Tutorial #03
This is the third tutorial for "Ask The Maker 4.0". It was requested by tor_na_do.
You can find the first two tutorials here.
Just a few things before we get started:
Program: Photoshop CS5. I work with Vibrance, but you can use Hue/Saturation, if you don't have Vibrance.
Difficulty: Medium
About choosing pics/screencaps: I've already talked about this in the other tutorial, so just click on the shiny link above.
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The icon we'll recreate is this one of Kwon Yuri from the Korean idol group SNSD (picture):
I chose this pic, because not only does Yuri look incredibly gorgeous in it, but I also really like the contrast between her white dress/hat (or whatever this monstrositiy is supposed to be) and the dark background. But if you look at the original pic, the background is far from perfect. There are some dark spots and the brown is also pretty ugly, but don't worry, we'll work this out.
STEP 1
Open a new file and create a 100x100 canvas with a white background. Drag the picture over and arrange it.
Well...not perfect, but close enough to the original crop!
STEP 2
First duplicate your base (Layer - Duplicate Layer) and set it to Soft Light (Opacity 85% ). Now go to Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur (about 5 pixel). This step creates a softer look.
STEP 3
Now we'll use some textures that will help us to get rid of the ugly brown background.
Just a warning: I use a lot of textures. There is always this tiny (or not so tiny) voice in the back of my head, who screams says: "Will you stop using so many textures, girl?!" But I've successfully ignored it so far.
I just can't help it! I'm a texture junkie and love using textures, because you can do so many awesome things with them (colouring, effects, lighten/darken icons, blah blah blah...).
These are the texture we'll use:
1.
by me
2.
by azuremonkey
3.
4.
and 5.
by me
Set the first four to Soft Light (100% - 35% - 65% - 35%) and the last one to Screen (15%).
The background is now a bit lighter and even. Also, Yuri's skin doesn't have this yellowish-green touch anymore.
STEP 4
The problem now is that the icon looks horribly dull, because it has not a lot of colour. Let's add a Vibrance Layer to change that (if you don't have Vibrance, you can use Hue/Saturation). Opacity is 75%.
That's certainly better, but still not satisfying, because there are some green spots on the background.
STEP 5
To solve this problem, we'll first use a texture and then a Curves Layer.
by lookslikerain
Set it to Soft Light (55%).
Not only did this texture help us to get rid of the green spots, but we also added some structure to the background with it.
What I don't like are the two lines on the left and right side that are visible on the icon now. So let's take the Smudge tool (about 15 pixel) and carefully smudge the lines outwards.
before after
And now add the Curves Layer with this setting: RGB 227 / 206 with 65% Opacity.
STEP 6
The green spots are gone, but the icon is far too bright and Yuri's skin also has an ugly pinkish touch. But I'm certain that my friends - the textures - will help us out again.
We'll add five textures (NO, that's not too many!), which will help to darken Yuri's skin/background, even out the background and give the whole icon some contrast. See~~ how useful textures are?!
1.
2.
3.
4.
by me
2.
by ? (please tell me, if you know!)
Set the first texture to "Exclusion" (80%) and the others to Soft Light (100% - 100% - 60% - 100%).
before after
STEP 7
The colouring is okay now, just a bit too bright, but that can easily be changed with a Curves Layer. But before that: I just realised that some scan lines are visible in the back now:
They were there before, but you couldn't see them so well. I just checked and yes, they're also visible on the original icon (Darn it!), but hey, I can change that now! It's actually very easy.
STEP 8
The reason why I chose the textuse below is, because it will not only get rid of the lines, but make the Curves Layer I used on the original icon unnecessary. Why? Because the texture will also darken the icon and give it more vibrance. So by applying this texture, we'll kill two birds with one stone!
Use this texture:
Set it to Soft Light (100%) and here we go:
STEP 9
Now select all layers and go to Layer - Merge. After doing this, you should have one base again.Duplicate the base and set it to Soft Light (75%) - Gaussian Blur (5,5 pixel). Merge again and sharpen.
The next step is completely optional!
STEP 10
If you look at the original icon, you'll see that there is a border at the bottom. Back when I made the icon, I thought it would look good, but we all make mistakes.
I'll still show you how I did it. It's simple.
Select a part of the background - best will be the space between Yuri's arm and the right side of the icon:
Then go to Edit - Copy - Paste. Turn the new layer 90% (Edit - Transform) and arrange it at the bottom.
Yes, the border looks horribly out of place, because it takes the focus off the actual subject of the icon - gorgeous Yuri.
For comparison:
original icon new icon
Wow, the original one looks pretty terrible compared to the new one, which hopefully means that my graphic skills got better since I made the left icon!
Concrit? Comments? Death threats (because I suck at explaining!)? Leave them down below!
Thank you for reading!