to the other colours… subtly. There are some magenta colours that are emphasised with this texture, as well as a slight modification in contrast. Set the layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity.
Layer 10: Texture by mscam. Aka my favourite texture ever
I want to use this texture in all it’s goodness, but I feel as though I’ve done enough for the yellows in this icon. So we invert the texture (Ctrl + I) and then drag it across the canvas until it looks like this. We then set the layer to Soft Light at 100%. Now there’s a lot more magenta, some contrast, but the yellows and greens are still quite prominent.
Layer 11: Texture by motorized. Aka my other favourite texture ever
Stretch/Move the texture around the canvas until you settle with something that looks like this. The thing about this texture (and all dark blue/purpleish textures) is that they are wonderful to play with on Screen and Soft Light. They can add some really fun colours into the icon (especially the shadows) and as long as you play with the opacity settings you can ensure that at the same time they don’t overwhelm anything.
Set this layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity. I used this texture to add some more depth into the magenta colours, but limited it so it didn’t overwhelm the image. It also adds some lightness to the top right hand corner, playing up the yellows and the greens.
Layer 12: Texture by motorized.
Now we want to add a little more light to the icon. So I use the same texture but turn it black and white (Ctrl + Shift + U). Shuffle the texture around until you find somewhere that it works. If you are trying to lighten quite a dark area, you’d want to have the lighter areas of the texture on the darker parts of the icon. However if you are trying to add contrast at the same time (which is how I’m using the texture) then try to have the darker parts over the areas you’d like to keep contrasted, and the lighter parts of the texture over the area you want to brighten. The texture on my icon looks like this, and I set the layer to Screen at 50% opacity.
Layer 13: Texture by elli.
Another texture I tend to use with inverse colours. I love the blues and purples this texture has went I do invert the colours, along with the textured feel of it all. So I invert (Ctrl + I) the texture, and shuffle it around until the canvas looks like this. I then set the layer to Soft Light at 60% opacity. It brings out more of the magentas in the icon without completely taking away the yellows and greens. It also adds some more contrast in, especially on the blacks.
Layer 14: Texture by mscam.
Again, inverted (Ctrl + I), but this time looking like this. Set the layer to Soft Light at 20% opacity. I love this part of the texture, because it draws from the images two different colours. It helps to highlight the light magenta and natural colours of Chloe, but plays up the yellows and greens of Oliver all at once.
Layer 15: Texture by elli.
Invert (Ctrl + I) the texture and then play around with it until you find somewhere you’d like it to sit. Mine looks like this because I wanted to add some framing to the edges of the image, as well as play with the contrast of the image as well. Set the layer to Soft Light at 50% opacity. Now it has this wonderful textured border on the upper and left hand sides, and some wonderful contrast over the rest of the image.
Layer 16: Texture by elli.
This sort of texture is so much fun to play with. It can add that wonderful yellow antiquity to an icon if you are playing with it on exclusion, but I’ve also learned that if you play with subtract, you can get some wonderful results as well. I generally smooth it out first (Box Blur it several times) and then I’ve set the layer to Subtract at 30% opacity. In the case of this image, it really adds a little to the magentas that are over Chloe’s face. It also adds some depth overall to the icon.
Layer 17: Texture by elli.
Duplicate Layer 16 (Layer > Duplicate Layer) and set the layer to Exclusion at 50% opacity. Now we are playing with the sort of softness that comes from a dark blue exclusion layer. I lowered the opacity to 50%, because otherwise it threatens to take all the contrast from the image. As it stands, it’s taken some, but we’re about to add some more colour layers that will help add to the overall contrast and depth.
Layer 18: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 35
Basically I feel as though the icon could use a little more colour overall, so I added a vibrance layer (with quite a low setting) to just give the overall image that little bit of oomph that I’d like it to have.
Layer 19: Select All (Ctrl + A) > Copy Merged (Ctrl + Shift + C) > Paste (Ctrl + V) > Set this layer to Soft Light at 100% opacity.
