Icon Recipe

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

avidrosette wanted to know how I made a particular icon. I'm always happy to talk icons and process so here's how I went from:

to

Credits and links are at the end.

I approached this icon differently from my normal operating procedure because I was trying to push outside of my comfort zone. Instead of my organic "who knows what this will be" approach, I set out to make a particular kind of icon:
- I wanted a "small-ish figure" with 50%+ negative space for drama,
- I wanted it to have a sense of action, and
- I wanted to play with merging the subject with textures so that the final icon looks "organic" rather than Photoshopped.


1. Crop the image to 100x100 pixels at 100 pixels/inch.



Choosing a crop takes me forever. I cropped this maybe 5 or 6 times before I eventually decided I wanted a crop that included all of the gun, even though it put John in the center of the icon.

2. Sharpen, smooth, and mask out oversharpened pixels.



I described in somewhat agonizing detail how I get clarity in icons in a previous post so I won't bore you with those details again.

3. Gradient Map, SOFT LIGHT 100%:

+ =

This increases the contrast and warms his skin tone.

4. Add a copy of the base from Step #2, SOFT LIGHT 100%:



This restores the details from the original image and, again, increases contrast.

5. Get rid of the ugly background, NORMAL 100%

+ =

Obviously, I masked off the parts that covered John. I tried an amazing number of textures in my search for the "perfect" texture. I wanted something a bit rough and tumble looking and then I stumbled onto this texture and chose it because it gave me that "god-like" glow behind his head. ;)

OK, not bad but right now he looks like he has been cut out and plonked on top of the background, which is not at all what I wanted. I wanted to play with merging him into the background so...

6. Another copy of the background on top, NORMAL 78%.

+ =

This lets me see John so I can erase the bits I need to and it's my favorite trick for blending a person into a texture. When the overlying texture is exactly the same as the background below, it's easier to blend because I don't have to worry about the background peeking through and I can adjust the opacity to reveal or hide more of the edges of the figure.

7. Add a mask to the overlying texture and partially erase.

+ as a mask on Step #6 =

I use soft edged brushes set at less than 100%. It looks to me as if I used a soft mechanical brush, which is one of the basic Photoshop presets, set at 50%. I erased over John's figure once and then returned to his face and torso to erase a little bit more. Looks to me as if I used a small, hard brush set at 100% to make certain his face wasn't obscured.

Much better, but John is still a tad shinier and newer looking than the background is, so...

8. Add a new texture to better blend and unify coloring between background and subject, MULTIPLY 100%:

+ =

OK, more as I was envisioning it but I don't really like that straight line going across the bottom. I want to disguise that.

9. Add a scratchy texture, MULTIPLY 83%:

+ =

I played with opacity to obfuscate the line but hopefully not obscure John too much. I have an image that I want but it has gotten a bit dark and dingy under all those textures. I want to brighten it a tad without compromising the mood.

10. Add a curves layer, RGB INPUT/OUTPUT = 119/139

+ Curves Layer =

On the RGB curve, I grabbed it in the middle and tugged it upwards ever so slightly. I didn't fiddle with the Red, Green, or Blue curves because I was happy with the color.

I have an image that I'm happy with but now that I'm at "the end," I'm regretting my crop. I can't see the gun barrel any more and the centered crop really isn't helping this icon. It's boring. One "cheap" way to add interest and throw off the centered look is to repeat the image. This is especially useful to me here because I'm going for an indistinct and grungy melding of subject and texture.

11. Add a new layer and stamp visible, OVERLAY 68%.



I offset it to the right a little and erased any parts over the original John and any part on the left side of the icon.


Voila! Done.


~~**~~

Some people voting in the LIMS thought the texture overpowered John while some thought it balanced. That's a matter of personal preference, but emphasizing John more would be fairly simple: lower the opacity in Step #6, lower the opacity of the scratchy texture, and maybe a little more aggressive brightening with the curve layer. Maybe, maybe the addition of a screened layer at a greatly reduced opacity under the gradient map.

If you have any questions or if I wasn't clear on a step, don't hesitate to ask!

~~**~~

Resource Credits/Links:
a. The original image is from the lantis_lims and is here.
b. by oxoniensis and available in her skin tones gradient set
c. by unmasked_icons from her "Old Book" set of textures
d. by oxoniensis and available here in one of my favorite sets
e. by tihana from her glorious, scratchy textures

Comments

[avidrosette.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was amazingly helpful and clear, and looks like it took a whole lot of work. Thank you so much! I learned so much from this, I can't even tell you. The most surprising thing to me was your use of the eraser tool on the mask of the overlying duplicate texture; that was a revelation. The number of textures and unseen layers was rather boggling, too.

The icon itself looks even more awesome on its own like this. The burnished gold glow and the amount of movement and gritty emotion it conveys is intense. Thanks again, so much, for being willing to share your secrets like this!

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad I had a new trick to share. I don't generally think to write up how to make icons because I feel like I'm just recombining things I've seen elsewhere and who needs yet another tutorial on yet another icon? HOWEVER, I'm eager to share any knowledge I might have and I'm stoked that I slipped in something new. :) I don't consider anything I do to be a personal secret and I'm always willing to share.

Actually, if you use Photoshop and ever want a *.psd file of something I've made, I'm happy to make it available for studying/dissecting if I have it. Sometimes an icon doesn't have one *.psd file but two or three and then I'd have to write it as a tutorial but nothing I do is secret or proprietary.

I chuckle over textures because my using them is in spite of myself. I didn't use them for the *longest* time because they mystified me. I benefited from paddies telling me to get over myself and use patterns -- and from oxoniensis giving me four of her *.psd files so that I could learn how she uses textures. I am extremely grateful for that.

This particular icon I'm torn on. I do think the textures overpower John a bit and I'd do some of the variations I list at the end if I were making this for me. The purpose of the exercise, though, was to go beyond my usual style so I expect to be a bit uncomfortable with the end result. :) Thank you for your very kind words.

[paian]

Excellent, useful tutorial!! I love that you can articulate what you were going for and how each element affected the result and the process. You put into words things that I try to do but couldn't have articulated. And as always I find new ways and means in your work, down to the simplest things like realizing how much more configurable brushes are than I ever take advantage of, especially when masking. That's going to be so helpful!

Plus, love the icon. *g*

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

You know, there's a world of irony in *you* writing this in response to something *I* wrote:

You put into words things that I try to do but couldn't have articulated

I'm no writer of fiction but perhaps I could have a future in technical writing. Yay for the brushes thought! They are my friends. :)

The icon is "eh," there's something in it that I'm still not thrilled about, but the process seems to be helpful to people and that's what counts.

[thor-i-lover.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this good tuto!!

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! *hugs*

[riverfox.livejournal.com]

That's very cool, thanks! :)

I'm very lazy when it comes to icons. I just fool with layers and layer filters till I get the right look. *points at icon* I like your method better ;) but as I said, I'm so lazy.

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

You have more than a little graphics cred of your own and have no need to adapt your ways unless you have a desire to try something diff. :)

I'm generally lazy, too, and that's why I've turned my textures into patterns and done a bunch of other shortcuts. I like to fiddle around a little. This icon was made for LIMS and I fiddled around with it LOTS more than I'd be willing to otherwise. That sudden death aspect to the competition makes me a little more patient. ;)

[riverfox.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) I like the grunge look people have been using in icons and wallpapers. I've been thinking about trying something new. Which will be added to the "to do" list of things I have to do with my website. *g*

Sudden death. *snickers* I had a picture of a bunch of bloody remnants on the floor after it's over. ;)