Tutorial
TO
In Short: Brightening/Lightening Icon Tutorial
Level Of Difficulty: Easy/Moderate (Follow the tut and you'll do fine!)
Translatable: No.
For Best Results: Try an image/cap with an overall light-colored theme (Dark clothing, backgrounds, etc usually don't have the best result). Try pairing reds and yellows for the best look!
BEFORE THIS STEP
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
AFTER THIS STEP
Crop & Sharpen your image to your preference.
Duplicate your image and set the top layer to screen. (Depending on your image, this may be too much and you may need to lower the opacity, or you may need to repeat this if your image is too dark) Merge ALL layers.
Create a new Levels Layer with the following settings:
2, 1.05, 225 (It is subtle now, but makes a difference in the end!)
Create a new Selective Color Layer with the following settings:
REDS: -35, 0, 0, 20
YELLOWS: 50, 0, -44, -40
Create a new Color Balance Layer using the following settings:
MIDTONES: 0, 0, -10
SHADOWS: -10, 0, 10
HIGHLIGHTS: 10, 5, -20
Create a new Selective Color Layer using the following settings:
REDS: -30, 10, 0, 5
YELLOWS: 0, -5, -10, -40
BLACKS: 100, 100, 100, 100
Create a new Color Balance Layer using the following settings:
MIDTONES:0, 0, -8
SHADOWS: 0, 0, -5
HIGHLIGHTS: 0, 0, -5
Add accents to the icon. I used this (by me) resized at 50% & set to Multiply
Then this (also by me) & this (made by sanami276) both set to screen (and lowered to preference).
TA-DA!
OTHER ICONS MADE WITH THIS TECHNIQUE:
Download PSD: SendSpace (83KB)