A while back I wrote an article about link. I've decided to follow it up with a tutorial on how to make icons! They're actually much the same- the major difference is size.

toi will need an image editing program. I use Corel Paint boutique Pro but I think most people use Photoshop.

There's also the following online programs but I've never used them and this tutorial isn't necessarily meant to be used with them because I have no idea what these programs are capable of doing.

link
link
link




the Size of Your icone Matters


Now this part is extremely important and I can't tell toi how many icones I've seen that have been botched because they were incorrectly sized.

Your icone must be SQUARE [even on all sides].
Rectangular icones end up stretched, blurry, cut off ou overly pixelated when uploaded on picks ou as your profil picture.




The following are acceptable icone dimensions:
100x100
200x200

I prefer to work in 200x200. It gives toi room to see what you're doing and increases the general image quality. When fanpop resizes it for a pick ou profil image, it looks good.



Creating Your icone Template

Never just crop an image and call it an icon. toi should always use a template. It just makes icone creation so much easier and allows toi to be plus creative. Especially if toi make a lot of icones [which I do].

Open up your program and create a new file.
Size: 200x200
Background: black
File type: JPEG

Save it for future use as your icone template. ou just save this one.


Choosing Images

Now you'll want to select the picture you're going to make an icone out of. Always choose large, high quality images to work with.



Google image chercher is not always your friend. It may take time and effort to hunt down good screencap sites but it's definitely worth it in the long run. It makes your job so much easier because there's only so much editing that toi can do to a poor quality image to make it better. Also, it may seem strange to choose such large pictures to make a small icone out of but trust me, good icone making is all about the quality of the source material.



Resizing Images

So now that you've chosen your nice big picture, it's time to resize it so it will fit on your icon.

Find the Resize tool in your program's options. Mine is located under a menu called 'Image'. Yours could be located somewhere else. Just look through all the menus until toi find it.

Open the Resize tool. It should give toi the dimensions of the picture you're trying to resize.
Example:
Width: 1280 pixels
Height: 700 pixels

Change the height to 210 pixels. Only change the height and make sure that the 'Maintain aspect ratio' box is checked. Otherwise your image will be totally warped.

The reason toi don't resize it to exactly the height of your icone is because you'll want to give yourself some leeway to déplacer it around. It's very hard to position it precisely and if it's off even just a little bit it will leave a gap at the haut, retour au début ou bottom of the icon.

Also, toi don't have to resize the image to 210. toi can experiment with different sizes/crops but we'll get to that in just a moment. First let's establish how to copy and paste.



Adding an Image to the Template

So toi have your resized image and are ready to make it into an icon. You're going to copy and paste it to the icone template as a layer.

The Copy tool is in the 'Edit' menu. Just click it and you're done. The image is copied and ready to be pasted. Go back to your icone template.

The Paste tool is also in the 'Edit' menu. It may offer toi several options: Paste as New Image, Paste as Selection and Paste as New Layer.

Choose Paste as New Layer.
It will drop the image directly in the center of your icon.



Cropping Your Icon

This is the part where toi position the image so that it shows the section that toi want to see. toi can get really creative with this!

Use the Move tool to change the position of the image.
Just click and drag.
As I a dit earlier, toi don't have to resize it to 210. toi can resize it to 450, 300, 572- whatever!
That way toi can zoom in on certain sections of the image.

toi can also position the image in different ways, be creative!
You'd be surprised at how easy it is to make an icone look cool just par cropping it differently.







Editing Your Icon

So toi have your image resized and cropped just the way toi want it. Now it's time to épicéa, épinette it up a bit.

Sharpen
This tool is found in the 'Adjust' menu- as are all the basic tools to refine your image. I use the lowest setting. toi do not want to overuse the sharpen tool, it will pixelate your icone way too much. If you're using a high quality image then toi don't need to sharpen much at all.


Brightness and Contrast
Again, this tool is in the 'Adjust' menu. For most pictures toi don't need to go crazy with this tool. Usually just bump up the brightness par about 10 and the same for the contrast. If toi make it too bright, the darks will look washed out. If toi give it too much contrast, the darks will avaler, hirondelle the light.

Saturation
Saturation is how intense the couleurs are. Now depending on the effect you're going for toi might want to increase ou decrease the saturation. toi can play around with this until toi find something toi like. The Hue & Saturation tool should be in the same menu as the Brightness & Contrast tool. I wouldn't recommend changing the hue unless toi want to go for a really funky effect.

There are many different tools located in the 'Adjust' menu that toi can use to tweak your images. I recommend exploring them, playing around with them and finding what works the best for you.


Ok now toi have a good, basic icon. But toi could make it better...



Advanced

Watermarks and how to get rid of them

One of my biggest pet peeves about icones is when toi can see a watermark on the image. It's usually from the network that aired the tv montrer and it's really not that hard to get rid of.

Now we are venturing into plus advanced tools and be aware that not every program will call them the same thing.

In my program, it's called the Push tool.
What it does:
Pushes the pixels around the image.

