LOST Tutorial
Requested by blondeboy69.
How to go from this and this to
(Created in Photoshop CS3. Translatable, I think; uses Curves and Color Balance, has a few optional Selective Color layers that are completely skippable. Tutorial is image-heavy and not at all concise.)
First, I crop and resize the first screencap:
I duplicate the layer and set it to Screen, 50% opacity.
To give it some contrast, I duplicate the layer again and set it to Soft Light, 70% opacity.
Next, I crop and resize the second screencap, and paste it on top:
Obviously, there's some stuff I want to get rid of:
So I use a layer mask, using a black brush to paint over the parts I don't want:
-->
The second cap is really dark, so I duplicate the layer twice, setting the first to Screen, 100% opacity and the second to Screen, 20% opacity.
To create some contrast, I duplicate the layer one more time and set it to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
I want to add a yellow-ish tint to part of the icon, so I use a Color Balance layer:
Midtones: -19 -5 -14
Shadows: -18 -11 -20
Highlights: +15 +19 +9
Make sure "Preserve Luminosity" is checked.
But I'm only really interested in adding that yellow tint to
<-- this part of the icon, so I use Layer Mask again.
-->
To brighten up the colors, I use a Curves layer:
RGB - Input: 122, Output: 143
Red - Input: 117, Output: 131
Green - Input: 125, Output: 131
Blue - Input: 255, Output: 255
Again, I'm only really interested in applying this to that bottom-right half, so I use another Layer mask:
Now I start filling up the surroundng white space. I first go back to the first screencap, crop out a piece of blue sky with clouds, and paste it on top of the icon:
-->
I use another Layer mask to get rid of the parts covering Juliet screencap #2:
I copy and paste the piece of the first creencap again, moving it to the left to cover up the white space there too.
-->
I use a Layer mask again to get rid of the parts covering Juliet:
There's still a sliver of white space in the top-left corner, so I copy the little piece of sky/tree, paste it, and then smudge the blue parts using a soft smudge brush at approximately 36 px diameter:
-->
-->
Again, I use a Layer mask to erase the parts covering Juliet:
I want to cover up some of the white space here:
So I copy a little bit of sky again and paste it there:
-->
I use a Layer mask to remove the sides and corners:
Finally, I copy a bit more of the sky and paste it on top:
-->
I used another Layer mask to remove parts of it to make it look more blended:
Now that the white space is covered, I can work on getting the coloring where I want it. I first use a Levels layer:
-->
To brighten up the top-ish half of the icon (here:
), I use another Curves layer:
RGB - Input: 116, Output: 134
Red - Input: 122, Output: 132
Green - Input: 124, Output: 130
Blue - Input: 255, Output: 255
... with a Layer mask:
Then I use Color Balance to brighten up the icon:
Midtones: +32 +26 +17
Shadows: +7 +8 +5
Highlights: +20 +14 +12
Make sure "Preserve Luminosity" is checked.
Then I paste the following texture, setting it to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
-->
To brighten the icon a tad more, I fill a new layer with #DCC18A, setting it to Soft Light, 20% opacity.
-->
I create another fill layer with #FFB594, also setting it to Soft Light, 20% opacity.
-->
I then paste the following texture, setting it to Soft Light, 30% opacity.
-->
It looks a bit plain, and I want to add something artsy to it. So I paste the following texture, setting it to Multiply, 100% opacity.
-->
I'm only really interested in keeping this part of the texture:
, minus the stuff closer to the center too. So I use another Layer mask:
I want to make everything brighter, so I use a Curves layer again:
RGB - Input: 123, Output: 135
Red - Input: 127, Output: 135
Green - Input: 124, Output: 130
Blue - Input: 255, Output: 255
I then use a Selective Color layer, set at 70% opacity to kind of enhance the reds/yellows. This layer doesn't actually make much of a difference though, so you can skip it.
Red: -13 +9 +9 +0
Yellow: -17 +12 +11 +0
I use another Color Balance layer to brighten the colors some more. (This is also where I realize, too late, that all my coloring steps are redundant. XD)
Midtones: +21 +19 +7
Shadows: +25 +24 +21
Highlights: +23 +19 +19
Make sure "Preserve Luminosity" is checked.
Then I merge everything down (Ctrl + Shift + E) and sharpen it.
