tutorial #3: Orange Community
So today I made the Annie tutorial that spiderlin requested at icon_talk 's ask the maker thread.
I couldn't recreate the exact same icon because I didn't save the psd. but I hope you find it useful anyway. Also I don't know why I tend to make a lot of layers lately so this is going to be long,
We are going from (this screencap)
to
I hope you enjoy it ;)
So let's begin, the first thing you have to do is to crop your image to a 100x100 icon, or resize it and copy it on a 100x100 canvas. I don't usually crop my images because this way I can resize as many times as I want until I get the desired result and compare different "sizes" to se which one fits best.
It's not like I don't like Abed but I think that Annie's expression was the key of the screencap and I wanted to focus more on that, the thing is that I also liked the squared background because it was almost like a texture, so insted of making a super close crop of her face made a center one so I could have everything. But enough of boring ramblings, let's start for real!
1# After you've cropped your image, duplicate your base 3 times, set the bottom two to screen and the top one to soft light with an opaccity of 48%, then make a curves layer with only one point (RGB: input:158 output:130)
>>
>>
2# Now make a color balance layer (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Color Balance) with the following settings:
Shadows: +30 // +12 // +8
Midtones: +52 // +5 // -23
>>
3# Add a gradient layer with this color (#fce4d7) change the opacity to 95% and the fill to 79%
+
=
Now merge the layers (Cntrl+Alt+Shift+E) in a new layer and set it to multiply
Her face now looks out of focus and it's too dark so, duplicate the base layer AND the curves layer from before, merge them togheter and drag it to the top, now set it to screen with 40% of oppacity (better now :))
>>
4# Now you will make TWO selective coloring layers (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Selective Coloring) with the following settings:
1º LAYER:
*Red: -9 // 0 // -33 // 0
*Yellows: -26 // 0 // 50 // 0
*Neutrals: -10 // 0 // +27 // 0
2ºLAYER
*Red: -18 // 0 // -12 // 0
*Yellows: -20 // 0 // 58 // 0
*Neutrals: +13 // 0 // +21 // 0
And then add a vibrance layer (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Vibrance) with vibrance +93 and saturation 0, then sharpen it, don't worry if it's to sharp I'll fix that later.
>>
>>
>>
5# Add a new curves layer with the following settings:
RED:
1ºpoint: output: 49 input: 0
2ºpoint: output: 61 input: 33
3ºpoint: output: 176 input: 196
BLUE
1ºpoint: output: 20 input: 15
The image, looks to green now so I added a new color balance layer and played arround with the midtones
Settings:
cyan: +52 // magenta: 0 // yellow: +3
>>
Now the icon looked already pretty to me, but I don't know why...I went crazy with light blobs so...there's that...
6# Add a few withe blobs to the top of the image and blur them with gaussian blur ( Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur ) set it to overlay with 46% opacity and 49% fill
+
=
Now add a orange fill layer with this orange (# f0a21a) duplicate it three times, set the first one to hard light (op:54% fill:47%), the second to multiply (op:13% fill:43%), and the third to hard light too but erase a bit of the top of it (op:22% fill: 25%)
+
+
=
Merge the layers in a new layer on top, and blur it a bit with gaussian blur, set the layer to multiply (op:14% fill: 100%)
+
=
From now on, everything will be slight changes and it will depend on the darkness/quality of your image.
7# Go to (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Exposure) and change the settings to:
*Exposure: +0.10
*Offset: 0.0078
*Gamma: 1.00
The exposure tool saves my life so many times, you can change, the brightness and the contrast of the background and the subject as you like, and it gets more balanced than with brightness and contrast layer / IMO.
Then, with this reddish color (#700404) paint the lower part of the icon and erase the parts that cover Annie, then set it to soft light (op: 28% fill: 45%) this way the color on the lower side will pop out more while the top part keeps the light:
+
=
8# More blobs, this time merge your layer on top, and put the blobs directly on Annie, I placed two on the top part of the icon, one on the left corner and a smaller one near her head and set it to normal op: 25% fill 58%, then sharpen your image.
+
=
Now the image it might be too sharp, if so go to filter >> blur >> gaussian blur, and tweak it a bit, then set the opacity to 51% and the fill to 27%.
+
=
Now add more withe blobs on the lower part, I added two (as shown below) and set the layer to soft light (op: 28% fill: 34%), then added a new fill layer with a light brown color (#ac5b0a) and set it to multiply (op: 24% fill: 21%).
+
+
=
9# Then add a new white layer and erase the parts that cover Annie an set them to soft light (op: 20% fill: 54%), then add another blob this time maken a withe line from the half right of the icon to the middle top part like shown below and blur them as allways set it to soft light too (op: 21% fill: 51%), the important part of the light blobs is that makes the color lighter in the points you want, you can make as many as you want fittin the capture you've got.
+
+
=
10# And finally add yet another withe blob on the bottom left setting it to soft light (op: 92% fill: 57%) and make a gradient with orange and black, like the one shown below, then set it to soft light (op: 22% fill: 42%)
+
=
I know it's a really really long tutorial again, but I tend to make my icons with lots of layers, you could probably stop at the middle of the tutorial and save yourself so many light blobs, but I was trying to recreate the original icon and that's the closest thing I got hence...the never ending layers, but it's okay that way it kind of works as a "texture" guide or somehting, because you can see the different results.
