(no subject)
TUTORIAL! AGAIN, YES.
a. Does what it says on the tin, really. :D First thing I'm going to point out are the last three tutorials (and only good ones) that I did at tragic_radiance : five, six & seven. I'm only linking them, because I happen to use the light splodges in all three of them.
b. Now we're going to talk about how I usually go about doing it.
i. Initial coloring of the icon happens first. That might be a screen layer, messing with levels and things. Anyway, after I do that and crop my screencap into my 100x100 canvas, I make a new layer. In this case, I choose a black&white cap because I was randomly picking caps and that one caught my attention. Anyway, 100x100, new layer.
I take a basic brush - I always use 16 px, though I may go for 18 or 19 every once in a while, or if I'm trying to get rid of something (which I'll show examples of later), and, with a white color, sometimes not exactly white but close, I'll drag in the places I think work best. In a cap like this one where there's not much negative space, I'll add to where it's already light, and leave the shadows alone. This is what it looks like:
My Gaussian blur settings:
I keep the radius low in case it looks fine with not much blurring. And if it doesn't, I just use Ctrl+F and blur it more. Back to the icon we're working on here, I blur it a few times until I think it looks right, like so:
And then I paste the original base, setting it to softlight, or overlay if softlight isn't enough, and lowering the opacity as much as I need to.
And just to compare the original base to the addition of light:
After that, I go about working more on the coloring of the icon, using textures, and if I find I need to, I'll go back and erase from the layer, or add more light in a second layer.
c. Requested tutorials that involve light:
I. marishna asked about the first two icons I'm going to use as examples, but this is a general tutorial on textures and light to make negative space. Icons that fall in this category:
Onto the tutorial - usually when I do this with an icon, either the height or width doesn't reach 100, like on the examples. For this tutorial, I randomly choose a Gossip Girl cap, cropping it unevenly so that when I resized it, the width would be 100, but the height would be less than that. After that, I pasted it onto a 100x100 canvas.
After that, I took a brush that I always use for erasing, and I erased around the subject of the icon until I was satisfied.
I copy-merged the layers and pasted in a new layer of its own, just in case I had to go back and fix the erasing. I then pasted it again, sharpening the bottom layer at 40& opacity, and setting the top layer to softlight.
New adjustment layer: color balance. I really only mess with the midtones and the blue highlight settings.
Next, I use a texture (that I got from God knows where, I've had it that long) set to hardlight, 20% opacity.
I add another color balance layer to make it less pinkish, but not take it completely away.
Hue/Sat adjustment layer with the saturation set to +15.
Another layer that I got from some unknown place. This one is set to overlay, 10% to add a bit more blue.
A selective color adjustment layer. The only time I even touch that is to mess with neutrals and blacks.
Using the brightness/contrast adjustment layer, I upped the contrast by +5.
And now for messing with the light. As I mentioned in the above tutorial on how I use them, I make a new layer, using a regular round brush of 16 px. Unlike in most icons, though, in icons like these, the light is more to add to the negative space, so I don’t mess with the subject of the icon, and instead use the light around it.
Using Gaussian blur, I blur it until I think it suits.
It's fine, actually, but I want to try to eliminate a bit more of the background behind her, so I add another layer, and erase the parts that are too much.
Another brightness/contrast layer with brightness set to -10 and contrast set to +10.
Next is a texture that I haven't actually had that long, and though they're credited, I can't remember where I got it (checking posts at freshmakers might be a good idea, though), setting to softlight, 100%, and erasing what I don't like.
And you're done. After that, you can go on and add text, if you'd like. I didn't.
Just to compare the "original" to the end result:
II. eatwe asked for this tutorial. This is as close to remaking it as I'm really going to get, really. ;)
No screen layers used in this one. I cropped and resized the cap, pasting the base twice. I sharpen the first (bottom) one lowering the opacity to 50% and I set the top one on softlight.
New adjustment layer: Color balance.
A texture for the pinkish/purple look.
A second color balance layer.
Hue/Sat layer with the saturation set to +10.
Selective color. As usual, only messing with the black in neutrals and blacks.
Where the bit of light at the top comes in. On a new layer, using a basic round brush, around 16px.
Gaussian blur, and then erasing the parts that are too much, mainly what's covering Dean's eye.
The last step to this icon. A black and white texture that, as is the pattern here, I can't exactly tell you where it came from except that freshmakers is a good place to look, inversed so that it's more black than white and set to lighten with parts of it erased.
And there you have it.
III. Annnd this tutorial was asked for by iam_lizardqueen. Okay, so this one is definitely not exact, but yeah.
I cropped the image down to 100x100 first, and then, because it was too yellow, used auto levels (ctrl+shift+l), fading it to 50%.
I duplicated the layer twice, setting the first to screen, 80%, and the second to softlight, 100%.
Color balance adjustment layer.
Using that same pink/purple texture that I was into around that time, set to softlight at full opacity.
Another color balance layer.
Next I sharpen the image and lower the opacity by at least half.
The step that involves the light.
Okay, so now there's that annoying pixilated blue thing going on, so using selective coloring that messes with the blacks (twice), a bit of blurring, and a small round brush in a black color, we get rid of it, and done!
