A while back I wrote an articolo 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.

te will need an image editing program. I use Corel Paint negozio 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 icona Matters


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

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




The following are acceptable icona dimensions:
100x100
200x200

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



Creating Your icona Template

Never just crop an image and call it an icon. te should always use a template. It just makes icona creation so much easier and allows te to be più creative. Especially if te make a lot of icone [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 icona template. o just save this one.


Choosing Images

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



Google image cerca 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 te 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 icona out of but trust me, good icona making is all about the quality of the fonte 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 te find it.

Open the Resize tool. It should give te 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 te don't resize it to exactly the height of your icona is because you'll want to give yourself some leeway to sposta 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 superiore, in alto o bottom of the icon.

Also, te don't have to resize the image to 210. te 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 te have your resized image and are ready to make it into an icon. You're going to copy and paste it to the icona 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 icona template.

The Paste tool is also in the 'Edit' menu. It may offer te 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 te position the image so that it shows the section that te want to see. te can get really creative with this!

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

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







Editing Your Icon

So te have your image resized and cropped just the way te want it. Now it's time to abete rosso 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. te do not want to overuse the sharpen tool, it will pixelate your icona way too much. If you're using a high quality image then te don't need to sharpen much at all.


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

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

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


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



Advanced

Watermarks and how to get rid of them

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

Now we are venturing into più 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.
te 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] te won't want the opacity at 100% because the edges will be too hard [like in the first sample image].
te 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 più 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 te make a mistake.




Layers

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

The image that te added to your template is a layer. You're going to create one o più layers to go on superiore, in alto 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 te may not need to open it.]
It's just a little window that shows the layers one on superiore, in alto of the other. te can sposta them up o down as te need. te can also change the opacity and blend mode of your layers.









You'll want to create a new layer the exact size of your icona template. In my program I simply go to the bottom layer [called the Background], right click on it and choose 'Duplicate'.
If te are unable to do that the simplest other way of doing it just to create another black icona 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 te get to choose a color. te may have noticed the color palette on the right hand side of your workspace. It will offer te many choices. After you've picked one, just click on the black layer with the Fill tool and there te go.

te can also choose a gradient [a blend of 2 o più colors]. To do this, there should be a drop down menu that lets te pick between solid o gradient. te can use one of the preset gradients o make your own. te 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 superiore, in alto of your image layer. Now you'll want to change the blend mode and opacity in order to get different effects. te can get all kinds of different looks with this and te can also add più layers to get even più effects.




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









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
















Texture

te 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. te just have to play with the blend modes and opacity until te get what te 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 icona [a character's face for example] te 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 o hard the edge of the eraser is. Gently erase some of the texture to let vital features mostra 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 da far the most difficult part of icona making. Luckily, icone don't necessarily need it to be pretty! But in case te want to do it, I'll give te 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 o an A]. When te 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 superiore, in alto of your workspace o in the color palette.
When te type usually a anteprima of it will appear on your icon.

Now the text is going to be added as another layer. Which means that te 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 te can sposta each word independently into the position te desire. Which makes it easier to fit the text around the subject of your icona if te need to. In order to add them as separate layers, type one word in the box and add it: then select the superiore, in alto layer of the icona and add another word. Repeat for every word. Otherwise it will group them all together as one layer and when te try to sposta them, it will sposta them all at once.



Size, color and font

Some tips to help make your text legible: Keep in mind that your icona is going to be small. As te add the text, occasionally zoom out on the icona 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 mostra up well. Use fonts that are bolder, thicker.

Try to use colori 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 o outline under the text. te can choose different colori but for most icone black works the best. I recommend a strong opacity level and low blur level. te can also change the angle of the shadow both vertically and horizontally. Be aware that once te add a drop shadow to your text te can no longer modifica it.





Please proofread your text before you're finished. There are online dictionaries that can help te with spelling if te need it. There's nothing più sloppy-looking than an icona with poor spelling and that kind of ruins the point of all the hard work te 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 te with some useful tips on how to make icons. If te have any domande o need clarification on anything, just leave a commento and I'll try to help as best I can.