Ask the maker 6.0 || Tutorial #01
Welcome to my first icon tutorial ever (at least on LJ)!
This tutorial was requested by damsiedam whom I thank very much for liking one of my icons, LOL
Sadly I don't have the PSD for this icon and I don't have any idea why, BUT I've been able to reconstruct my steps anyways, so...
Before starting with the tutorial I wanna add that I don't usually follow this steps that for me are backwards. Let me explain: I usually prepare my base, then blend and adjust the colors, then use some textures -or not- and at the end I put some text on.
In this icon I had to follow different steps since it was made for a contest so I got it backwards: preparation, color, texture, font, blend. And that's why the text part is a little bit messy, at least for me, in the end.
#01 Base
This is the picture I started with. First of all I did what I always do: adjust the lights and shadows.
And to do so I just duplicate my base layer -after I decided the crop- and duplicate it to set it on Screen - usually I leave it at 100% but it depends on the image.
In this case I had this layer on 100% another one, always on Screen at 50% and then a copy on Soft Light around the 31% to bring back the dark areas.
After this little procedure I cut out the background. I follow two methods to cut it out: when I decide to cut it at the beginning I just use the Quick Mask and select my subject, inverse the selection and erease everything out of it OR I just paint the background with my soft brush.
In this case, since I had my base prepared, I colored the background with this (#406d6b) green/blue-ish color and the base was ready to be colored.
#02 Coloring Part
In this case the coloring part was very poor, at least for my standards. I usually like to play around with colors and brushes and stuff, but in this case I left it simple.
I took my soft brush and added lights on the sides because the base was very dull. And then I used the Brightness and Contrast Filter bringing them to +36 and +26 so it wasn't dark and dead anymore.
I really love this Filter because it helps me to bring lights and dark to the icon. I really use it all the time to adjust everything I did. Sometimes I even use it in the end to bring out more what I've done.
#03 Adding Text
Text is my thing. I don't mean it like "I can use it well", I just mean it like "I can't do anything without it". Since it was always my weakness I tried so hard during this year to use it properly that I basically put it everywhere now since every icon of mine looks so empty when I don't.
In this case I also had to, so XD
I decided that I wanted to play it safe this time so I used it as a background-filler (like I do soooo many times - lazy me).
The font I used is INTRO (you can find it here) which is one of my favorites in this period -which means I'm using it everywhere- with the color #4e8881 (when I have to add text I usually pick the color with the Eyedropper using hair color, background color, subject colors in general) and I wrote all over the icon the phrase "lost in a fairytale" which I find perfect for Babydoll.
I know I could just drag my text layer back but I rarely do that because I prefer erasing it from the subject in the eventual case I'd like to leave some letters on it.
So I just pick my layers, throw them in a group, add a layer mask and erease the letters I don't want to see anymore.
In this case, by doing so, the lights don't go on the text so you can still read it just fine.
#04 Time for some textures!
I don't usually use a lot of textures -because I really don't know how to use them XD
Before we go on with the tutorial I wanna say this: I'm a terrible person because I'm lazy as shit and I never remember to save my textures with the name of the maker on it so I don't have any idea where this textures come from and I am so so terribly sorry. If you're reading this and you know who made them please let me know so I can add the credits >.<
Since I don't have the PSD I'm not entirely sure of which textures I used but, by looking at the background I think I got it right XD
When I use textures I always look for something for the background first and then all the rest.
In this case, for the background, I used this texture xxx -which I love so much- on Screen and with a Layer Mask I ereased BabyDoll from it.
I still wasn't quite happy with it so I tried this texture xxx (from this pack) also on Screen 100% and I thought it worked well so I just ereased again Babydoll from it and that was it :P
(Man, I really don't know how to play around with textures T_T)
#05 Let's blend it in
Okay this is the part where I have more hard times rememebering what I did exactly so take it as it is knowing it is not the exact thing I did. I'm so sorry >.<
This is the second cap which I ended up using as a background.
What I did is: drag it under all the layers, except the background one and I blended it in the lazy way: putting it on Screen 100%
At this point the image was almost invisible so what I did was duplicate it 4 or 5 times, leaving it on Screen till I could see the image pretty enough.
Yeah I know, lamest blend ever xD
And that's really all I did, I didn't even had to change the colors on the image, it fitted perfectly by it self :3
When I don't have this luck I work on the cap already cropped in and I just work on a group with inside my blended 2nd image and work on the group by using the clipping masks until I get the caps to look as similar as possibile and then I color them together.
But, as I said this icon was made backward XD
That's all, thank you for reading this, I hope it was helpful :3
This are my six steps all together, so you can see the progress of the icon :P
xoxo,
Tris
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