Q & A P T . 2
CAUTION: contains 6 tutorials with images for each step. it's one big mutha.
PART ONE | PART TWO
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ORIGINAL | RESULT
REQUESTED BY: xxmannequin
I never saved the original PSD, so when I recreated this I made a few changes (made it less yellow...)
1. Start with this as your base.
2. Duplicate and set to soft light. This will increase the contrast and make the colors less gray and disgusting.
3. Brighten things up with a curves layer! RGB → Output: 133, Input: 114.
4. That washed the colors out a little, so we're going to do the easy thing and add a vibrance layer (+50). If you don't have Vibrance in your version of photoshop, I'd recommend using Selective Colors; I tried it out and used these settings:
Reds: -1, +9, +7, 0
Yellows: 0, 0, +11, 0
Neutrals: 0, +2, +6, 0
5. We're going to add a little rosy complexion by using Color Balance.
Midtones: 0, -31, 0
Set this to 51% opacity!
6. Add another Vibrance layer (+77), or selective color, although that might take a few steps...)
7. Her skin looks kind of gray, so we'll use another color balance layer to get things right!
Midtones: +9, -1, -21
8. One last vibrance layer! I know it looks gross, but we need it to be saturated for the little light texture we'll be using next. Vibrance: +100
9. Add this texture, set it to screen, 17%.
10. We're going to brighten things up and make the colors less intense with a curve layer. Output: 140, Input: 117.
11. I forget who originally did this, but it works wonders. Open a curves layer, but don't plot any points! Set it to soft light, 38%. If anyone could tell me who came up with the idea of using a blank curves layer set to soft light, I'd love to credit them for this step!
12. Text. This is a typeface that isn't free and I'm using it on a student license... so I'll provide you with a text texture here. If you do happen to have Caecilia LT Std, the whole thing is 18 pt, tracking is -50, kerning b/t A and T is -100 and b/t the T and the period it's -150. E is set in 56 italic, AT. is set in 55 Roman. Lol, I never got far enough in classes to learn how to not talk like an idiot when it comes to typography, so please don't jump me if I sound like I know nothing about what I'm talking about.
Sharpen as you like!
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ORIGINAL | RESULT
REQUESTED BY: xxmannequin
1. Start with this as your base. I originally made this for a LIMS, otherwise I don't think I'd ever have bothered with such a washed out image.
2. Set this texture to color burn, 5%. This will make Gaga's skin less yellow and sickly looking, as well as add a little bit of color to her lips.
3. Her skin still looks pretty yellow. Add a color fill layer (#fef2f2), set it to multiply. Mask over her teeth, we want them to be clean and white!
4. We're going to give the icon a warmer feel by using color balance. Midtones: 0, -20, -5. Use the same layer mask from step 3!
5. We're going to add some contrast using Curves. POINT ONE → Output: 56, Input: 86; POINT TWO → Output: 192, Input: 186. Use the same layer mask from step 3!
6. She's starting to get a little red and lobster-y, so we're going to add some yellow with a color fill layer (#cfbc81) set to soft light, 73%. Use the same layer mask from step 3!
7. It's been a while since I made this icon, so I don't even remember what my reasoning was for doing this step, but it seems to be kind of crucial, so I'm not taking it out! Use this gradient map, set it to soft light. Use the same layer mask from step 3!
8. We're going to get rid of a little of the yellow. Use a hue/saturation layer (hue: -10). Use the same layer mask from step 3!
9. I realize this icon isn't looking pretty, and it's about to get worse. Add a vibrance layer (+77). I would never have done this now, but then again, I'm constantly learning, and it worked ok for this icon! Use the same layer mask from step 3!
I lost the image for this one...
10. We're going to fix those teeth! Copy-merge and paste everything you have so far (COMMAND+A; COMMAND+SHIFT+C; COMMAND+V). Use the same layer mask from step 3, except invert it! Then clip a levels layer to it (91, 0.84, 224).
11. It's looking a little flat, so we're going to add some shiny highlights to her skin and hair. Add a color balance layer.
Shadows: +5, -45, +8
Midtones: -31, -21, +12
Highlights: -43, 0, 0
12. Time for another gradient map!
Set this to 17% opacity, and mask out the hair and teeth!
13. It's crazy dark, so use this texture set to soft light to make it brighter.
14. Add a vibrance layer (+100, +100) at 7% opacity.
15. Add a B&W gradient map, set it to soft light at 50%.
16. Add a vibrance layer of (+100), but mask off everything BUT the lips.
17. This is another typeface you need a license for (News Gothic MT), but here is the text texture from it.
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ORIGINAL | RESULT
REQUESTED BY: xtine005 and kawaii_chicken
This icon isn't that complicated, I was feeling pretty lazy when I originally made it. Unfortunately I didn't save the PSD, so I tried to recreate it, but there were a lot of little things that made this somewhat tricky...
1. Start with this as your base.
2. Duplicate your base, set it to soft light, 100%. Then Filter → Blur → Gaussian Blur; Radius: 0.9. This step makes the colors bolder and more saturated, as well as darken the shadows and lighten the lighted areas. Essentially you're upping the contrast and the vibrancy, but without the loss of image quality. Or at least that's what I've come to believe, but I'm no expert!
3. It looks dark. Add a curves layer. RBG → Output: 161; Input: 109. This brightens everything up (possibly too much, but we'll fix that later).
