Tutorial: Lady Gaga
Go from this 
to this
As requested by library_of_sex
These are the textures I used.
(I didn't make them, but I don't want to dig through all my textures folders to find them all to give proper credit....)
T1 T2 T3
T4 T5 T6
First off, I cropped the image into the square I wanted, but b/c I made it such a wide shot, to fill in the background, I put a solid white layer underneath the picture. Then I flattened it into a new layer (ctrl+alt+shift+e)
The image is a bit blurry so:
Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen but that looked too sharp so
Edit>Fade Sharpen and I changed the value to about 70%
Next I added T1 and set it to the Color Burn blending mode
I really don't like that green splotch, so I added a layer mask and used a soft brush to cover it up
Next up, to change the lighting dynamic, I added T2 and set it to Overlay at 63% opacity.
Next I added T3, set to Color Burn at 30%. I didn't like how it looked when fully centered, so after playing with the positioning a bit I ended up placing it so it covered the left half of the icon.
So far, I'm really liking what is happening with the coloring, but the icon just looks really empty, so I add T4 for some framing. I have it set to Hard Light at 70% opacity.
So, that is starting the framing effect I wanted, but it kind of ruined the colors I had, so I added a layer mask and masked off the center of the icon
Then I added T5 and shifted it so the colorful lines were just in the lower-right corner. Then I made the layer into a clipping mask (right-click Create Clipping Mask).
The lightness of the border just wasn't feeling right to me, so I added a Levels layer: RGB 0, .37, 165. And made it a clipping mask too so it wouldn't affect the lighting of Gaga's face.
I didn't really like the blue color. One of my favorite things about the orig picture is Gaga's pink hair, so I wanted the icon to be mostly pink. So I added a Hue-Saturation layer: 93, 58, 0. I made this a clipping mask as well.
Next I added another T5 layer and shifted it so the color bars were in the bottom-left corner this time. I set it to Color Burn @ 72%
Another T5 layer, this time roated 180 degrees and centered it on the icon. I set it to multiply and it ended up being set at 10% opacity. It started out at more, but I lowered it after I'd added a few more layers.
I copied the roated T5 layer and shifted the color bars to the right side of the icon. I set it to Multiply again,but this time @ 33% opacity.
I copied that last layer and mirrored it, placing the color bars in the upper-left corner. This time upping the opacity to 45% (still on Multiply)
At this point I decided I want the icon to have a more symmetrical feel, so I added another T4 layer and mirrored it. I set it to Hard Light @ 70% opacity.
But again, this messed up my main colors, so I again made a layer mask.
And again to change the blue to pink I added a Hue/Sat layer (as a clipping mask): 98, 0, 0
Then I added a levels layer 0, 1.00, 253..... Which when looking at the PSD now, looks kind of useless. I really can't tell the difference with or w/o it... Whatever.
I wanted to make Gaga's face a bit lighter, so I made a blurry white splodge centered just to the right of her face and set the layer to Soft Light
I wanted the colors to be a bit (or a lot..) more intense, so I added a Hue/Sat layer and upped the saturation to +52
I wanted to make the pink a bit more on the purply/pink side, so I added a Curves layer. On the Blue curve I put a point at 201,107
But I thought this made it so Gaga didn't stand out enough, so I masked off the center of the curves layer.
Next I added T6 and shifted it a bit to the left so the black area was right over Gaga's face. I set it to Screen @ 83%
Then another T6 layer. I mirrored it and shofted it so it was only covering the pink strip on the right side of the icon. Set it to Screen, but at 100% opacity this time.
At this point it feels finished to me. But b/c the colors tend to lose a bit of their zip when going from Photoshop to the web, I added a Vibrance adjustment layer and up the vibrance to +60 and the saturation to +5.. And that's it. Done.
You can download the PSD file too if you want to have a better look.
OMG I AM SO SICK OF LOOKING AT THIS ICON NOW!
to this
As requested by library_of_sex
These are the textures I used.
(I didn't make them, but I don't want to dig through all my textures folders to find them all to give proper credit....)
T1 T2 T3
T4 T5 T6
First off, I cropped the image into the square I wanted, but b/c I made it such a wide shot, to fill in the background, I put a solid white layer underneath the picture. Then I flattened it into a new layer (ctrl+alt+shift+e)
The image is a bit blurry so:
Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen but that looked too sharp so
Edit>Fade Sharpen and I changed the value to about 70%
Next I added T1 and set it to the Color Burn blending mode
I really don't like that green splotch, so I added a layer mask and used a soft brush to cover it up
Next up, to change the lighting dynamic, I added T2 and set it to Overlay at 63% opacity.
Next I added T3, set to Color Burn at 30%. I didn't like how it looked when fully centered, so after playing with the positioning a bit I ended up placing it so it covered the left half of the icon.
So far, I'm really liking what is happening with the coloring, but the icon just looks really empty, so I add T4 for some framing. I have it set to Hard Light at 70% opacity.
So, that is starting the framing effect I wanted, but it kind of ruined the colors I had, so I added a layer mask and masked off the center of the icon
Then I added T5 and shifted it so the colorful lines were just in the lower-right corner. Then I made the layer into a clipping mask (right-click Create Clipping Mask).
The lightness of the border just wasn't feeling right to me, so I added a Levels layer: RGB 0, .37, 165. And made it a clipping mask too so it wouldn't affect the lighting of Gaga's face.
I didn't really like the blue color. One of my favorite things about the orig picture is Gaga's pink hair, so I wanted the icon to be mostly pink. So I added a Hue-Saturation layer: 93, 58, 0. I made this a clipping mask as well.
Next I added another T5 layer and shifted it so the color bars were in the bottom-left corner this time. I set it to Color Burn @ 72%
Another T5 layer, this time roated 180 degrees and centered it on the icon. I set it to multiply and it ended up being set at 10% opacity. It started out at more, but I lowered it after I'd added a few more layers.
I copied the roated T5 layer and shifted the color bars to the right side of the icon. I set it to Multiply again,but this time @ 33% opacity.
I copied that last layer and mirrored it, placing the color bars in the upper-left corner. This time upping the opacity to 45% (still on Multiply)
At this point I decided I want the icon to have a more symmetrical feel, so I added another T4 layer and mirrored it. I set it to Hard Light @ 70% opacity.
But again, this messed up my main colors, so I again made a layer mask.
And again to change the blue to pink I added a Hue/Sat layer (as a clipping mask): 98, 0, 0
Then I added a levels layer 0, 1.00, 253..... Which when looking at the PSD now, looks kind of useless. I really can't tell the difference with or w/o it... Whatever.
I wanted to make Gaga's face a bit lighter, so I made a blurry white splodge centered just to the right of her face and set the layer to Soft Light
I wanted the colors to be a bit (or a lot..) more intense, so I added a Hue/Sat layer and upped the saturation to +52
I wanted to make the pink a bit more on the purply/pink side, so I added a Curves layer. On the Blue curve I put a point at 201,107
But I thought this made it so Gaga didn't stand out enough, so I masked off the center of the curves layer.
Next I added T6 and shifted it a bit to the left so the black area was right over Gaga's face. I set it to Screen @ 83%
Then another T6 layer. I mirrored it and shofted it so it was only covering the pink strip on the right side of the icon. Set it to Screen, but at 100% opacity this time.
At this point it feels finished to me. But b/c the colors tend to lose a bit of their zip when going from Photoshop to the web, I added a Vibrance adjustment layer and up the vibrance to +60 and the saturation to +5.. And that's it. Done.
You can download the PSD file too if you want to have a better look.
OMG I AM SO SICK OF LOOKING AT THIS ICON NOW!