[Tutorial #14] Close and Far Yuna

[aurora_amethyst]

Going from this:   to this: 

Requested by impala_chick and themeparks @ Ask the Maker 2024 @ icontalking


^^ Click on the banner for my thread

I started with these two images.

 

I knew I wanted to combine them somehow, but I wasn't sure how. I started looking through my textures and came across this texture by innocent_lexy from her Prefest set which I rotated and used to mask out the faraway crop.

  

Next, I added a copper gradient map (this one comes with Photoshop) and set it to Soft Light, 30% opacity. This layer brought out the reds and pinks of Yuna's hair and skin and also brightened up the icon.

  

I also added a gray and white gradient map [676363 (0%) to ffffff (33%) to b9b9b9 (66%)] and set it to Soft Light, 20% opacity. This layer helped to brighten the icon overall and to bring out the texture of Yuna's skin.

  

I also added a gradient map layer (e6b224 to ae0052) and set it to normal, 6% opacity. This layer gave a reddish shine to the icon.

 

Now for a curves layer! I used jaejunggim's Cold Day curve setting from her Holiday Gift Set 2011. This layer helped to cool the reddish/pinkish tones and brightened the icon.

 

To give Yuna's hair a more purple tone, I used this texture from innocent_lexy's Purple Dreams texture set and set it to Lighten, 60% opacity.

 

I copy-merged and pasted the layer into the icon (CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E or CTRL+SHIFT+CMD+E). Then I used the Cutout filter (Filter>Filter Gallery>Artistic>Cutout) with the following settings: Number of levels: 8, Edge Simplicity: 0, Edge Fidelity: 2. I set the layer to Multiply, 60% opacity. This layer darkened the icon and gave it a paint-y feel.

 

I copy-merged again and pasted the layer into the icon (CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E or CTRL+SHIFT+CMD+E). Then I used the following settings for the paint daubs filter (Filter>Filter Gallery>Artistic>Paint Daubs): Brush Size: 1, Sharpness 1, and I set the layer to normal, 100% opacity. Now the icon feels sharper and more defined!



But the icon still felt a bit blah, so I added this texture by from innocent_lexy's 17th of April set. I inverted the texture and rotated and duplicated it to go around the faraway crop. Then I set the layer to screen, 100% opacity.

  

Voila!

There you have it!

.psd

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Comments

[themeparks]

Wow, awesome. Can't wait to try. Thank you. :)

[aurora_amethyst]

You're very welcome! Glad you liked it!

[impala_chick]

Oh neat, thanks so much! I've never used the cutout filter before so I'm excited to try that. I also tend to shy away from gradient maps but this inspires me to try them more often.

[aurora_amethyst]

You're very welcome! Yay, glad to bring out the lesser known filters! The cutout filter is great for the paint-y look! I'm also glad that you've been inspired to use gradient maps. They're really fun to color with, so definitely try out different layer modes! You'll be surprised at how cool the coloring can turn out!

[littlemissnovella]

This is such a lovely guide!

[aurora_amethyst]

D'awww! Thanks so much! ^^