This is where a lot of the contrast in the final image comes from. Generally I’m tentative about a soft light layer at 100% opacity because of the sheer intensity the layer can bring, but I think I wanted that intensity for this icon, because it has an intense feel overall, and the episode was intense as well. So I’ve chosen to leave this layer at 100%, however if you are playing with different images, or feel as though you’d like to lessen the opacity, do it. Soft light is a wonderful tool, and playing with the opacity gives you a range of options as to the direction you can take an icon in.
Layer 20: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 79, Input: 57.
I do want to lighten the image up though, so I use a curves layer to add some lightness into the image. Now the icon is looking both bright and contrasted.
Layer 21: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves >
Green Point 1: Output: 46, Input: 61.
Green Point 2: Output: 81, Input: 84.
Blue Point 1: Output: 61, Input: 48.
Blue Point 2: Output: 92, Input: 96.
With this curves layer, I really wanted to accentuate the yellows and greens and magentas in the image. I love playing with curves in this manner using the Greens to really draw out some lighter greens and the Blues to make the yellows look a little older, and I think this sort of curves layer works for this icon because of the intensity. I also think because there is such a collection of colours now (thanks to the textures) that there is a lot for it to draw on and coax out of the image.
Layer 22: Layer > New > Layer.
However, the image is quite blue over Oliver’s legs, and I’d really rather there was more black involved. So I pick my trusty paint brush tool (20px in size, 25% hardness), and using black (#000000) I trace over the areas of Oliver’s suit that I want to darken until it looks like this. I then set the layer to Soft Light at 30% opacity. It adds that touch of black to areas, but allowed for the blues (which I secretly kind of loved) to remain highlighted as well.
Layer 23: Layer > New > Layer.
We’re going to add a yellow gradient now, just to add some final yellow back into the image. Using #ffed00, I select the horizontal gradient, and make sure that it’s set to yellow and transparent ( shown here) and drag a gradient out over a small area in the bottom left hand corner till it looks like this. However this is too bold for my liking, so I add a mask to the layer (Layer > Layer Mask > Apply) and erase away parts of the gradient randomly until it looks like this. I set the layer to Screen at 50% opacity.
Layer 24: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
0 | +10 | -15
Shadows:
0 | 0 | -15
This layer is basically to add some yellow back in that we originally had in the images. I wanted to highlight the yellow because well, I’m a fan. And also because I think it added a lovely overall connection between the two images. My blending is not superb either, so by drawing out the yellows everywhere in the icon, it helps that to sort of blend more rather than stand out.
Layer 25: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 70, Input: 55.
Now we have one final curves layer that brightens the image up completely. I think I threw this in
Step 5. Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured and textured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon. Before we do anything though, I always re-size the image to 200 px by 200 px. Just because I’m neurotic, and I think the blur/sharpening combo works best on that size image before it gets resized to 100px.
Layer 26: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius 1.0 > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
I used Gaussian Blur to soften the image before sharpening the edges. I think the sharpening effect just looks a little bit softer if this is done, as it takes away that absolute sharp edge that can sometimes occur in an icon.
Layer 27: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen.
Depending on the image you began with, the sharpen layer will be anything between 10% & 100% opacity. And while you’re image may look a touch too sharp now - remember we still have to resize the image to 100 px by 100 px, which will also take away a little of the sharpness.
You have to be cautious here, because sometimes sharpening can lead to rough, harsh edges. It’s always good to have a little bit of leeway on each side.
We’re finally ready to resize the image: Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 100 (pixels), Height 100 (pixels).
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Layer Summary
In case you were lost, this is what my final layers looked like:
Image 1 Colouring
Image 2 Colouring
Icon Layers
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This was written for the Ask the Maker meme hosted at icon_talk.
As always, comments are love. Please let me know if you found this useful, or alternatively, hard to follow!