I want a little more... diversity in texture, I guess, so I added a little gray streak, set at Normal, 40% opacity.
-->
-->
Next, I want to illuminate the icon with a light texture, so I go to one of my favorite light textures, rotate it, blur it with Gaussian Blur, 5 px, and set it to Screen, 100% opacity.
-->
-->
-->
-->
I don't want to obscure Juliet, and I want to make the light look like it's kind of swirling around her, so I use another Layer mask:
-->
I rotate the texture again and paste it, setting it to Screen, 100% opacity. This gives the icon some light in the bottom-left corner.
-->
I use another Layer mask:
-->
I then duplicate this layer, setting it to Screen, 30% opacity.
I use the light texture again, cropping and rotating it like so:
I paste it onto the icon and set it to Screen, 30% opacity.
-->
The icon is looking a bit washed out with all the light textures, so I paste the following texture and set it to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
-->
I add another Levels layer:
I only really want the layer to be applied to this part of the icon:
So I use another Layer mask, filling it in with black and using a white fuzzy brush to paint over the spot where I want the levels layer to show up:
-->
There's a white/washed-out part here that I don't really like:
So I paste the following texture, setting it to Hard Light, 100% opacity, and using a layer mask to erase most of the texture except for the part I want:
-->
-->
Now I use my last icon-brightening texture, setting it to Soft Light, 80% opacity.
-->
I use a Layer mask to remove the texture from the right half of the icon, where things are starting to look too magenta:
Here I use Selective Color again, but again, it's optional. I just want to enhance the blue in the top-right corner of the icon:
Cyans: +100 +100 +100 +100
I duplicate this layer twice, setting the first to 100% opacity and the second to 50% opacity.
I use a little white blob, set at Screen, 30% opacity, to add some light near Juliet's forehead.
-->
In the corner of the icon, it looks a bit bumpy/rough:
So I merge everything down (Ctrl + Shift + E), duplicate the layer, and smudge that part of the icon.
So that's it!
I hope this was helpful and/or not too long and boring! Please let me know if there are any problems or mistakes, thank you! :D
Cross-posted to icon_tutorial. Original icon can be found here. Please feel free to join/watch my icon community.
How to go from this and this to
(Created in Photoshop CS3. Translatable, I think; uses Curves and Color Balance, has a few optional Selective Color layers that are completely skippable. Tutorial is image-heavy and not at all concise.)
First, I crop and resize the first screencap:
I duplicate the layer and set it to Screen, 50% opacity.
To give it some contrast, I duplicate the layer again and set it to Soft Light, 70% opacity.
Next, I crop and resize the second screencap, and paste it on top:
Obviously, there's some stuff I want to get rid of:
So I use a layer mask, using a black brush to paint over the parts I don't want:
-->
The second cap is really dark, so I duplicate the layer twice, setting the first to Screen, 100% opacity and the second to Screen, 20% opacity.
To create some contrast, I duplicate the layer one more time and set it to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
I want to add a yellow-ish tint to part of the icon, so I use a Color Balance layer:
Midtones: -19 -5 -14
Shadows: -18 -11 -20
Highlights: +15 +19 +9
Make sure "Preserve Luminosity" is checked.
But I'm only really interested in adding that yellow tint to
<-- this part of the icon, so I use Layer Mask again.
-->
To brighten up the colors, I use a Curves layer:
RGB - Input: 122, Output: 143
Red - Input: 117, Output: 131
Green - Input: 125, Output: 131
Blue - Input: 255, Output: 255
Again, I'm only really interested in applying this to that bottom-right half, so I use another Layer mask:
Now I start filling up the surroundng white space. I first go back to the first screencap, crop out a piece of blue sky with clouds, and paste it on top of the icon:
-->
I use another Layer mask to get rid of the parts covering Juliet screencap #2:
I copy and paste the piece of the first creencap again, moving it to the left to cover up the white space there too.
