tutorial #3;
FROM THIS TO 
OR
1 » Find your image. I chose THIS image of Jimi Hendrix. Because this image isn't of the best quality I decided that doing an icon of his entire body would be best (when you shrink your images they become much softer and lose some pixelation you may see when in full size).
2 » I passed the image into a new canvas and went to IMAGE » CANVAS SIZE » CHANGE THE MEASUREMENT FROM INCHES TO PIXELS » 600 x 600 pixels. I find that making the canvas a square makes turning it into a 100 x 100 pixel icon much easier later.
3 » Move the image around a little on the canvas. I chose to put Jimi to the far right because part of his left arm is cut off.
4 » And now the part that I have most trouble with. There are many, MANY different ways to extend the background and usually I mix it up depending on the picture. For this one, I chose not to do the whole 'stretching the background upwards so it fills up the whole canvas'. I took the CLONE TOOL, and with a 50-100 px brush (it depends upon your image), began to brush the background around so it filled the entire space. I actually airbrushed a little of Jimi's right arm, but that's OK. The textures later help to make this blend better.
5 » Resize the image to a 100 x 100 icon when you feel satisfied. I added only a small coloring, giving it a more magenta look and sharped it (fade sharpen at around 49%). I now have this.
Blah.
6 » Texture time! Take this flowery texture by nivani and set it liner burn at 45%. This adds a yellow tone to the image, erasing a good deal of the blues and magentas.
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7 » Next is a gradient also by nivani set at screen 100%. This helps to brighten the image up and give an overall yellow look to Jimi.
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8 » Next is a soft texture by jonahday set to luminosity at 16%. This dulls out the contrast but keeps the color.
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9 » Again, another light texture, this one by drankmywar. Set it to Soft Light 100%. This aids in giving light to a particular section of the icon and also changes the coloring a bit making it a tad more redish orange.
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10 » I notice wayyy too much orange and red, so a color balance layer should fix this.
MIDTONES : 0 / -38 / +37
SHADOWS : -53 / +20 / +38
HIGHLIGHTS : 0 / 0 / 0
Finally, there are some more cooler colors in the icon!
11 » Our last step is to even out the icon as a whole and may it look a bit prettier. For this I turn to this icon texture by drankmywar and smudge it a bit to my liking, setting it to Hard Light at 69%.
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12 » This is the end of the road if you don't wish to pursue the black and white look. If you are looking to see how to do that, the last few steps should be easy. To start, go to LAYER » NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER » GRADIENT MAP » BLACK+WHITE
13 » Next, is a small curves layer in the RGB Channel only.
Bottom point : 0 / 21
Next point : 93 / 29
Next point : 158 / 105
Next point : 202 / 172
Top Point : 255 / 240
14 » Our last step for everyone is a brightness + contrast layer.
Brightness : -6
Contrast : -10
Tah-dah! Your new icon. Please remember, use this solely as a guide.
OR
1 » Find your image. I chose THIS image of Jimi Hendrix. Because this image isn't of the best quality I decided that doing an icon of his entire body would be best (when you shrink your images they become much softer and lose some pixelation you may see when in full size).
2 » I passed the image into a new canvas and went to IMAGE » CANVAS SIZE » CHANGE THE MEASUREMENT FROM INCHES TO PIXELS » 600 x 600 pixels. I find that making the canvas a square makes turning it into a 100 x 100 pixel icon much easier later.
3 » Move the image around a little on the canvas. I chose to put Jimi to the far right because part of his left arm is cut off.
4 » And now the part that I have most trouble with. There are many, MANY different ways to extend the background and usually I mix it up depending on the picture. For this one, I chose not to do the whole 'stretching the background upwards so it fills up the whole canvas'. I took the CLONE TOOL, and with a 50-100 px brush (it depends upon your image), began to brush the background around so it filled the entire space. I actually airbrushed a little of Jimi's right arm, but that's OK. The textures later help to make this blend better.
5 » Resize the image to a 100 x 100 icon when you feel satisfied. I added only a small coloring, giving it a more magenta look and sharped it (fade sharpen at around 49%). I now have this.
Blah.
6 » Texture time! Take this flowery texture by nivani and set it liner burn at 45%. This adds a yellow tone to the image, erasing a good deal of the blues and magentas.
=
7 » Next is a gradient also by nivani set at screen 100%. This helps to brighten the image up and give an overall yellow look to Jimi.
=
8 » Next is a soft texture by jonahday set to luminosity at 16%. This dulls out the contrast but keeps the color.
=
9 » Again, another light texture, this one by drankmywar. Set it to Soft Light 100%. This aids in giving light to a particular section of the icon and also changes the coloring a bit making it a tad more redish orange.
=
10 » I notice wayyy too much orange and red, so a color balance layer should fix this.
MIDTONES : 0 / -38 / +37
SHADOWS : -53 / +20 / +38
HIGHLIGHTS : 0 / 0 / 0
Finally, there are some more cooler colors in the icon!
11 » Our last step is to even out the icon as a whole and may it look a bit prettier. For this I turn to this icon texture by drankmywar and smudge it a bit to my liking, setting it to Hard Light at 69%.
=
12 » This is the end of the road if you don't wish to pursue the black and white look. If you are looking to see how to do that, the last few steps should be easy. To start, go to LAYER » NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER » GRADIENT MAP » BLACK+WHITE
13 » Next, is a small curves layer in the RGB Channel only.
Bottom point : 0 / 21
Next point : 93 / 29
Next point : 158 / 105
Next point : 202 / 172
Top Point : 255 / 240
14 » Our last step for everyone is a brightness + contrast layer.
Brightness : -6
Contrast : -10
Tah-dah! Your new icon. Please remember, use this solely as a guide.