4. Her hair looks a little red, plus when we add The Bride, we'll want to echo some of the yellow, so we're going to use Color Balance to pump in some yellow! Midtones: 0, 0, -21
5. Obviously we're going to have to get rid of that background. Use a color fill layer (#3cdfe6), and then mask off the parts obscuring her. I usually turn off the visibility of the layer, and use the pen tool to trace around the edges, then "Load path as a selection" to mask things off. If the mask is too sharp, then just use gaussian blur on it. (I didn't bother with the right side because it's going to get covered up anyways.)
6. I guess I cheated with this part, I just grabbed this during some googling and free-transformed it until it was the size I needed. To get the size right, I duplicated all of the previous layers and merged them, then dragged that over the Bride and changed the opacity to 50%. This will enable you to match up the eyes, nose and mouths between the two of them! Mask off the half of the face you don't want.
7. She's too dark, so we're going to use another curves layer. This one should be clipped to the layer below! RGB → POINT ONE: Output: 64, Input: 61; POINT TWO: Output: 183, Input: 160.
8. Select the bottom of the icon (2x100 pixels, like this). Copy-merge (IDK what the keyboard shortcut for Windows would be, but on a mac its SHIFT+COMMAND+C) and then paste this on a new layer. Move it up to the very top of the icon, use the free-transform tool to flip it horizontally.
9. Duplicate that layer, and move it to the very bottom of the icon.
10. Add this texture (by cookiestome), set it to screen, and use the free-transform tool to rotate it 180. I used a mask over the parts where it was obscuring things.
11. I wanted to make the cyan more cyan-y and I wanted to make the yellows a little less orange-y. Use a Selective Color layer.
Yellows: -5, -8, +10, 0
Cyans: +42, -6, 0, 0
12. Add this (IDK, I found it using Google images... ._.) and set it to multiply
13. Time to sharpen! Copy-merge everything again and paste (COMMAND+A; COMMAND+SHIFT+C; COMMAND+V). Filter → Sharpen → Smart Sharpen using these settings:
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ORIGINAL | RESULT
REQUESTED BY: firstillusion and itsayuri
I didn't save the PSD for this one, I have no recollection of how exactly I went about it, but I think I got pretty close result, despite the fact that the method I used is not very similar.
1. I can't find the original cap I used, so this will have to do for our base! Apologies!
2. Duplicate the base, set it to soft light. Repeat this step once more. Already we are getting some color out of that gray mess we had before!
3. IDK why but I was worried about quality problems, so I decided to make things a little blurry. This also will add a hazy quality to everything. Copy-merge and paste all of the layers (COMMAND+A; COMMAND+SHIFT+C; COMMAND+V). Now we are going to apply the Paint Daubs filter to this layer. Filter → Artistic → Paint Daubs.
Use these settings:
Set this layer to 30% opacity.
4. Turn off the visibility of the layer we just made, and repeat the copy-merge and pasting so that it is the top layer. Set this to 80%, and turn the visibility of the other layer back on.
5. Add a color fill layer (ddc899), set it to soft light, 30%. This will help tone down the red and illuminate the image more.
6. The original icon has some dramatic lighting going on, so we're going to want to up the contrast. Use a brightness/contrast layer (brightness: 0; contrast: +47).
7. Copy-merge and paste everything you have so far, then clip a B&W gradient map layer to it. Merge these two together, and set the merged layer to soft light.
8. Duplicate the layer we just made. As you can see, we are starting to get that dramatic shadow and light thing going on.
9. We need to bring out the colors a bit more. Apply a vibrance/saturation layer (vibrance: +91).
10. The original had more yellow in it, so we'll use color balance to achieve that! Midtones: +5, 0, -7
11. The lighting is still lacking a bit. Apply a B&W gradient fill, SET THE ANGLE TO 0. Set this layer on soft light.
12. Just to make the colors pop a little more, apply a vibrance/saturation layer (+24).
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ORIGINAL | RESULT
REQUESTED BY: 12feethigh
1. This will serve as our base.
2. We want to brighten things up. Use a curves layer.
POINT ONE → Output: 117, Input: 90
POINT TWO → Output: 160, Input: 127
3. Apply a curves layer, don't set any points. Set to soft light.
4. Apply a photo filter with these settings:
5. Apply a gradient map with these settings:
Set to 41% opacity.
6. Apply a color fill layer (1f0303), set to lighten.
7. Duplicate the photo filter from step #4, but set the layer to 10% opacity.
8. Use selective color.
Yellows: 0, -2, -11, 0
Neutrals: -11, -2, +2, 0
9. Set this texture by me to soft light.
10. Repeat step #9, but reduce the opacity to 10%.
11. Apply a vibrance layer of +54.
12. Use color balance. Midtones: +7, 0, -2
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ORIGINAL | RESULT
REQUESTED BY: 12feethigh
I didn't save the PSD for this, and I really don't have the faintest idea of how I made this, but the recreation doesn't seem to be too far off.
1. Start with this as your base.
2. Apply a color fill layer (a57c4b), set it to soft light. This makes everything much warmer in tone.
3. We're going to make the colors a little richer and try to get her hair to a more chestnut-y color. Use a color balance layer.
Midtones: +5, 0, -5
4. Time to brighten the thing up. We'll use a curves layer for that.
POINT ONE → Output: 130, Input: 102
POINT TWO → Output: 155, Input: 122
5. One last tweak to the colors. This time with a color balance layer again.
Midtones: +2, 0 -8
Highlights: +1, 0 -11
Sorry about the shoddy tutorials, from now on I'll start saving my PSDs more often.