Ask The Maker 2017 - Matte Coloring Guide
timetobegin asked me how to "get unnatural or different colours to look natural [...] and blended in with the icon" and gave these examples:
cool_spectrum asked how I "manage to get [my] coloring to look like this:"
I use Photoshop CS4, but try to mention alternatives whenever I use PS-specific tools.
The difference between those two sets of examples is that the first set is more pastel, the second is more vibrant. But the coloring I use is pretty similar for all of them (except the Expanse icon, which is created using Gradient Maps at Normal blend mode, for which I wrote a tutorial last year).
Now for the guide, I will be using the Tahani icon as my main example. I will show steps from the other examples where they fit.
1. Base preparation
First, I mask the subject while the image is still in original size. I have found that it makes a difference especially on faces in profile, hair, or full body crops.
To get the mask to look a little less harsh, I love to use the "Refine Mask" tool (Menu "Filter"/"Refine Edge", Shortcut CTRL-Alt-R):
Alternatively, if you don't have PS, you can simply feather the mask or blur the mask after masking. On hair, I manually blur the mask a bit more.
How strongly to blur depends on the resolution of the image, so I can't give you an exact number. The larger the image, the larger the numbers. Experiment away. :D
Masking is all I do at large size. After it, I immediately reduce size to 100x100 and work with that until the end. So here's the masked subject:
Sometimes I sharpen the base here, but lately I haven't done that. Maybe I've been using more high-res caps, or maybe I just like the matte look less sharp, I don't know.
Since most caps are way too dark, the next step is to copy the layer and set it to Linear Add. Lower the opacity so it doesn't look "too light". In this example, I used 78%, which seems really high to me now :)), but I wanted her hair to have some structure:
If you don't have the Linear Add blending mode in your tool, you can use Screen instead, but the result will be a bit "whiter", which you can probably average out again using a bit of contrast adjustment.
2. Background
Then, I choose a background color. Often, it's a color that occurs in the image. Not in this example, though:
I already knew for this one that I wanted her hair to be purple, so that's where the purple comes from here. :)
Other base+background examples where I stuck to the rule and chose a background color that fits the image:
3. Coloring
Now for making the subject look pastel. I usually color every part of the icon separately. Sometimes, this means coloring five parts, sometimes just one. The main trick is to use Lighten and Color. The more pastel you want it to look, the higher the opacity on the Lighten layer. In this example, only the hair is separately colored. I duplicate the layer, set one to Color (here 100%), and one to Lighten (here 25%) :
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A more complicated example, orange layer x2 (Color 100% and Lighten 27%), brown layer Color 100%:
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I just color those in manually with a small, relatively hard brush. I zoom in and out a lot, drawing at that size is impossible. :)
Choosing the colors there is probably also important. I usually choose the background color to tint hair, and for an icon like Spike, I make sure the colors I choose have similar saturation values. This is addressed again later, so it's not absolutely necessary yet to be 100% accurate about this, but it is something to keep in mind: the icon will look "of one piece" when the colors have similar saturation values.
This is what the other examples look like at this point:
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4. Matte Look - Reduce Contrast
The next step is making the coloring look matte. I have several ways of achieving that:
- EITHER with a dark-light-dark Gradient Map at Soft Light (or Overlay for a stronger effect)
- OR invert the image and set that to Soft Light (or Screen at very low opacity)
Gradient Map Method
This one even has two Gradient Map layers - one more brownish, one more blue: Together, they result in a pretty color-neutral effect. The first one is the standard Copper gradient. I forgot who recommended it, but I read it in a tutorial this year. I like to use it for skin tones.
Both gradient maps are set to Overlay at 33%:
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Short excursion on Gradient Maps: in Normal blend mode, you can see best what they do: they map the darkest colors of the image onto the color on the left side of the gradient, and the lightest colors of the image onto the right side of the gradient. In Soft Light blend mode, the colors of the image will be brightened where the Gradient Map is light, and darkened where the Gradient Map is dark - i.e. if the Gradient Map is black-white-black, the darkest colors of the image will be darkened, the mid-range will be brightened, and the lightest colors will be darkened. The result is a very uniform look and lower contrast in the mid-range colors.
It creates too-dark shadows for the look I want to achieve, though, so I usually have to counter that with a lighten layer later. Or I use a Gradient Map that isn't too dark on the left side.
Invert Method
If you don't use PS, you won't have Gradient Maps or Soft Light. In that case, I suggest going with the inverted layer and setting it to Screen at a very(!) low opacity. It's not the same as Soft Light at all, but for this look, it will work just the same, because basically all you want to do is take out the dark tones and make them lighter. If you also want to make the light tones darker, duplicate the inverted layer and set it to Multiply (also at very low opacity). It's not perfect, but it's a pretty good approximation.
Example: The inverted layer is masked to the subject and set to Soft Light at 78% (if you don't have Soft Light, use Screen at 10%) :
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5. Pastel Look
The lighten layer I'm now adding turns the vibrant colors into pastel. It also removes the darkest shadows. Choose a light, pastel color, something like light green, light blue, or beige. I usually start with something green or yellowish and then experiment with the hue. The plain color layer here is set to Lighten at 13%:
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For the vibrant ones (like the Community, the Friends and the ladybug icon), I either skip this step or use a less pastel color.
Here, I used a more saturated yellow, set to Lighten at 18%:
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6. Final Fixes
If I want to add text, I start adding it at this point. Depending on how complicated I want to make it, this doubles the time it takes. :/
Stuff I always do at the end, which has nothing to do with the matte coloring, is blurring/softening of the edges, and adding light effects. Here are the examples again and a quick description of the steps I didn't explain here:
Two background textures:
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Background texture + text + blur + light gradient:
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Text:
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Text + noise texture + light gradient + paint some red behind the text:
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Vibrance + painted glow + some more background erasure + light gradients:
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icon links updated
This was a lot of fun! I almost couldn't stop adding more example layers... *G*
I hope the guide is useful to you! I'll happily answer all your questions in case anything is unclear.
x-posted from dw (comments:
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