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Afina
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 Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:51 pm Post subject: How to Make A Personalized Icon |
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This tutorial will be based in Photoshop since that is what I use but the general idea for this can be used in most any editing program.
Now - we shall start.
1) Put your avatar in the clothing that you wish for them to be in for your icon. This is a given but going to take this step by step. Now, doesn't your avatar look pretty?
2) Take a few moments and look at your avatar now - what type of feeling do you get from them? Are they wearing something regal? Something gothic? Punk? Preppy? Cute? Ect. Now, this is going to help you set the mood for your icon.
3) Now you will want to take a screen shot of your avatar - Whoa there - no camera shot - hit the print screen on your keyboard - there ya go. This will allow you to take a nice picture of your avatar that is larger than what the IMVU screen capture does. You can always size the avatar smaller and keep it looking good - sizing up is a pain and you loose detail.
4) Now in your editing program open a new project. Makes 480 wide by 660 high for now - this will give you a good sized area to work with - we will resize it later.
5) Photoshop for this hit - Ctrl+V - this is a hot key in Photoshop that will paste your last print screen into a project.
6) Now, move your avatar to be in the project where you want it to be. Usually for a starting icon, just go with centering it from around the waist up. This will give you a decent around of room around the avatar for a background and details but still have your avatar be the main focus. (If your screen shot was too big for your avatar to fit - just go to Edit->Transform ->Scale. Then left click at the top corner of the screen shot, hold down your shift key and then move your mouse till you size it down - will look a bit odd for a second - now just let go of the mouse button and then let go of the shift button. Now click on any of your other tools and click accept. Now it will smooth out the smaller image and it will be clear now.
7) Take your rectangle marquee tool and outline your avatar - now right click, layer via cut. Look at your layers and click on the layer below your avatar layer. Hit the trash can icon at the bottom of your layers panel - this will get rid of it.
8) Now to get rid of the rest of the stuff around your avatar. If you took it on a solid background, just use your magic wand and repeat the right click layer via cut step. This will take care of it quick as pie. If not, zoom in a bunch and use your eraser till you only have your avatar left.
9) Now, for a background - we are going to go with something simple. See your two colors on the left part of the program? Pick two colors that are in your avatars clothing. One in each square.
10) Now - filter, render - clouds.
11) Filter - Render - Difference Clouds
12) Filter - Render - Clouds
13) Filter - Blur - Radial Blur - Zoom (100 - Best)
14) Create a new layer - use your magic wand and click on the empty layer.
15) Edit - Stroke - Make it 5 pixels - inside. Use white to make the stroke - this mean sit will outline your image in a white border - yes plain but TRUST me - you will see why.
16) Now that that is done, look at your layers blending options - change the stroked layer with the white border to overlay. Now, duplicate the layer - weee, neato!.
17) Now to add your name to the image ^_~ - take your text tool, type your name in the font and size you want - remember - white here again. Place the text where you want it.
18) Now, over lay for blending option, duplicate just like you did the border layer .
19) now, right click on the layer options and choose blending options.
20) Click Drop Shadow and bevel. Or mess around till you get what you want.
21) Now, resize: Image - Image Size - 160 wide - 220 high
22) Save it in jpg, gif or png.
23) Upload it to a hosting site like www.imageshack.us or www.photobucket.com - reason why - easier to use it on IMVU.
24) Go to your profile through the forum area - bottom of the page.
25) Copy the link the image hosting place gave you into your profile where it says - Upload profile image from a URL.
26) Click submit.
You are done! Congrats!
Last edited by Afina on Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:32 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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~*I'm not a pro developer. I'm a Pro Artist.*~ |
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atheist
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Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 31
Location: Various parts of Canada
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:25 pm Post subject: Re: How to Make A Personalized Icon |
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| Afina wrote: Then left lick at the top corner ... |
| Afina wrote: Look at your layers and lick on the layer below... |
Got something on your mind there, Afina? 
Great tutorial, and the beginning of it applies to Fireworks too. But once you start getting into the specific names of effects, it starts getting a little different. Someone (skilled, not me) needs to make Fireworks tutorials too >.>
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Afina
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SacredSins
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| Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:13 am Post subject: |
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Atheist is my new hero! Good catch 
Oh yeah, great tutorial toots 
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KimberlyLin
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Afina
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KimberlyLin
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KareenaSM
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| Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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does this tutorial also works in gimp..? coral draw 8 or paint..? 
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Afina
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| Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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I am truthfully not sure since I don't use any of those programs. The general basics such as cropping out your avatar and putting it on a pbackground I know can be done on pretty much any editing program. Just not sure how you would go about it ~goes to dig up some tutorial links to post for other programs~
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[img:31cfd37aa6]http://www.surrealdreamdesigns.com/imvu/catalog/hopeandlovesignature.jpg[/img:31cfd37aa6]
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KareenaSM
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