How to go from:

to

This tutorial deals with masks, tonal values and watercolor effects... among other little details. The icon was made in Photoshop 7 but the tutorial is explained with screenshots of CS4, and shortcuts are given for both versions. This means, as far as I know, that this tutorial can be adapted to pretty much any version of PS you may have.

( Tutorial: Masks - Tonal Value - Watercolor Effects )

Yay! Tutorial!
I remember promising a few peeps I'd make one a few months back, so this is long overdue.

This tutorial is about what you could do when you want to icon a character but boring ugly stuff are in the way. In the case of this tutorial, the cell bars in front of John Sheppard's face (Stargate: Atlantis). The icon itself is nothing exceptional but it wasn't the point of the tutorial, so I figured it'd do.

There are probably other ways to do this. This is just mine. I hope you'll enjoy this, and that you'll find it useful in some ways. :)

How to go from (a) to (b)?
(a) ------> (b)


( tutorial )

Sorry about the lack of updates. I've been away from the www for the last two weeks and just came back a couple of days ago. Coming within the week, new icons as well as the 2nd part of the requests (apologies for the delay once more - I'm almost done!!). Until then, here's a little tutorial.

A long, long time ago, someone requested a tutorial on coloring. A long time ago, someone else requested a tutorial on coloring. Not so long ago, another someone else requested a tutorial on coloring. Every time I had said, ok, I'll keep your request in mind. I thought it was time I kept my word.

Since it's a real pain to explain how to do things, I just recorded my screen while making an icon in which coloring was important. Unfortunately, the program I'm using does not record mouse movements, but you can see which tool I click on because the button is pressed down.

Things you should know before watching:
• The "technique" I use here is not the only one I use in my icons - just one of them - nor is it the only way of doing things. It's just my way. Hopefully, you'll find it interesting/helpful...
• I had made this icon before. What you see is just me repeating steps I had previously made. That is why it is going so fast and without much hesitation. (Plus the unavoidable fumbling didn't make the cut). It usually takes me a lot more playing around before I know what I want to do, and manage to do it.


How to go from [a] to [b]?
[a] » [b]

Right click and save as. Don't forget to comment if you download.
Impressions, thoughts and all kinds of feedback are welcome.

DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO
(wmv - 32Mb - ~9mn)

DOWNLOAD THE PSD FILE
(171kb)
The psd file will be less useful than the video as many of
the layers are merged together after the first step of coloring...

Made with Photoshop 7

How to get rid of a saturated color in a cap?
How to go from (a) to (b)?

(a) » (b)

( tutorial #3 )

TUT!! Thank you to all the persons who voted in the poll. A large number of you wanted a tutorial for the Frodo icon, so here it is :)

Note 1: My graphic program is Corel Photo Paint 11. However, it should be easily adapted to PS or PSP, or any other graphic programs.
Note 2: Tutorials are nice for inspiration, and to learn new tricks. Please do not reproduce it exactly. There's no fun/creativity in that.



( tutorial #02 )

My first tutorial since I started this icon journal. Hopefully you'll find it useful. I chose to do a tutorial for one of my third watch icons, but of course, you don't have to know the fandom to appreciate the tut (duh) :P

Remember
- Important: My graphic program is Corel Photo Paint 11. However, it is easily transposable to PSP or other programs.
- This tutorial is for inspiration, to show you how I do things, etc. However, it is not to be copied exactly. Where would be the creativity in that?
- Feel free to use my gradients, but if you use the textures of the other people I mention in the tutorial, please make sure you give them credit.
- In this tutorial, I use textures by elli and booster_rocket.

Also bare with me, English is not my native language.

The icon is


( teh very first blimey tut )