If I've still got more to this week of mine, I'll do the other tutorials; however, if I don't, they'll make it to tragic_radiance eventually. ;) And I'll still be accepting requests until one of the mods post the next challenge.
a. Does what it says on the tin, really. :D First thing I'm going to point out are the last three tutorials (and only good ones) that I did at tragic_radiance : five, six & seven. I'm only linking them, because I happen to use the light splodges in all three of them.
b. Now we're going to talk about how I usually go about doing it.
i. Initial coloring of the icon happens first. That might be a screen layer, messing with levels and things. Anyway, after I do that and crop my screencap into my 100x100 canvas, I make a new layer. In this case, I choose a black&white cap because I was randomly picking caps and that one caught my attention. Anyway, 100x100, new layer.
I take a basic brush - I always use 16 px, though I may go for 18 or 19 every once in a while, or if I'm trying to get rid of something (which I'll show examples of later), and, with a white color, sometimes not exactly white but close, I'll drag in the places I think work best. In a cap like this one where there's not much negative space, I'll add to where it's already light, and leave the shadows alone. This is what it looks like:
My Gaussian blur settings:
I keep the radius low in case it looks fine with not much blurring. And if it doesn't, I just use Ctrl+F and blur it more. Back to the icon we're working on here, I blur it a few times until I think it looks right, like so:
And then I paste the original base, setting it to softlight, or overlay if softlight isn't enough, and lowering the opacity as much as I need to.
And just to compare the original base to the addition of light:
After that, I go about working more on the coloring of the icon, using textures, and if I find I need to, I'll go back and erase from the layer, or add more light in a second layer.
c. Requested tutorials that involve light:
I. marishna asked about the first two icons I'm going to use as examples, but this is a general tutorial on textures and light to make negative space. Icons that fall in this category:
Onto the tutorial - usually when I do this with an icon, either the height or width doesn't reach 100, like on the examples. For this tutorial, I randomly choose a Gossip Girl cap, cropping it unevenly so that when I resized it, the width would be 100, but the height would be less than that. After that, I pasted it onto a 100x100 canvas.
After that, I took a brush that I always use for erasing, and I erased around the subject of the icon until I was satisfied.
I copy-merged the layers and pasted in a new layer of its own, just in case I had to go back and fix the erasing. I then pasted it again, sharpening the bottom layer at 40& opacity, and setting the top layer to softlight.
New adjustment layer: color balance. I really only mess with the midtones and the blue highlight settings.
Next, I use a texture (that I got from God knows where, I've had it that long) set to hardlight, 20% opacity.
I add another color balance layer to make it less pinkish, but not take it completely away.
Hue/Sat adjustment layer with the saturation set to +15.
Another layer that I got from some unknown place. This one is set to overlay, 10% to add a bit more blue.
A selective color adjustment layer. The only time I even touch that is to mess with neutrals and blacks.
Using the brightness/contrast adjustment layer, I upped the contrast by +5.
And now for messing with the light. As I mentioned in the above tutorial on how I use them, I make a new layer, using a regular round brush of 16 px. Unlike in most icons, though, in icons like these, the light is more to add to the negative space, so I don’t mess with the subject of the icon, and instead use the light around it.
Using Gaussian blur, I blur it until I think it suits.
It's fine, actually, but I want to try to eliminate a bit more of the background behind her, so I add another layer, and erase the parts that are too much.
Another brightness/contrast layer with brightness set to -10 and contrast set to +10.
Next is a texture that I haven't actually had that long, and though they're credited, I can't remember where I got it (checking posts at freshmakers might be a good idea, though), setting to softlight, 100%, and erasing what I don't like.
And you're done. After that, you can go on and add text, if you'd like. I didn't.
Just to compare the "original" to the end result:
II. eatwe asked for this tutorial. This is as close to remaking it as I'm really going to get, really. ;)
No screen layers used in this one. I cropped and resized the cap, pasting the base twice. I sharpen the first (bottom) one lowering the opacity to 50% and I set the top one on softlight.
New adjustment layer: Color balance.
A texture for the pinkish/purple look.
A second color balance layer.
Hue/Sat layer with the saturation set to +10.
Selective color. As usual, only messing with the black in neutrals and blacks.
Where the bit of light at the top comes in. On a new layer, using a basic round brush, around 16px.
Gaussian blur, and then erasing the parts that are too much, mainly what's covering Dean's eye.
The last step to this icon. A black and white texture that, as is the pattern here, I can't exactly tell you where it came from except that freshmakers is a good place to look, inversed so that it's more black than white and set to lighten with parts of it erased.
And there you have it.
III. Annnd this tutorial was asked for by iam_lizardqueen. Okay, so this one is definitely not exact, but yeah.
I cropped the image down to 100x100 first, and then, because it was too yellow, used auto levels (ctrl+shift+l), fading it to 50%.
I duplicated the layer twice, setting the first to screen, 80%, and the second to softlight, 100%.
Color balance adjustment layer.
Using that same pink/purple texture that I was into around that time, set to softlight at full opacity.
Another color balance layer.
Next I sharpen the image and lower the opacity by at least half.
The step that involves the light.
Okay, so now there's that annoying pixilated blue thing going on, so using selective coloring that messes with the blacks (twice), a bit of blurring, and a small round brush in a black color, we get rid of it, and done!
If I've still got more to this week of mine, I'll do the other tutorials; however, if I don't, they'll make it to tragic_radiance eventually. ;) And I'll still be accepting requests until one of the mods post the next challenge.