13. Tutorial

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The first in a row of tutorials that were requested at icon_talk.


Learn how to make icon like these by using Gradient Maps



Made in PS CS4
Easy, but you should know your basic tools and have a knowledge of Layer Masks




1. I'm starting with a cap from Warrior. I already know that I'll only need the part with Tom Hardy and a white background, so I crop the image with him in the center.




2. Next I extract the image, so it's only Tom on a white background. Add a new layer mask and paint over the parts you don't need in black.

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3. For the coloring part I'm working with Gradient Maps.

You can use any Gradient presets you have for this (I have tons in my Photoshop, mostly from DeviantArt), or create your own, but make sure you add an adjustment layer "Gradient Map", not "Gradient" .
While gradients add color in varying opacity, gradient maps will cover and color the entire image with the colors you choose at full opacity.

I chose a blue-to-green gradient for the first image.


If you click in the color bar, the editor will open and you can adjust any color to your liking.

How Gradient Maps work:
The color on the left will cover the black parts of your image (here his hair and tattoos), the color on the right the white part (the white background). Everything between will be covered by a mix of these colors, according to its brightness.

This is what I get:



I don't like it, so I check the "reverse" box under the gradient. It changes to green-to-blue, which means the white background will be covered in blue instead of green.



Much better.

Remember which gradient preset or which colors you chose.


4. Go to your layer palette and double-click into the Gradient Map layer, so you'll get the same working space as in the image above. Try different gradients and colors and how they look. Here I chose a yellow-to-pink gradient that will contrast nicely with the green-to-blue one.





5. Copy/paste this yellow/pink version as a new layer (ALt+Ctrl+Shift+E) and resize it (Edit/Free Transform, press shift while resizing to keep the aspect ratio). Double-click in the Gradient Map layer again and change it back to green-to-blue.

This is your final result:






This Simon icon was requested and made with the same technique:



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As you can see, I chose a green-purple-red-yellow gradient, but there is no green in the icon.
If you look at the base image, you'll see there is no black, so no part is covered with green. The darkest part is his hair, a dark-ish grey, so this gets covered with the next color in the spetrum, in this case purple.

And this is all the magic. As a last step I added a b&w texture (I think by pandavirus, please correct me if I'm wrong) on Screen.

Gradient maps are a fun tool. I use them a lot for the "Crazy Colors", but they are also very useful if you choose more subdued colors. Try different blending modes and lower the opacity. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but that's part of the fun.

Any questions, just ask.