{005 - tutorial} The One That Got Away
Program: Photoshop CS2
Translatable: Yes
Steps: 5
x-posted to icon_tutorial
Step One:
Prep your image (e.g. sharpen). You may or may not need to - for this particular tutorial, I left it as is.
Step Two:
The photo itself looks rather bland, so I want to emphasize the darkness in the picture a bit and I will do so by creating a Levels layer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels) with these settings:
RGB:
I: 80 1.52 255
O: 9 255
Red:
I: 41 1.61 255
O: --
Blue:
I: 0 0.92 255
O: --
The little color within the picture is now starting to come out.
Step Three:
There are a few harsh lines within the image, and with this step, we can smooth it all out, blending everything in together. I created another Levels layer with the following settings:
RGB:
I: 28 1.16 255
O: 12 255
Red:
I: 28 1.21 255
O: 22 255
Blue:
I: 29 1.24 255
O: --
The image becomes darker, but don’t worry about that because that is the effect that we want to achieve.
Step Four:
This one is a simple step, in which I put a sort of spotlighting effect on Rupert’s face. To achieve this effect, I created a Gradient Fill layer (Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient), and created a white to black gradient and used these settings:
Style: Radial
Angle: 90
Scale: 100%
Be sure “Align with layer” is checked off.
After this, I changed the blending mode of this layer to Soft Light. You will notice that the edges have become even darker whilst there is a faint white spotlight on Rupert.
Step Five:
I used this texture by shalowater and dragged it on to the image. I positioned it so that it filled the empty space by Rupert’s face and changed the blending mode to Overlay. The effect is rather strong, so I changed the fill to 74%.
And voila, you’ve got a brand new icon to flaunt ;)
Other Examples:
Always remember that a tutorial's results can vary amongst the images chosen. You may need to tweak a few steps in order for it to work with your icon. In my other examples, I used the coloring on a lighter image (Angelina) and I did have to tweak it a bit in order for the coloring to come out in the icon. Don't be afraid to play with the settings a bit, it helps you learn a little more.
Please don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have any questions or feedback. Please note that I do not give out PSDs. Thank you and I hope this was helpful!