.048
TUTORIAL .01
requested by library_of_sex
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using adobe photoshop CS
ZERO
The first thing I always do is make the cap workable by brightening the image and adding contrast. I take this cap, duplicate it and set it to soft light, then duplicate the base again and set it to screen, ending up with this:
(I usually do it the other way around--screen then soft light--I don't know why I did things differently here...I must have been experimenting)
ONE
I wanted to make a negative space/centered icon so I resize it to fit in a 100x100 canvas.
TWO
Then I add a layer mask to remove the background
THREE
I decide to use a texture by pandavirus, rotate 90 degrees clockwise (image > rotate canvas) and place it under the cap
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FOUR
The colors were a bit dull so I increase the saturation by 50 (layer > new adjustment layer > hue/saturation)
FIVE
I usually like to go overboard with saturation and then tone it down next so that's what I do with a levels layer (layer > new adjustment layer > levels)
SIX
It needed a little sharpening so I create a new layer, then stamp the image on it (ctrl+alt+shift+e) and use the sharpen filter (filter > sharpen). I'm always afraid of over sharpening so I fade sharpen 50% (edit > fade sharpen), then lower the opacity to 66%
SEVEN
I wasn't feeling how red the image was so I use a selective color adjustment layer (layer > new adjustment layer > selective color) and play with it a bit until I'm happy
EIGHT
Obviously, the icon isn't finished yet so it's time for more textures! I pick another texture (still by pandavirus), place it on top of the image and set it to soft light but the effect is not very obvious so I duplicate it (still set soft light). This time the colors were too strong for my liking so I duplicate the texture again and set the blending mode to saturation and lower the opacity to 50%
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NINE
But the icon is still too blue and not to mention, flat. so I make a color balance layer (layer > new adjustment layer > color balance) to get more reds and yellows and magentas.
at this point I'd like to say that I honestly don't know what I'm doing with coloring most of the time so I just experiment and hope it leads me to a good result. lol. but yeah, basically I use levels and color balance to get richer colors, and selective colors if there's a particular color I want to change/control. I rarely use curves layer for coloring. I don't know why, I think I'm just allergic to it^^
TEN
And as I said earlier, I usually I tend to go overboard with color then tone things down later. As you can see, the red is too much again so I lower the saturation to -25.
ELEVEN
But now the icon is too dark so I make a new fill layer (layer > new fill layer > solid color) pick a gray shade #9C9C9C and set it to overlay
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TWELVE
It needs sharpening again so I stamp it on a new layer, sharpen, fade sharpen 50%, then lower the opacity to 50%
THIRTEEN
And when I'm finally content with everything, I always end with brightening my icon a bit more (layer > new adjustment layer > brightness/contrast) because things usually look brighter in Photoshop than they actually are...and then we're done!
click to download the .psd
OPTIONAL STEP
At that time, I was debating using another texture (by innocent_lexys) which you'll see in the psd and I kinda like better now although I'm still not sure. I'm wishy-washy that way. haha. anyway, I set the texture to screen and use a layer mask to erase the parts I don't like. and then brighten the icon.
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here's a screengrab of the layers if you want to take a look without downloading the psd. If you have any more questions or if you need any further explanations, just ask! This is actually one of those icons were I got lucky with the textures I didn't have to do much else. XD
