68. a green/yellow coloring guide for scarred_loretta
ask me here!
requested by scarred_loretta
Standard Disclaimer: I always work on a 400x400 canvas, but I've made them smaller them for the sake of this tutorial(you can click through to see the full-size image though). Some adjustments aren't really noticeable on the smaller versions so click through to see.
First off, yellow and green and yellow/green is truly my favorite color(s). So that makes it really easy for me to WANT to make those kinds of icons. But in the spirit of what scarred_loretta requested, I thought I'd take a look at some of my green, yellow, and green/yellow icons and see what they tend to have in common. All of these techniques can be use on all icons of all colors, honestly.
The vast majority of the green/yellow icons I make are mostly "atmopshereic" in that the coloring is soft and layered on top of it. I think the only one I've included here is the one of Hook that's a closer crop; I included that one because it's got a very unique technique that serves yellows and greens well if you want less of a glowy look. So I'm gonna break it down as best as I can what I do when I'm working on these kinds of icons. All of these techniques work for any other kind of coloring you might want; they're certainly not specific to just greens and yellows. It's just the main way I achieve what I want.
i. Soft Light + Blur
Basic technique - alt + ctrl + shift + e stamps the visible layers onto a new layer; I then head to gaussian blur and blur anywhere from 10-75, depending on how soft I want the effect. Experiement with different settings for the blur, and remember the size of your image(for example, if you're working at 100x100px) will effect how strong the blur is; a 10 blur is different on a 100x100 icon vs a 400x400 icon like I make them at. I usually then put the layer on soft light, or occasionally hard light or overlay, at different opacities and fills until you like the ffect you're getting.
All of the above icons have at least one of these layers, except for the last one. But honestly, almost every single icon I make has one of these at some point. Sometimes I end up having to take it out because I don't want a soft look, but I will say that I even do include it in icons that aren't particularly glowy, like the third icon above. This technique is best once you've already established the colors you want to use (see the selective color and color balance sections below), but it really amps it up. It can be intense, or subtle. For example, in the third icon above, I'll show you just how many of these layers that icon has;
has FOUR
It doesn't seem like it would be that many, right? The icon isn't *that* soft or glowy, which is what this effect is known for. The key is that every one of them is set to less than 50% opacity or fill; the first two are actually less than 20%! Now, this icon has a LOT of layers, which I needed because I took it from that muddy blue color in those first blurred layers to a soft yellow icon, so it's true that there aren't that many soft light blurred layers in the icon relative to the total number of layers.
Moving on to a different example of the same technique;
has only two
The key, though, is that their opacities are higher, and the second one is actually set to overlay. This technique is really good on icons where you're replacing the background, because it helps make the lighting and the placement feel more natural. It's also good if you've given the background a lot of green and you want to infuse the subject with it as well. Check out how the first layer makes this icon look;
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It's subtle, but it helps make things look a bit more cohesive and gives her hair a greenish tint and the background around her a yellowish tint from her hair.
Last example of this technique;
has four
Again, all have higher opacities to give a much stronger look and to pump up the atmospheric color and blending. Seriously, don't be afraid to abuse this technique! It can take you far when you're trying to amp up the color and contrast or create a nice glowy look. Higher numbers will keep you away from the cheesy too-glowy look; you want it to look soft, not have your icon look like a fluorescent bulb.
ii. Selective Color
There is no one single technique to using selective color to pump your yellows and greens, BUT, I do usually use selective colors to pull the colors out before turning around and adding back what I want. For example, for this icon;
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Obviously there are a lot of other layers involved, but these are some of what the selective color did to add in some greens and yellows and then take them out and add them back in. First set took reds out and flattened them so I could change the hue of his face without messing up the reds. Second set was me adding back in some green and yellow. third set was taking out some of the intensities of it, and the fourth set was me adding it back in. It's definitely a see-saw of pulling color and then adding it back. A more skilled maker could probably do it without all the back and forth, but I very rarely have a fully finished image in my head that I'm working towards; I tend to just figure it out as I go.
More examples include;
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Basically every icon has at least one of these, because, honestly, these yellows and greens are not exactly natural. You have to actually understand the way selective color works, and don't be afraid to dive into all of the channels, including white/neutrals/black.
iii. Color Balance
Color balance is a lot like selective color, but a little less specific/more subtle/general in how it works. It's a good way to change the entire tone of the icon to your preferred colors without making it look too wonky. I don't use it all that much; usually to tone an entire color scheme away from one way if it's veering weird. For example, this icon.
has three
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Each time it was used to help balance the color back to where I wanted it if it was veering too green or too yellow for my tastes. I don't use color balance as much anymore since selective color tends to be more powerful for what I want, but it can be VERY useful to change the overall cast of an icon. My older tutorials will mention color balance a lot, since I used it more when I wasn't quite sure I had a handle on selective color.
iv. Solid Color Layers/Brushed Color
Another small section because this is more self-explanitory, but it's a really good way to just amp color up and increase a specific color in a specific spot. I usually pick a color from the image somewhere that's what I want to emphasize or paint in. Sometimes it's easy to pick a color from the previously blurred stamped layer to get something cohesive. I always pick my colors from the image though, UNLESS I'm doing a color palatte inspired image, in which case I use hues of the color from the palatte. Sometimes you set them to soft light and sometimes you set them to screen depending on what kind of intensity you're wanting.
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(soft light, 100%)
(screen, 100%)
(all three soft light, 100%)
(screen, 100%)
(soft light, 100%)
(screen, 70%)
All of these right on top of each other gives us the magical depth on top of the coloring and gives one of my favorite lighting effects on any icon I've ever done. We go from this, to this with those painted layers and just one little boost of contrast.
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Of course, this isn't the only way to use color layers; you can set them to color blending mode (like I discuss in all of my three most recent tutorials), to the effect of making something super green, or even just taking out the saturation of the skin a little bit so you can continue to tweak outside of the skin tones. You can also use a color fill layer set to different blend modes to change the whole tone of an icon and add your green or yellow that way, just be wary of your opacity/fill, because they're usually way too much at 100%.
v. Textures
Quick and dirty; some of my favorite textures for getting green and yellow, and complimenting it once you have it. Fun thing though; ANY texture can be green or yellow; hue/sat is amazing for changing a cool texture to the color you want. You should be able to roll over for the maker names if I have them and when you save it should save with the maker name.
And that's it y'all! Like I said, this is more of a general coloring guide I think, but this particular one is great for yellow/green. As always, hit me up if you want specifics or more detail on anything!
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