Coloring Tutorial
Turning this: into


This isn't a full icon tutorial, really. It's just a coloring technique, I guess. This is usually good for pictures with skies or open spaces in them. I haven't experimented with other types of bases.
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Start off with your base, cropped to 100x100 (or whatever you're using), and sharpened once.


Duplicate the base twice and set the two copies to screen.


Make a new layer and fill it with a dark blue color (#0B1837). Set that layer to Exclusion; Opacity: 66%.


Add this gradient by (I think) crumblingwalls and set it to Color Burn.


Add another gradient by crumbling walls and set it to Soft Light; Opacity: 50%.


So, because I hate just flattening icons, make a new layer and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E. This will stamp what we have so far onto the layer.

Grab the dodge tool and make your settings: Brush: Anywhere from 18-33, soft; Range: Highlights; Exposure: 20% For this icon, I dodged the areas where the meteors(sp? God I probably got it wrong, haha) were falling out from the sky. Then, I grabbed my burn tool (Size 25 soft brush; Range: Shadows; Exposure at 20%) and burned the sky a little, and finally, the ground below the boy.

I sharpened it a little more, and voila. :]