Jonas Tutorial
from this
to this
Program: Photoshop CS2
Difficulty: Easy
Steps: 7
Translatable: Yes!
1) Crop base to 100x100 or as desired. This can be done by going to File>New and setting the width and height to 100 pixels, then pasting your picture and resizing. You can also sharpen your picture a little if you'd like by going to Filter>Sharpen>Sharpen. If it is too sharp, go to Edit>Fade Sharpen and adjust.
2) We're going to lighten up the picture a little to get it ready for coloring. This can be done with a Levels layer...
Make a new Levels layer by going to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Levels. Use these settings:
Input: 23, 1.34, 241
Output: 0, 255
or with a Brightness/Contrast layer...
Make a new Brightness/Contrast layer by going to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Brightness/Contrast. Use these settings:
Brightness: +14
Contrast: +10
3) Now we're going to add some color. This layer will definitely fade the picture, but we'll fix that later. Okay, make a new Channel Mixer layer by going to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Channel Mixer. Use these settings:
Red: +84, +18, -8, 0
Green: -8, +102, 0, 0
Blue: -14, +12, +86
4) Now we're going to add a blue tone to the picture by making a fill layer. Make a new fill layer by going to Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color. Use #260000 and set it to Difference at 77%.
5) Now this layer is just to add a tiny bit more color. Make a new Hue/Saturation layer by going to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue/Saturation. Use these settings:
Master Saturation: +10
6) Now to add back some brightness without washing out all the pretty colors, we're going to make another Levels layer. Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Levels. Use these settings:
Input: 0, 1.00, 245
Output: 11, 255
7) Now, since the color is just okay we're going to add some pretty blues. Make a new Color Balance layer by going to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance. Use these settings:
Shadows: -16, -9, -13
Midtones: +10, -7, +15
Highlights: 0, 0, +14
And you're done! I really love to see results and get feedback so comment please, even if it's constructive criticism! :)
PLEASE direct comments to my personal journal.
Note: I realized after I made it that the tutorial works best with darker colored pictures, like the 3rd, 5th, and 8th examples.
Examples:
