Icon Tutuorial: Coloring
From this to 
Program(s)+version: Photoshop CS5
Involves: Coloring an icon using: curves, levels, selective color, color balance, vibrance & filters available in Photoshop CS5
Translatable: To programs/versions that have selective color and vibrance available.
Steps: 4 Steps | 23 Layers
Difficulty: Easy
Step 01: Re-sizing the image
Note: I do this step in variations in almost every icon that I work with. I find that if you work on making a base smoother and softer (no matter the quality of the image) then the overall icon is much easier to work with.
01. Cropping your image
• I usually work with my images at 250px by 250px, just because I like the space that it gives me to play with, and when finishing an icon I find it much easier to work with that size and avoid over-sharpening anything.
• I cropped this image (courtesy of
letsey_x) to 300px by 300px.
• I then resized the image to 250px by 250px.
• Now we have a beautiful, if not a little bit larger than usual base to play with.
Step 02: Preparing Your Base
Layer 1: Base Layer. Remains untouched.
I always leave my first layer untouched. If I stuff something up and need to go back to the start, it’s nice to not have to crop again, especially if you’ve got a really interesting/unique crop going. It’s also handy to have it on hand if you want to use your base to add an extra element to the colours of an icon later on.
Layer 2: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 3, Threshold: 3. Set this layer to 20% opacity.
This can be interchanged with Smart Blur if necessary. I like the effect Surface Blur/Smart Blur has on softening the features of an icon, makes it smoother in general, and sometimes (especially for lower quality images or darker images that seem pixelated) that’s a real bonus.
Layer 3: Duplicate of the base layer. Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius: 1.0. Set this layer to 50% opacity.
Again, we’re trying to blur out any of the flaws and faults within the icon to make the base something nicer to work with. This will soften the edges of your image further.
Layer 4: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 3, Threshold: 3. Set this layer to 25% opacity.
Layer 5: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Set this layer to screen > 20% opacity.
When you copy a merged image, you are copying the sum total of the previous layers together, as opposed to just one layer. This screen layer’s opacity could be anywhere from 10% to 100%, depending on how dark the image you started out with originally was, or how bright and vibrant you would like your icon to be.
Layer 6: Duplicate the base layer. Drag to top. Set to 10% opacity.
This step isn’t something I do often in my base preparation, but I believe I wanted this icon to have a little bit of a darker, more ominous feel to it. By dragging the base layer to the top, I added a touch of dark back into the icon.
Layer 7: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 135, Input: 122.
In this step, I’ve used curves simply to lighten up the image. Later I’ll use it to add some colour, but while I’m preparing the base, I just want to use the RGB layer to add more lightness to the icon.
Layer 8: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.10 | 245.
For the same reason as Layer 7, Levels have been used here to help lighten the image. I generally use this setting, but if the image is especially dark, I’ll lower 245 to 235 to give it that little bit more brightness.
Layer 9: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -10 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to 50% opacity.
This layer is used to add some contrast and depth back into the image. Not too much, but just enough to highlight the difference between foreground and background.
Layer 10: Duplicate Layer 9. Set this layer to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
This layer is used to add the same kind of contrast to the image, and also helps to distinguish the various colours in an image, and add contrast to them as well.
Step 03: Colouring the Image
Layer 11: Layer > New Adjustment Later > Vibrance > Vibrance: +50
Vibrance will heighten the colours of your image, and add a wonderful depth to them. You do however, need to take notice of the colours already present in your image. The image I’m working with had a lovely range of colour already within it, which made the vibrance layer work a lot more, than something like a duller image, in which you may need to add colour to the image before adding a vibrance layer.
Note: Vibrance as an adjustment layer is available on the most recent versions of photoshop, but not all. I absolutely LOVE and abuse at times the effect it can give – but if you don’t have it available, try playing around with Hue/Saturation. You need to be more tender and gentle with each layer, and definitely play around with the amount of Hue/Saturation you use, as well as the opacity – but can achieve similar results.
Layer 12: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB: Output 144, Input 116.
We need to brighten the image a little more, so we add another curves layer that only plays with the RGB together, rather than the individual colours in the image.
Layer 13: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
+ 5 | -5 | +5
Shadows:
+9 | -5 | -10
When we alter the Midtones, we’re playing with the reds, magenta and blue hues of the image, adding depth to them. When we alter the Shadows, we’re playing further with the reds, but adding a touch of green and deepening the yellow colour. The midtones are a little softer than the shadows, and when you play with the shadows the colour effect is often a lot deeper than that of the midtones.
Layer 14: Layer > Duplicate > Duplicate Layer 13 > Set this layer to Soft Light at 50% opacity.
In this layer we’re taking the colour we added from Layer 13, and using Soft Light to enhance its vibrance and depth.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Later > Selective Colour >
Reds –
Magenta: + 10
Yellow: + 20
Black: + 35
Yellows –
Magenta: - 10
Yellow: + 25
Black: -10
Blues –
Yellow: + 19
Black: + 19
Magentas –
Black: + 24
Neutrals –
Yellow: - 10
Black: +5
Blacks –
Cyan: + 5
Magenta: + 5
Yellow: + 5
Black: + 15
Depending on the colours of your image, you may want to approach Selective Colour in several ways. For this image, because there are dominant blues and yellows, I’ve used selective colouring to highlight them, as well as draw out some of the reds & magenta's that are in the image. If you had an image in which you wanted to accentuate the greens and cyan's, you would play with those various colour tones within selective colouring.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 30
Now we want our colours to pop, and this vibrance layer helps do this, without overwhelming the image quality.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB: Output 132, Input 120.
I do actually use curves to play with the colours of an icon, but in this case I’m using it to add some more brightness and light to the image. Not too much though, as I don’t want to overwhelm the icon, or take away from the natural darkness that I like so much in the image.
Layer 18: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Artistic > Paint Daubs: Brush Size 1, Sharpness 0 > Set layer to 10% opacity.
Paint daubs is a magical device that can do lots of things. In this instance (and in most others) I’ve used it to create a blurred layer which softens the edges of the image, and gives it a glow of sorts. By lowering the opacity to 10%, it’s only very minor, but still enough to give that little bit of something back to the image.
Layer 19: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Yellows –
Cyan: + 5
Yellow: + 30
Black: -5
Neutrals –
Yellow: - 15
Black: + 10
This selective colour layer plays strongly with the yellows. I wanted to highlight the yellow of the hair, as well as the more neutral yellows in the skin to contrast against the depth of the blue in the image.
Layer 20: Return to Layer 1 > Layer > Duplicate > Duplicate Layer 1 > Drag layer to the top > Set this layer to Screen at 30% opacity.
Like I said, sometimes having a base layer untouched can be a good thing. I added this layer to give a little bit more brightness to the image. It also adds a little bit of the original colour into the image as well, without overwhelming it completely.
Step 04: Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon. Normally there would be an additional step in here, about adding textures – however I felt this particular image didn’t warrant any texture addition – because of the mixture of colours already within the icon.
These next couple of steps are always involved when finishing off an icon. Like preparing an icon base, I think that when you’re finishing an icon, it needs to look finished, rather than haphazardly thrown together and completed.
Before we do anything though, I always re-size the image to 200 px by 200 px. Just because I’m neurotic, and I think the blur/sharpening combo works best on that size image before it gets resized to 100px.
We therefore need to do this:
Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 200 (pixels), Height 200 (pixels).
Layer 21: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius 1.0 > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
Again, I use Gaussian Blur to soften the image before sharpening the edges. I think the sharpening effect just looks a little bit softer if this is done, as it takes away that absolute sharp edge that can sometimes occur in an icon.
Layer 22: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen > Set this layer to 50% opacity.
Depending on the image you began with, the sharpen layer will be anything between 10% & 100% opacity. And while you’re image may look a touch too sharp now – remember we still have to resize the image to 100 px by 100 px, which will also take away a little of the sharpness.
You have to be cautious here, because sometimes sharpening can lead to rough, harsh edges. It’s always good to have a little bit of leeway on each side.
Layer 23: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance +50
I added this final layer to give a touch more bite and colour to the image. Generally I’ll be happy without this, but I wanted to highlight the colours a lot in this icon, which is why this layer is there.
We’re finally ready to resize the image: Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 100 (pixels), Height 100 (pixels).
Step 05: Saving your icon.
File > Save As (Ctrl + Shift + S) > Add a file name, and click down your format options to png.
PLEASE NOTE: ALWAYS SAVE YOUR ICON IN PNG FORMAT. I cannot stress this enough, hence the attack of the CAPSLOCK. Saving in jpeg can make the quality of the icon decrease dramatically when it is re-uploaded. Saving as png maintains the higher quality of the icon, and ensures the icon is nicer to look at.
Once you’ve saved your icon, you’re done! (Which is the most *headdesking* thing to say, but it’s true!)
--
Endnote: I hope you've found this tutorial helpful in at least one way, or gained a little trick or two from it to use on your own icon.
As always, comments are love. Please let me know if you found this useful, or alternatively, hard to follow! Questions are always welcome as well :)
Program(s)+version: Photoshop CS5
Involves: Coloring an icon using: curves, levels, selective color, color balance, vibrance & filters available in Photoshop CS5
Translatable: To programs/versions that have selective color and vibrance available.
Steps: 4 Steps | 23 Layers
Difficulty: Easy
Step 01: Re-sizing the image
Note: I do this step in variations in almost every icon that I work with. I find that if you work on making a base smoother and softer (no matter the quality of the image) then the overall icon is much easier to work with.
01. Cropping your image
• I usually work with my images at 250px by 250px, just because I like the space that it gives me to play with, and when finishing an icon I find it much easier to work with that size and avoid over-sharpening anything.
• I cropped this image (courtesy of
letsey_x) to 300px by 300px.• I then resized the image to 250px by 250px.
• Now we have a beautiful, if not a little bit larger than usual base to play with.
Step 02: Preparing Your Base
Layer 1: Base Layer. Remains untouched.
I always leave my first layer untouched. If I stuff something up and need to go back to the start, it’s nice to not have to crop again, especially if you’ve got a really interesting/unique crop going. It’s also handy to have it on hand if you want to use your base to add an extra element to the colours of an icon later on.
Layer 2: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 3, Threshold: 3. Set this layer to 20% opacity.
This can be interchanged with Smart Blur if necessary. I like the effect Surface Blur/Smart Blur has on softening the features of an icon, makes it smoother in general, and sometimes (especially for lower quality images or darker images that seem pixelated) that’s a real bonus.
Layer 3: Duplicate of the base layer. Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius: 1.0. Set this layer to 50% opacity.
Again, we’re trying to blur out any of the flaws and faults within the icon to make the base something nicer to work with. This will soften the edges of your image further.
Layer 4: Duplicate the base layer. Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius: 3, Threshold: 3. Set this layer to 25% opacity.
Layer 5: Ctrl + A (Select all) the image. Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy Merged) the image and Ctrl + V (Paste) it as a new layer. Set this layer to screen > 20% opacity.
When you copy a merged image, you are copying the sum total of the previous layers together, as opposed to just one layer. This screen layer’s opacity could be anywhere from 10% to 100%, depending on how dark the image you started out with originally was, or how bright and vibrant you would like your icon to be.
Layer 6: Duplicate the base layer. Drag to top. Set to 10% opacity.
This step isn’t something I do often in my base preparation, but I believe I wanted this icon to have a little bit of a darker, more ominous feel to it. By dragging the base layer to the top, I added a touch of dark back into the icon.
Layer 7: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB > Output: 135, Input: 122.
In this step, I’ve used curves simply to lighten up the image. Later I’ll use it to add some colour, but while I’m preparing the base, I just want to use the RGB layer to add more lightness to the icon.
Layer 8: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels > RGB > 0 | 1.10 | 245.
For the same reason as Layer 7, Levels have been used here to help lighten the image. I generally use this setting, but if the image is especially dark, I’ll lower 245 to 235 to give it that little bit more brightness.
Layer 9: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast > Brightness: -10 | Contrast: +10. Set this layer to 50% opacity.
This layer is used to add some contrast and depth back into the image. Not too much, but just enough to highlight the difference between foreground and background.
Layer 10: Duplicate Layer 9. Set this layer to Soft Light, 50% opacity.
This layer is used to add the same kind of contrast to the image, and also helps to distinguish the various colours in an image, and add contrast to them as well.
Step 03: Colouring the Image
Layer 11: Layer > New Adjustment Later > Vibrance > Vibrance: +50
Vibrance will heighten the colours of your image, and add a wonderful depth to them. You do however, need to take notice of the colours already present in your image. The image I’m working with had a lovely range of colour already within it, which made the vibrance layer work a lot more, than something like a duller image, in which you may need to add colour to the image before adding a vibrance layer.
Note: Vibrance as an adjustment layer is available on the most recent versions of photoshop, but not all. I absolutely LOVE and abuse at times the effect it can give – but if you don’t have it available, try playing around with Hue/Saturation. You need to be more tender and gentle with each layer, and definitely play around with the amount of Hue/Saturation you use, as well as the opacity – but can achieve similar results.
Layer 12: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB: Output 144, Input 116.
We need to brighten the image a little more, so we add another curves layer that only plays with the RGB together, rather than the individual colours in the image.
Layer 13: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Colour Balance >
Midtones:
+ 5 | -5 | +5
Shadows:
+9 | -5 | -10
When we alter the Midtones, we’re playing with the reds, magenta and blue hues of the image, adding depth to them. When we alter the Shadows, we’re playing further with the reds, but adding a touch of green and deepening the yellow colour. The midtones are a little softer than the shadows, and when you play with the shadows the colour effect is often a lot deeper than that of the midtones.
Layer 14: Layer > Duplicate > Duplicate Layer 13 > Set this layer to Soft Light at 50% opacity.
In this layer we’re taking the colour we added from Layer 13, and using Soft Light to enhance its vibrance and depth.
Layer 15: Layer > New Adjustment Later > Selective Colour >
Reds –
Magenta: + 10
Yellow: + 20
Black: + 35
Yellows –
Magenta: - 10
Yellow: + 25
Black: -10
Blues –
Yellow: + 19
Black: + 19
Magentas –
Black: + 24
Neutrals –
Yellow: - 10
Black: +5
Blacks –
Cyan: + 5
Magenta: + 5
Yellow: + 5
Black: + 15
Depending on the colours of your image, you may want to approach Selective Colour in several ways. For this image, because there are dominant blues and yellows, I’ve used selective colouring to highlight them, as well as draw out some of the reds & magenta's that are in the image. If you had an image in which you wanted to accentuate the greens and cyan's, you would play with those various colour tones within selective colouring.
Layer 16: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance: 30
Now we want our colours to pop, and this vibrance layer helps do this, without overwhelming the image quality.
Layer 17: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves > RGB: Output 132, Input 120.
I do actually use curves to play with the colours of an icon, but in this case I’m using it to add some more brightness and light to the image. Not too much though, as I don’t want to overwhelm the icon, or take away from the natural darkness that I like so much in the image.
Layer 18: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Artistic > Paint Daubs: Brush Size 1, Sharpness 0 > Set layer to 10% opacity.
Paint daubs is a magical device that can do lots of things. In this instance (and in most others) I’ve used it to create a blurred layer which softens the edges of the image, and gives it a glow of sorts. By lowering the opacity to 10%, it’s only very minor, but still enough to give that little bit of something back to the image.
Layer 19: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Selective Colour:
Yellows –
Cyan: + 5
Yellow: + 30
Black: -5
Neutrals –
Yellow: - 15
Black: + 10
This selective colour layer plays strongly with the yellows. I wanted to highlight the yellow of the hair, as well as the more neutral yellows in the skin to contrast against the depth of the blue in the image.
Layer 20: Return to Layer 1 > Layer > Duplicate > Duplicate Layer 1 > Drag layer to the top > Set this layer to Screen at 30% opacity.
Like I said, sometimes having a base layer untouched can be a good thing. I added this layer to give a little bit more brightness to the image. It also adds a little bit of the original colour into the image as well, without overwhelming it completely.
Step 04: Adding the finishing touches
Now that I’ve coloured the image, I’m ready to finish the icon. Normally there would be an additional step in here, about adding textures – however I felt this particular image didn’t warrant any texture addition – because of the mixture of colours already within the icon.
These next couple of steps are always involved when finishing off an icon. Like preparing an icon base, I think that when you’re finishing an icon, it needs to look finished, rather than haphazardly thrown together and completed.
Before we do anything though, I always re-size the image to 200 px by 200 px. Just because I’m neurotic, and I think the blur/sharpening combo works best on that size image before it gets resized to 100px.
We therefore need to do this:
Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 200 (pixels), Height 200 (pixels).
Layer 21: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius 1.0 > Set this layer to 30% opacity.
Again, I use Gaussian Blur to soften the image before sharpening the edges. I think the sharpening effect just looks a little bit softer if this is done, as it takes away that absolute sharp edge that can sometimes occur in an icon.
Layer 22: Ctrl + A (Select All) > Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy merged) > Ctrl + V (Paste) > Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen > Set this layer to 50% opacity.
Depending on the image you began with, the sharpen layer will be anything between 10% & 100% opacity. And while you’re image may look a touch too sharp now – remember we still have to resize the image to 100 px by 100 px, which will also take away a little of the sharpness.
You have to be cautious here, because sometimes sharpening can lead to rough, harsh edges. It’s always good to have a little bit of leeway on each side.
Layer 23: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance > Vibrance +50
I added this final layer to give a touch more bite and colour to the image. Generally I’ll be happy without this, but I wanted to highlight the colours a lot in this icon, which is why this layer is there.
We’re finally ready to resize the image: Image > Image Size (Alt + Ctrl + I) > Width 100 (pixels), Height 100 (pixels).
Step 05: Saving your icon.
File > Save As (Ctrl + Shift + S) > Add a file name, and click down your format options to png.
PLEASE NOTE: ALWAYS SAVE YOUR ICON IN PNG FORMAT. I cannot stress this enough, hence the attack of the CAPSLOCK. Saving in jpeg can make the quality of the icon decrease dramatically when it is re-uploaded. Saving as png maintains the higher quality of the icon, and ensures the icon is nicer to look at.
Once you’ve saved your icon, you’re done! (Which is the most *headdesking* thing to say, but it’s true!)
--
Endnote: I hope you've found this tutorial helpful in at least one way, or gained a little trick or two from it to use on your own icon.
As always, comments are love. Please let me know if you found this useful, or alternatively, hard to follow! Questions are always welcome as well :)