Anyway, I hope this was usefull to all of you and please, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions ;)
I couldn't recreate the exact same icon because I didn't save the psd. but I hope you find it useful anyway. Also I don't know why I tend to make a lot of layers lately so this is going to be long,
We are going from (this screencap)
to
I hope you enjoy it ;)
So let's begin, the first thing you have to do is to crop your image to a 100x100 icon, or resize it and copy it on a 100x100 canvas. I don't usually crop my images because this way I can resize as many times as I want until I get the desired result and compare different "sizes" to se which one fits best.
It's not like I don't like Abed but I think that Annie's expression was the key of the screencap and I wanted to focus more on that, the thing is that I also liked the squared background because it was almost like a texture, so insted of making a super close crop of her face made a center one so I could have everything. But enough of boring ramblings, let's start for real!
1# After you've cropped your image, duplicate your base 3 times, set the bottom two to screen and the top one to soft light with an opaccity of 48%, then make a curves layer with only one point (RGB: input:158 output:130)
>>
>>
2# Now make a color balance layer (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Color Balance) with the following settings:
Shadows: +30 // +12 // +8
Midtones: +52 // +5 // -23
>>
3# Add a gradient layer with this color (#fce4d7) change the opacity to 95% and the fill to 79%
+
=
Now merge the layers (Cntrl+Alt+Shift+E) in a new layer and set it to multiply
Her face now looks out of focus and it's too dark so, duplicate the base layer AND the curves layer from before, merge them togheter and drag it to the top, now set it to screen with 40% of oppacity (better now :))
>>
4# Now you will make TWO selective coloring layers (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Selective Coloring) with the following settings:
1º LAYER:
*Red: -9 // 0 // -33 // 0
*Yellows: -26 // 0 // 50 // 0
*Neutrals: -10 // 0 // +27 // 0
2ºLAYER
*Red: -18 // 0 // -12 // 0
*Yellows: -20 // 0 // 58 // 0
*Neutrals: +13 // 0 // +21 // 0
And then add a vibrance layer (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Vibrance) with vibrance +93 and saturation 0, then sharpen it, don't worry if it's to sharp I'll fix that later.
>>
>>
>>
5# Add a new curves layer with the following settings:
RED:
1ºpoint: output: 49 input: 0
2ºpoint: output: 61 input: 33
3ºpoint: output: 176 input: 196
BLUE
1ºpoint: output: 20 input: 15
The image, looks to green now so I added a new color balance layer and played arround with the midtones
Settings:
cyan: +52 // magenta: 0 // yellow: +3
>>
Now the icon looked already pretty to me, but I don't know why...I went crazy with light blobs so...there's that...
6# Add a few withe blobs to the top of the image and blur them with gaussian blur ( Filter >> Blur >> Gaussian Blur ) set it to overlay with 46% opacity and 49% fill
+
=
Now add a orange fill layer with this orange (# f0a21a) duplicate it three times, set the first one to hard light (op:54% fill:47%), the second to multiply (op:13% fill:43%), and the third to hard light too but erase a bit of the top of it (op:22% fill: 25%)
+
+
=
Merge the layers in a new layer on top, and blur it a bit with gaussian blur, set the layer to multiply (op:14% fill: 100%)
+
=
From now on, everything will be slight changes and it will depend on the darkness/quality of your image.
7# Go to (Layer >> New Adjustment Layer >> Exposure) and change the settings to:
*Exposure: +0.10
*Offset: 0.0078
*Gamma: 1.00
The exposure tool saves my life so many times, you can change, the brightness and the contrast of the background and the subject as you like, and it gets more balanced than with brightness and contrast layer / IMO.
Then, with this reddish color (#700404) paint the lower part of the icon and erase the parts that cover Annie, then set it to soft light (op: 28% fill: 45%) this way the color on the lower side will pop out more while the top part keeps the light:
+
=
8# More blobs, this time merge your layer on top, and put the blobs directly on Annie, I placed two on the top part of the icon, one on the left corner and a smaller one near her head and set it to normal op: 25% fill 58%, then sharpen your image.
+
=
Now the image it might be too sharp, if so go to filter >> blur >> gaussian blur, and tweak it a bit, then set the opacity to 51% and the fill to 27%.
+
=
Now add more withe blobs on the lower part, I added two (as shown below) and set the layer to soft light (op: 28% fill: 34%), then added a new fill layer with a light brown color (#ac5b0a) and set it to multiply (op: 24% fill: 21%).
+
+
=
9# Then add a new white layer and erase the parts that cover Annie an set them to soft light (op: 20% fill: 54%), then add another blob this time maken a withe line from the half right of the icon to the middle top part like shown below and blur them as allways set it to soft light too (op: 21% fill: 51%), the important part of the light blobs is that makes the color lighter in the points you want, you can make as many as you want fittin the capture you've got.
+
+
=
10# And finally add yet another withe blob on the bottom left setting it to soft light (op: 92% fill: 57%) and make a gradient with orange and black, like the one shown below, then set it to soft light (op: 22% fill: 42%)
+
=
I know it's a really really long tutorial again, but I tend to make my icons with lots of layers, you could probably stop at the middle of the tutorial and save yourself so many light blobs, but I was trying to recreate the original icon and that's the closest thing I got hence...the never ending layers, but it's okay that way it kind of works as a "texture" guide or somehting, because you can see the different results.
Anyway, I hope this was usefull to all of you and please, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions ;)