How you're going to use it:
To cover up the ugly symbol.
toi can adjust the size of the tool [you'll want it to be small] and the opacity [you'll want it to be in the midrange] toi won't want the opacity at 100% because the edges will be too hard [like in the first sample image].
toi just want to gently try to push the pixels around until it looks like the symbol was never there. Start in an area where the symbol isn't, then just click and drag the pixels over the symbol. Don't use the same starting point for the whole thing. Choose the pixels that look like they belong in that spot. In this image I used the black shadow to cover the bottom of the symbol. The plus gray shadow on his neck to cover the rest, being careful not to get any dark pixels on his chin. Most programs have an 'Undo' option that can erase your last stroke if toi make a mistake.




Layers

Now we're going to get into layers and how toi can use them to improve your icone and make it different.

The image that toi added to your template is a layer. You're going to create one ou plus layers to go on haut, retour au début of it to add different effects.

In order to see and arrange your layers: Go to the 'View' menu, scroll down to 'Palettes' and there should be an option that says 'Layers'.
[Note: some programs automatically have the Layer Palette open in your workspace so toi may not need to open it.]
It's just a little window that shows the layers one on haut, retour au début of the other. toi can déplacer them up ou down as toi need. toi can also change the opacity and blend mode of your layers.









You'll want to create a new layer the exact size of your icone template. In my program I simply go to the bottom layer [called the Background], right click on it and choose 'Duplicate'.
If toi are unable to do that the simplest other way of doing it just to create another black icone template, then copy and paste it as a new layer.


You're going to need the Fill tool. It should look just like a paint bucket. Now toi get to choose a color. toi may have noticed the color palette on the right hand side of your workspace. It will offer toi many choices. After you've picked one, just click on the black layer with the Fill tool and there toi go.

toi can also choose a gradient [a blend of 2 ou plus colors]. To do this, there should be a drop down menu that lets toi pick between solid ou gradient. toi can use one of the preset gradients ou make your own. toi can also change the angle of your gradient and the number of times it's repeated.

After you've filled your layer with color, make sure that it's on haut, retour au début of your image layer. Now you'll want to change the blend mode and opacity in order to get different effects. toi can get all kinds of different looks with this and toi can also add plus layers to get even plus effects.




I usually use this specific gradient [one that I created] set to Overlay at varying opacity levels on every icone I make to just give it plus punch.









Then if I want something with a bit plus panache ou a different color, I'll add 1 ou plus layers- playing with different blend modes and opacity levels until I'm satisfied.
















Texture

toi can also add textures as another layer. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about textures because they really aren't much different than color layers. toi just have to play with the blend modes and opacity until toi get what toi want. In this case Google is your friend. Here's some examples of textures:


The only thing I want to point out is that if your texture is obscuring something vital in your icone [a character's face for example] toi can always use the Eraser tool on it. The eraser tool looks like an eraser of course. Use a very low opacity setting on it [5%] and set the hardness level at about 50. The hardness is just how soft ou hard the edge of the eraser is. Gently erase some of the texture to let vital features montrer through a little better.




Text


Text isn't my strong suit. It's kind of hit and miss with me. I'd have to say that it's par far the most difficult part of icone making. Luckily, icones don't necessarily need it to be pretty! But in case toi want to do it, I'll give toi the basics.

You'll need the Text tool, which will look just like a letter of the alphabet [I've seen it as a T ou an A]. When toi open it, there will be a box to write in and some options to change the size, font and color. Sometimes these options won't appear in the text window but at the haut, retour au début of your workspace ou in the color palette.
When toi type usually a prévisualiser of it will appear on your icon.

Now the text is going to be added as another layer. Which means that toi can use blend mode effects and change the opacity for it too.

I would recommend adding each word as an individual layer rather than typing it all into the text box at once. This way toi can déplacer each word independently into the position toi desire. Which makes it easier to fit the text around the subject of your icone if toi need to. In order to add them as separate layers, type one word in the box and add it: then select the haut, retour au début layer of the icone and add another word. Repeat for every word. Otherwise it will group them all together as one layer and when toi try to déplacer them, it will déplacer them all at once.



Size, color and font

Some tips to help make your text legible: Keep in mind that your icone is going to be small. As toi add the text, occasionally zoom out on the icone to get an idea of how it's going to look.

Most times you'll want to avoid thin, delicate fonts because they won't montrer up well. Use fonts that are bolder, thicker.

Try to use couleurs that contrast with the image. Again, it's going to make them easier to read.






Sometimes it's helpful to give the text a Drop Shadow to make it pop out more. The drop shadow tool can be found in the 'Effects' menu under '3d effects'. What it does is makes it look like there's a shadow ou outline under the text. toi can choose different couleurs but for most icones black works the best. I recommend a strong opacity level and low blur level. toi can also change the angle of the shadow both vertically and horizontally. Be aware that once toi add a drop shadow to your text toi can no longer éditer it.





Please proofread your text before you're finished. There are online dictionaries that can help toi with spelling if toi need it. There's nothing plus sloppy-looking than an icone with poor spelling and that kind of ruins the point of all the hard work toi just put into making it.
If you're interested in downloading some cool fonts to use, I recommend this website: link





I hope this guide has provided toi with some useful tips on how to make icons. If toi have any questions ou need clarification on anything, just leave a commentaire and I'll try to help as best I can.