How to go from this
to this
This is a simple icon tutorial that was made using Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8. I think you should be able to get the same results with Adobe Photoshop or with other versions of Paint Shop Pro.
1. First, choose a base. I'm using this image of Kaji Aoi from Kiniro no Corda 2.
2. Duplicate your base layer and set it to Soft Light.
3. Duplicate again, and set your new layer to Soft Light also.
4. Go to Adjust --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur, and set it to 2.
5. Add some text, if you want. I used the kanji for Kaji's name. Your icon is now finished!
If this tutorial was helpful to you, please leave me a comment! I would love to see your results!