-->
I use a Layer mask again to get rid of the parts covering Juliet:
There's still a sliver of white space in the top-left corner, so I copy the little piece of sky/tree, paste it, and then smudge the blue parts using a soft smudge brush at approximately 36 px diameter:
-->
-->
Again, I use a Layer mask to erase the parts covering Juliet:
I want to cover up some of the white space here:
So I copy a little bit of sky again and paste it there:
-->
I use a Layer mask to remove the sides and corners:
Finally, I copy a bit more of the sky and paste it on top:
-->
I used another Layer mask to remove parts of it to make it look more blended:
Now that the white space is covered, I can work on getting the coloring where I want it. I first use a Levels layer:
-->
To brighten up the top-ish half of the icon (here:
), I use another Curves layer:
RGB - Input: 116, Output: 134
Red - Input: 122, Output: 132
Green - Input: 124, Output: 130
Blue - Input: 255, Output: 255
... with a Layer mask:
Then I use Color Balance to brighten up the icon:
Midtones: +32 +26 +17
Shadows: +7 +8 +5
Highlights: +20 +14 +12
Make sure "Preserve Luminosity" is checked.
Then I paste the following texture, setting it to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
-->
To brighten the icon a tad more, I fill a new layer with #DCC18A, setting it to Soft Light, 20% opacity.
-->
I create another fill layer with #FFB594, also setting it to Soft Light, 20% opacity.
-->
I then paste the following texture, setting it to Soft Light, 30% opacity.
-->
It looks a bit plain, and I want to add something artsy to it. So I paste the following texture, setting it to Multiply, 100% opacity.
-->
I'm only really interested in keeping this part of the texture:
, minus the stuff closer to the center too. So I use another Layer mask:
I want to make everything brighter, so I use a Curves layer again:
RGB - Input: 123, Output: 135
Red - Input: 127, Output: 135
Green - Input: 124, Output: 130
Blue - Input: 255, Output: 255
I then use a Selective Color layer, set at 70% opacity to kind of enhance the reds/yellows. This layer doesn't actually make much of a difference though, so you can skip it.
Red: -13 +9 +9 +0
Yellow: -17 +12 +11 +0
I use another Color Balance layer to brighten the colors some more. (This is also where I realize, too late, that all my coloring steps are redundant. XD)
Midtones: +21 +19 +7
Shadows: +25 +24 +21
Highlights: +23 +19 +19
Make sure "Preserve Luminosity" is checked.
Then I merge everything down (Ctrl + Shift + E) and sharpen it.
I want a little more... diversity in texture, I guess, so I added a little gray streak, set at Normal, 40% opacity.
-->
-->
Next, I want to illuminate the icon with a light texture, so I go to one of my favorite light textures, rotate it, blur it with Gaussian Blur, 5 px, and set it to Screen, 100% opacity.
-->
-->
-->
-->
I don't want to obscure Juliet, and I want to make the light look like it's kind of swirling around her, so I use another Layer mask:
-->
I rotate the texture again and paste it, setting it to Screen, 100% opacity. This gives the icon some light in the bottom-left corner.
-->
I use another Layer mask:
-->
I then duplicate this layer, setting it to Screen, 30% opacity.
I use the light texture again, cropping and rotating it like so:
I paste it onto the icon and set it to Screen, 30% opacity.
-->
The icon is looking a bit washed out with all the light textures, so I paste the following texture and set it to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
-->
I add another Levels layer:
I only really want the layer to be applied to this part of the icon:
So I use another Layer mask, filling it in with black and using a white fuzzy brush to paint over the spot where I want the levels layer to show up:
-->
There's a white/washed-out part here that I don't really like:
So I paste the following texture, setting it to Hard Light, 100% opacity, and using a layer mask to erase most of the texture except for the part I want:
-->
-->
Now I use my last icon-brightening texture, setting it to Soft Light, 80% opacity.
-->
I use a Layer mask to remove the texture from the right half of the icon, where things are starting to look too magenta:
Here I use Selective Color again, but again, it's optional. I just want to enhance the blue in the top-right corner of the icon:
Cyans: +100 +100 +100 +100
I duplicate this layer twice, setting the first to 100% opacity and the second to 50% opacity.
I use a little white blob, set at Screen, 30% opacity, to add some light near Juliet's forehead.
-->
In the corner of the icon, it looks a bit bumpy/rough:
So I merge everything down (Ctrl + Shift + E), duplicate the layer, and smudge that part of the icon.
So that's it!
I hope this was helpful and/or not too long and boring! Please let me know if there are any problems or mistakes, thank you! :D
Cross-posted to icon_tutorial. Original icon can be found here. Please feel free to join/watch my icon community.