Tutorial 1
In this tutorial I aim to teach you a few techniques that I used in order to create the avatar shown below, without using any third party resoures. You must have a basic knowledge of Photoshop tools (this tutorial is for Photoshop). This tutorial MAY traslate into other programs, though I'm not sure. This tutorial won't hand everything to you on a plate. It just highlights some tricks that I tend to use a lot on my avatars. Be original and come up with your own tricks and techniques. I would highly appreciate it if you didn't make a duplicate of my icon.
Cropping
First of all, we need to crop our base. Click the crop tool on Photoshop and set the sizes to 100px X 100px. Then, draw a square around the area of the image you want and double-click to crop it.
Making the avatar
1. Duplicate (Ctrl + J) the background layer so that you have two layers [background and copy of background]
2. Set the top layer (copy of bg) to screen and lower the opacity if you think it's too bright. I lowered mine slightly to about 65.
3. Flatten your layers [layer > flatten image]
4. Go to filter > sharpen > sharpen to sharpen your image. This is an optional step. Again, if the image is too sharp, you will have to duplicate the bg image, sharpen and then lower the opacity of the sharpened layer slightly.
5. Flatten your layers if you need to.
6. Go to image > adjustments > brightness and contrast and play around with the settings until you get something you like. I only increased the settings very slightly.
7. Go to image > adjustments > color balance (Ctrl + B) and fiddle with the dials until you get a nice color that you like. I added a little bit of red and green to mine.
8. Flatten the layers if you need to and duplicate the bg layer.
9. Go to filter > blur > motion blur and set the settings to around 45 degrees and a distance of 29.
10. Set the top layer (the one you motion blurred) to screen (or if you think it looks better, a different blend mode).
11. Now, you might find that there are areas of your icon that are too bright/dark. If you want to get rid of these areas, simply select the eraser tool and set it to a soft brush (at whatever size is suitable). Then, carefully erase the areas that need to be erased. I normally find that I have to erase the area around the character's face so that it's clearer to see. I recommend that you do this if you need to.
12. Flatten layers.
13. Make a new layer [layer > new layer]
14. Now it's time to add a gradient! If you're good, you can make and add your own gradient. But I usually find that the photoshop default gradients are great. Simply click the little arrow in your gradient window and choose a set of gradients you want. I like to use the 'simple' gradients and remove the white part of them. The gradient I used for this icon was #EB2D2E to transparent.
15. Set your gradient layer to a blend mode of your choice (I chose lighten)
16. Lower the opacity if you need to. I lowered it to about the 50-70 mark.
17. Make a new layer to the top of your existing layers.
18. Add another gradient of your choice. This time I used #0071B5 to transparent
19. Set that layer to lighten and again the lower the opacity if you need to (I lowered it to around 40-50)
20. Flatten your layers.
21. Go to image > mode > auto contrast to add a little contrast to the avatar if you want. If the image gets too contrasty to you, can manually do it through the brightness and contrast feature.
22. You don't have to do this, but for my avatar I fiddled around with the color balance settings again and added more blue.
23. Now it's time for an interesting border :) Make a new layer and grab the brush tool. Make the brush settings oil pastel large in whatever color you want. I used plain old white for my icon. Then, just brush the edges of the image to create a rough-edged border.
24. Flatten your layers.
25. Grab the selection tool and set the feathering to 10px. Then, select an area of your icon (I chose Setsuna's face), copy (ctrl + C) and paste (Ctrl + V). Then, move the pasted section to wherever you want it and set the blendmode to whatever you want. I chose overlay.
26. Add anything else you would like to. I added some text (Georgia size 10pt) and some default arrow shapes (which I then set to soft light).
There you have it. As I said before, these steps are only tips and hints, which is why I didn't give you the exact instructions. The trick to creating nice avatars is to be creative and experiment. Just mess about with your program and image and see what you can come up with. Have fun!
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