Icon Tutorial 02
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1. For this tutorial, we're going to use this picture of Aoi, so open it up in Photoshop first.

2. Sharpen the image by going to filter > sharpen > sharpen. Duplicate that layer by pressing Ctrl + J. Set the blending mode of the top layer to 52% Screen. Then go to Layer > Merge Visible. You now have only one layer.

3. Now take this texture by arisubox and place it beneath the previous layer with Ctrl + V. Sharpen it. Then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal. You should still only see the image of Aoi on your screen and not the texture underneath it.

4. Now let's erase the background. Select the Polygonal Lasso tool (or press L on your keyboard). Trace around Aoi by clicking around him until you have an outline like the one below. Remember to connect your last point with your first.

5. Go to Select > Inverse. Now your outline looks like this:

6. Press backspace on your keyboard. Now you see the texture as your background instead.

7. Let's add some pretty effects now. Take this smudge brush by _hakanaidreams and paste it in a new layer at the top. Set the blending mode to 100% Screen. Then press Ctrl + I to invert the image. Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal. Move that smudged brush layer a bit to your right.

8. Now take this light texture by tuulia_. Set the blending mode to 100% Lighten. Then go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal. Erase any parts of the texture that covers his face.

9. You should have something like this so far.

10. Lastly, we are going to add text. You can use whatever font you want. I typed in "Come" with the font Broken Planewing with size 27pt and Strong. Then I changed the blending options (Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options). Use these settings:

11. Just add some tiny text to finish it off. I used Century Gothic, Regular, 1pt, Strong and typed in jibberish (since no one can read it anyway). Here's the result: