#9. TUTORIAL
Tutorial for how to make #16 in this batch, requested by ahedonia . :)
TUTORIAL
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Program: Photoshop Elements 2
Difficulty: Easy
Translatable: Yes
For this icon, I used this screencap from inadream_caps (it's from the Doctor Who episode "The Parting of the Ways").
There's a lot of different screencaps with weird colors like this in Doctor Who, especially the scenes inside the TARDIS. In those cases, it's usually easier and way more fun to just go with it and embrace the colors. :)
STEP ONE: CROPPING
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I knew I wanted a close-up focusing on his face, so I cropped accordingly.
STEP TWO: PLACEMENT
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Here I copied the background image and put the copy above a black fill layer.
Then I erased the top/bottom part of the image until I were left with the parts I liked.
I moved that top layer slightly upwards so that the black spaces showing above and beneath the image were the same size.
I also painted over part of the image with a black brush, to give the icon a bit more negative space. (Originally, I went back after the second to last step and did this, because at the end the t-shirt looked like this, which I didn't like.)
STEP THREE: MOTION BLUR
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I copied the top layer (the one with Mickey) once.
The copied image at the top I left as it was, and on the image layer right below I used the motion blur filter at a 85 degree angle. I used that angle because it matched the angle the light fell over his cheekbone, and looked better than 90 degrees did.
This is what the icon would have looked like without that Mickey image on top of the motion blurred layer:
(Motion blur gives this look)
If you don't want to/can't use the motion blur filter, just use the smudge tool instead.
STEP FOUR: INTENSIFY
→
I wanted a more intense color, so I copied the motion blurred layer a million lot of times and put the different layers on different blending modes to enhance color/contrast.
At the end, I ended up with, like, three layers on normal, one on screen, seven on overlay, three on linear light... it's not really important, as long as the end result is that the background image is more intense.
STEP FIVE: OVERLAY
→
Here I copied the top layer (the unedited picture of Mickey) twice, and put both copies on overlay.
This gave the picture more contrast, and added a lot more color to the icon, using the colors that where already in the picture.
STEP SIX: ADD MORE COLOR & CONTRAST
→
I copied one of the motion blurred layers and dragged it on top of all the other layers. I put it on overlay. This worked as a texture to add more color to the icon.
STEP SEVEN: LIGHTEN & COLOR
→
The icon looked a bit dark, so I copied yet another one of the motion blur layers and put it on screen. I then dragged the layer to different positions to see what worked: putting the new screen layer directly above the normal unedited picture of Mickey but below the copied overlay layers gave this result.
STEP EIGHT: EVEN MORE CONTRAST & COLOR
→
I copied the screen layer from the previous step and put it on linear light.
You are all noticing the pattern by now, aren't you? Just add a bunch of copied layers, mostly on overlay, until you like the result. ;)
STEP NINE: SHARPEN & BLUR
→
I sharpened the icon and used the blur tool to blur the edges of the picture.
Then I did some small adjustments, like lowering the saturation, and adding a levels layer on color where I did some smaaall changes. All of those steps depends on which image you used, though, so I won't go into detail here except to say: make it work! (lol Tim Gunn.)
STEP TEN: ADD TEXT
→
This is the original icon, I didn't feel like adding text just to reproduce an icon I already have. So, basically: I added text. :)
I put the words on different layers, dragged them around and changed the angle to get a composition that worked with the crop of the icon. Then I did some light blurring of the words and lowered the opacity, because at full opacity the text stole too much attention away from Mickey's face, which is where I wanted to focus to be.
Oh, and I added a layer where I painted white dots at a few places (such as right beneath Mickey's face), gaussian blurred the layer and lowered the opacity. That's the reason why this icon is a bit shinier than the one in the previous step.
I won't upload a .psd, but do ask if you have any questions or want to add/correct anything. :)
TUTORIAL
→
Program: Photoshop Elements 2
Difficulty: Easy
Translatable: Yes
For this icon, I used this screencap from inadream_caps (it's from the Doctor Who episode "The Parting of the Ways").
There's a lot of different screencaps with weird colors like this in Doctor Who, especially the scenes inside the TARDIS. In those cases, it's usually easier and way more fun to just go with it and embrace the colors. :)
STEP ONE: CROPPING
→
I knew I wanted a close-up focusing on his face, so I cropped accordingly.
STEP TWO: PLACEMENT
→
Here I copied the background image and put the copy above a black fill layer.
Then I erased the top/bottom part of the image until I were left with the parts I liked.
I moved that top layer slightly upwards so that the black spaces showing above and beneath the image were the same size.
I also painted over part of the image with a black brush, to give the icon a bit more negative space. (Originally, I went back after the second to last step and did this, because at the end the t-shirt looked like this, which I didn't like.)
STEP THREE: MOTION BLUR
→
I copied the top layer (the one with Mickey) once.
The copied image at the top I left as it was, and on the image layer right below I used the motion blur filter at a 85 degree angle. I used that angle because it matched the angle the light fell over his cheekbone, and looked better than 90 degrees did.
This is what the icon would have looked like without that Mickey image on top of the motion blurred layer:
(Motion blur gives this look)
If you don't want to/can't use the motion blur filter, just use the smudge tool instead.
STEP FOUR: INTENSIFY
→
I wanted a more intense color, so I copied the motion blurred layer a million lot of times and put the different layers on different blending modes to enhance color/contrast.
At the end, I ended up with, like, three layers on normal, one on screen, seven on overlay, three on linear light... it's not really important, as long as the end result is that the background image is more intense.
STEP FIVE: OVERLAY
→
Here I copied the top layer (the unedited picture of Mickey) twice, and put both copies on overlay.
This gave the picture more contrast, and added a lot more color to the icon, using the colors that where already in the picture.
STEP SIX: ADD MORE COLOR & CONTRAST
→
I copied one of the motion blurred layers and dragged it on top of all the other layers. I put it on overlay. This worked as a texture to add more color to the icon.
STEP SEVEN: LIGHTEN & COLOR
→
The icon looked a bit dark, so I copied yet another one of the motion blur layers and put it on screen. I then dragged the layer to different positions to see what worked: putting the new screen layer directly above the normal unedited picture of Mickey but below the copied overlay layers gave this result.
STEP EIGHT: EVEN MORE CONTRAST & COLOR
→
I copied the screen layer from the previous step and put it on linear light.
You are all noticing the pattern by now, aren't you? Just add a bunch of copied layers, mostly on overlay, until you like the result. ;)
STEP NINE: SHARPEN & BLUR
→
I sharpened the icon and used the blur tool to blur the edges of the picture.
Then I did some small adjustments, like lowering the saturation, and adding a levels layer on color where I did some smaaall changes. All of those steps depends on which image you used, though, so I won't go into detail here except to say: make it work! (lol Tim Gunn.)
STEP TEN: ADD TEXT
→
This is the original icon, I didn't feel like adding text just to reproduce an icon I already have. So, basically: I added text. :)
I put the words on different layers, dragged them around and changed the angle to get a composition that worked with the crop of the icon. Then I did some light blurring of the words and lowered the opacity, because at full opacity the text stole too much attention away from Mickey's face, which is where I wanted to focus to be.
Oh, and I added a layer where I painted white dots at a few places (such as right beneath Mickey's face), gaussian blurred the layer and lowered the opacity. That's the reason why this icon is a bit shinier than the one in the previous step.
I won't upload a .psd, but do ask if you have any questions or want to add/correct anything. :)