Tutorial One

[jaune]

A couple of people were asking about how I colored my icons, here's my first tutorial.


to

I've been using these steps for most of my icons, especially the Criminal Minds ones because the caps tend to be dark.



1. Crop your icon.



2. Duplicate your base layer twice. Ctrl + J twice. Keyboard shortcuts are love! I usually do this step last, it's easier to judge how many screen layers you want in the end.



3. Screen the duplicated layers.



4. Add a Selective Color Layer. Layers -> New Adjustment Layer -> Selective Color.
Input these settings.

Reds
Cyan -100

Yellows
Cyan +100
Magenta +100
Yellow +100
Black -12

Neutrals
Cyan +50
Yellow +40
Black -20
Change the fill to 60%.



5. Add a Color Balance Layer. Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Color Balance.
Input the following.

Midtones
+35
-20
+45

Highlights
-30
0
-20



6. Add another Color Balance Layer. Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Color Balance.

Midtones
+60
0
-60



7. Add a Hue/Saturation Layer. Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Hue/Saturation. This step isn't that noticable, but it helps brighten your icon a bit.

Master
Saturation +10
Lightness +10



8. Finally add one last Selective Color Layer. Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Selective Color.

Reds
Cyan -100
Yellow +100

Yellows
Cyan +100
Yellow -40

Neutrals
Cyan +100
Yellow -40

Coloring done, add text, textures, etc.

Examples using this technique with slight variatons: