Ask the Maker: a black and white guide. sorta.
If you haven't read part one, I would recommend that you do so here for a more in depth look at the processes I go through to achieve certain lighting effects because I don't plan to re-hash them in detail here. I also recommend that you read this tutorial by justmyb0nes because it is most excellent!
SCREENCAP CHOICE
I prefer icons with a lot of black in them when I'm making black and white icons. This means that, typically, screencaps that a darkly lit or that have a great deal of natural shadow already work best for the dramatic lighting that I prefer in my black and white creations. Bright screencaps, when you are making a colored icon, have a lot of potential for adding new colors and such, but color doesn't enter into the final product of a black and white icon, so you have to look for other things.
the final product from part one with a gradient map | the final product from part one with a gradient map and two curves layers + more diffuse glow
Part One of the guide dealt with color, and I thought the final result was pretty. I probably would have posted it. However, as you can see, it wasn't a ready made black and white icon. With a little tweaking (namely adding contrast), I've made a decent black and white icon. It is fairly regular though, and while I would probably call it a keeper, it isn't really striking.
So, usually, the better black and white icons--and by better I just mean the ones that have that something extra, the ones that pop--come from screencaps that allow for dramatics. Look for things that have an interesting light source or an interesting, dominant shadow.
This is my base for today. It was chosen because a) potential for an interesting crop which helps with black and white icons because, again, no color to distract you, b) it had a large shadow on the left which opened up doors for lovely contrast, and c) the right side is fairly light which will work to balance out (b).
CONTRAST
There are lots of ways to add contrast to your icon, as I am sure all of you know. I'm just going to run through a few of them pretty quickly so show how I build up contrast as I go through the motions of making an icon. I'm going to skip some of the lighting and coloring steps because the lighting steps are explained in part one and coloring is something I'll save for icon specific tutorials. So keep in mind that there are steps in between these different methods.
AUTO [LEVELS/CONTRAST/TONE]
Some people don't like the auto settings, some people do. Personally, I do. It does take some manipulating to get them to work just right for each particular screencap, but they can be invaluable. This particular layer was Auto Contrast set on soft light to darken the shadows on the cap.
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SOFT LIGHT
After going through the motions of the previously explained screen layers, I needed to stamp all my layers and set them to soft light to reduce some of the glow and add contrast back into the icon.
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VARIATIONS
Not just for coloring! Although, typically, I do both brightening/darkening and coloring with variations at the same time. Here I've added some cooler tones while also darkening the icon a good deal.
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CURVES
Contrast isn't just about the darker parts of the icon; it has to do with the lighter parts as well. After throwing on a very blurred light texture (by mm3butterfly again), I needed to preserve the luminosity while still darkening up portions in the lighter area of the icon.
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MORE VARIATIONS
More variations for color, but again I've darkened the icon a good deal so that the shadows stay deep. I've also gotten rid of most of the glow that was created earlier on which probably seems counterproductive, but eh, I'll be adding it back in later!
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LIGHT TEXTURES
Everything is a little flat right now which means, in order to spice things up and also to balance out the lovely shadows that are present, I need some extra light. As explained in part one, this means throwing on random textures on screen. Both textures are by mm3butterfly.
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The first texture lightens up the shadows just a tad while adding some, well, texture to the whole deal which, in my opinion, is something black and white icons benefit from. The second texture adds some light to the right side of the icon in a very big way which balances out the shadows nicely. I've also added some vibrance, a little auto contrast, and I've sharpened things to finish off.
GRADIENT MAPS
There are several ways to grey scale your icon. Personally, I'm a gradient map kind of girl. Of all the methods, this is the only one I've found that preserves the contrast of your icon.
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Fortunately, this icon had enough dramatics going on pre-gradient map that it doesn't need more tweaking from here. However, this isn't always the case.
OTHER TIPS
- Light colors don't always make for good black and white icons. In the Amy example from the previous section of the guide, the yellow portion of the icon came out rather grey and lifeless when the gradient map was applied. If you're icon is entirely light colors like this, you'll end up with a duller, grey middle of the road black and white icon. Darker colors or, I guess, deeper colors and shades are going to suit better if you're going for a dark black and white with a lot of dramatic blacks.
If you do end up with something that is middle of the road once you add your gradient map, keep working! Use curves or variations or textures to help guide you!
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Before the gradient map, Dean was this candy rainbow mess which is, uh, kind of why I went for black and white here. However, just adding a gradient map wasn't enough to really kick start the icon. The shadows were kind of 'eh', and the light source was overwhelming all the blacks. So to remedy that, I grabbed a texture (I think it is by Cece again, you guys, but I can't remember?) and set it to soft light to emphasize the light in the left section while darkening the shadows on the right.
- Go for the extremes! Adding in extreme light or going for a really deep and overwhelming shadow can help your black and white icon where it might hurt a color icon. Remember, you don't have color to distract people's eyes so you need to give them something else to look at which is why I tend to add grungy textures or a really dramatic light source. Diffuse glow is really helpful in both cases.
- Balance helps! If you've got a really dark shadow on one side of the icon, try for a bright light source on the other side. I, personally, really like splitting faces into halves like this.
- Textures: Things that have wispy light are fantastic! Some examples:
tinebrella (used to make this Sherlock icon) | mm3butterfly | tinebrella | erzsebet
raiindust | innocent_lexys | endearest | mm3butterfly
De-saturating your favorite colored light texture is definitely a good idea. I also find that some textures, especially, those with subtle grunge aspects, can be too bright so using variations or curves on the texture to darken it can really help.
- Up until the gradient map, everything was in color so I can see why you might wonder how this even qualifies as a black and white guide. Mostly, I think, it is important to treat black and white and color in a similar fashion. Adding colors and contrast to your icon before you turn it black and white will help your contrast and thus your overall look in the end. Every black and white icon starts out as a colored one, after all!
And that's a wrap! Hopefully this helps those of your who requested to see a light/shadow guide and tips on black and white icons. Please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have them!
- Ask questions if you need to!
- Ask the maker thread
- Adding this guide to rec lists and such is fine as long as you link back to me!
- Rewind to part one: color.