Icon Tutorial
Okay, I was asked to make a tutorial explaining this style of coloring i sometimes use in my icons, and I am very glad to help!
Usually, for my icons, I don't follow a tutorial.... I just keep experimenting until I find something that works for me...
If I like it, then, I record the whole procedure as an action.... so I can use it anytime on my bases, saving a lot of time :)
Now, let's see how to do this:
Well, first of all, grab your image... we're gonna use this one from Screencap Heaven.
Prepare your base (resize, crop blablabla...)
Now choose "Adjustments" >> "Brightness/Contrast" and use the following settings:
Brightness: +5
Contrast: +10
This little adjustment makes your image more "sensitive" to the changes we're going to apply later
Duplicate your layer and set it to Screen (100% opacity).
This is a very common step and you can find it in many other tutorials. Highly recommended for dark images.
Now it's time to mess up with the colors! Select "Layers" >> "New Fill Layer" >> "Solid Color"
Color: #091F41 (or an other color if you want)
Set the layer to Exclusion (100% opacity).
#091F41 exclusion is becoming popular, I have seen other tutorials using it (or a very similar color).
The original is from here (I think)
Now that we've altered the colors... it depends on what you want from your icon.
You can leave it as it is, maybe you want to desaturate it, or maybe you want to "fill" the image a little....
1)
To make it darker, add an other color layer, #BEBEBE and set it to Linear Burn (39% opacity)
OR
2)
If you are looking for the opposite result, add an other color layer, #646464and set it to Color Dodge (21% opacity)
This looks great on darker images/backgrounds, and I use it very often.
If you want, you can add a "Brightness/Contrast" Adjustment Layer.
The settings you use depend a lot on the image you choose. For example, if you want a "smoother" look:
Brightness: +9
Contrast: -7
And hop, it's finished. Hope you like it, have a nice day!!
If you make any icon using this tutorial, I'd love to see them (I'm curious =P)
Usually, for my icons, I don't follow a tutorial.... I just keep experimenting until I find something that works for me...
If I like it, then, I record the whole procedure as an action.... so I can use it anytime on my bases, saving a lot of time :)
Now, let's see how to do this:
Well, first of all, grab your image... we're gonna use this one from Screencap Heaven.
Prepare your base (resize, crop blablabla...)
Now choose "Adjustments" >> "Brightness/Contrast" and use the following settings:
Brightness: +5
Contrast: +10
This little adjustment makes your image more "sensitive" to the changes we're going to apply later
Duplicate your layer and set it to Screen (100% opacity).
This is a very common step and you can find it in many other tutorials. Highly recommended for dark images.
Now it's time to mess up with the colors! Select "Layers" >> "New Fill Layer" >> "Solid Color"
Color: #091F41 (or an other color if you want)
Set the layer to Exclusion (100% opacity).
#091F41 exclusion is becoming popular, I have seen other tutorials using it (or a very similar color).
The original is from here (I think)
Now that we've altered the colors... it depends on what you want from your icon.
You can leave it as it is, maybe you want to desaturate it, or maybe you want to "fill" the image a little....
1)
To make it darker, add an other color layer, #BEBEBE and set it to Linear Burn (39% opacity)
OR
2)
If you are looking for the opposite result, add an other color layer, #646464and set it to Color Dodge (21% opacity)
This looks great on darker images/backgrounds, and I use it very often.
If you want, you can add a "Brightness/Contrast" Adjustment Layer.
The settings you use depend a lot on the image you choose. For example, if you want a "smoother" look:
Brightness: +9
Contrast: -7
And hop, it's finished. Hope you like it, have a nice day!!
If you make any icon using this tutorial, I'd love to see them (I'm curious =P)