Icon Base Tutorial


So, I've been making icons for a while, but I've recently discovered a great way to make good bases for my icons. Anyways, here's a tutorial.


Original picture: New picture:


Step 1. Crop the desired picture and resize to 100 by 100. I chose a screen cap of Ryan Phillipe from the movie Cruel Intentions.

Step 2. Sharpen the icon by clicking on Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen.



Step 3. Use the blur tool set to size 7 to blur skin. Sometimes, I blur the background a bit, if it looks too pixelated from sharpening. Do NOT blur hair, eyes, lips or nostrils, though.



Step 4. Duplicate the icon.

Step 5. Right click on the duplicated layer and click blending options. Choose to Screen the picture and choose your desired Opacity depending on the coloring you want, and the darkness of the picture. Here, I left it at Screen 100%.



Step 6. Merge layers. (Ctrl + E) Then, repeat steps 4-6 until you achieve the desired lightness. I didn't repeat this time.

Step 7. Duplicate the icon, again. Then, right click > Blending Options and choose Soft Light. Set the Opacity until it looks right. I used 60% here. Merge layers when done.



And there you have it. You can also add Brightness/Contrast layers after, if you aren't happy. Or Saturation/Hue layers. Really, you can play around. I also save everything as PNG because when it transfers to the internet, the quality is much, much better.



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