VectorKing's Guide to making a Stylish Avatar
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  1. #1

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    Default VectorKing's Guide to making a Stylish Avatar



    hello and welcome to my new guide, here you will learn how to make that stylish avatar you always dreamed of making.
    This tutorial requires



    • Photoshop
    • the most basic photoshop knowledge


    The final result is going to look like this:





    So lets jump right in, first things first, launch adobe photoshop.*
    once its open, the first thing we want to do is create a new project
    on the top menu click File > New

    A windows should pop up input the following settings and press ok.



    *( for the purpose of this tutorial, i will be using adobe photoshop cs4 but these techniques can be replicated in most recent versions)

    *All credit for screenshots and writing goes to me, thanks to official psd for render and stock image.


    now we have our blank image we should get started. the first thing we want to be looking for is Background image. Find a suitable background at officialpsds.com. I chose to use this sepia background:



    Right click on the image you choose and press copy image.
    go back to photoshop and press edit > paste now we have our background, however it is to big for photoshop, have no fear! resize is here (:

    Press ctrl+T on your keyboard with the layer of the background image selected, drag the corners of the image while holding down shift to protect aspect ratio. once the image is resized, move it around till you like how your background looks.

    So far, this is how our project looks:



    Next thing we want to do, is find a render to place on top of the image. A render is essentially a image cut out from its background, saved in a psd on a transparent background.

    Find your render here: Newest PSDs | Official PSDs

    I'm going to use this psd whatever psd you choose, click the download PSD button:



    once you've downloaded the rar file, extract the psd from inside and open it in photoshop. you should see something like this:



    Press ctrl+a to select your image, then press ctrl+c to copy it. move back to your original project and press ctrl+v. select the Girls image layer press ctrl+t like before and resize it to fit your avatar background.

    you should now have something like this:



    Now as you can see, the image and background aren't blending so marvelously, so were gonna need to work some magic first.
    press the adjustment layer button and select levels. make sure the levels layer is above all the rest.

    Your levels settings should look like this:



    Set the levels opactiy to 68%

    and your layers like this:



    now randomly add some color balance layers form the adjustment layer menu .

    These are the ones I added, but you can do your own:







    Now your avatar should be looking something like this:



    Not too shabby! the background layer and the foreground image have pretty much blended together color and lighting wise.

    Next thing we want to be doing is text.
    Select the text button and create a new text box. in it type your nickname, for the purpose of this tutorial, I am going to use mine.

    once you have finished select your text layer,
    and press the fx button .

    These are the effects i used, however you can modify them to your liking:






    The font I used was Deftone Stylus

    so far this is how it looks:



    Now were just going to make a circular frame and were done.
    select the rounded rectangle tool, by clicking U. and make a rounded rectangle on top of your image. should look like this:



    now hold down control, and click on the rectangles layer, this should make a selection around it, now delete the rectangle but keep the selection. once the rectangle is gone and you just have the rounded selection press select > inverse and with that selection proceed to go over the girl layer and the BG layer and press delete.

    You should now have this:



    now fill the white background with forum color which is: #1f1f1f

    now for the final result:



    Pretty snazzy huh

    Here's another one I made to demonstrate Flexibility




    Last edited by VectorKing; April 6th, 2010 at 11:28 AM.
    Master of all arts, he can manipulate anything at will Distorting and warping you.
    Brushing all who oppose him of the face of the earth, he follows no pattern and cannot be measured.
    No software can rasterize him - no man can illustrate him - for he is.
    The Exalted


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  3. #2

    Join Date
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    The Great Plains
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    Default

    Most of this is pretty straightforward to me - but what I'm wondering is if you can explain the levels thing. I don't want to just be told what to do, I want to know why setting up the levels that way does what it does so that I can actually use the tool for more than just this project - it's one i'm entirely unfamiliar with. Any help?

    Need help? PM me and I'll find you the answer.

  4. #3

    Join Date
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    nice tutorial, I certainly will try it out asap :)

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jschro14 View Post
    Most of this is pretty straightforward to me - but what I'm wondering is if you can explain the levels thing. I don't want to just be told what to do, I want to know why setting up the levels that way does what it does so that I can actually use the tool for more than just this project - it's one i'm entirely unfamiliar with. Any help?
    okay so this is your levels box:



    The tops section works like Curves but in a linear fashion
    The white slider represents the Highlights the gray slider represents the neutral and the black slider represents the Shadows.

    What i did was essentially just make the shadows darker and the highlights lighter by moving the white slider to the left, and the black slider to the right.

    Mess around with it and you will get the hang of it pretty quick, in my opinion it works much better than curves, and its linear functionality makes it also much friendlier and easier to use.

    cheers
    Master of all arts, he can manipulate anything at will Distorting and warping you.
    Brushing all who oppose him of the face of the earth, he follows no pattern and cannot be measured.
    No software can rasterize him - no man can illustrate him - for he is.
    The Exalted

  6. #5

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    The Great Plains
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    Thanks for clearing that up :) I'm really bad at experimenting with some things. For well over a year all I played with was the blending options for layers - and 90% of the time that was only on text layers :P

    Need help? PM me and I'll find you the answer.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jschro14 View Post
    Thanks for clearing that up :) I'm really bad at experimenting with some things. For well over a year all I played with was the blending options for layers - and 90% of the time that was only on text layers :P

    Trust me, messing around in photoshop for half an hour will teach you more than any silly tutorial will.
    Master of all arts, he can manipulate anything at will Distorting and warping you.
    Brushing all who oppose him of the face of the earth, he follows no pattern and cannot be measured.
    No software can rasterize him - no man can illustrate him - for he is.
    The Exalted

  8. #7

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    I can't find the "fx button", any help? (A)

  9. #8

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    Australia
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    Fantastic tutorial VectorKing, really nice. To be honest i didn't completely understand it but will try it again later and if i still don't understand i will ask you.

    This is the result of my first try:

    "One who stands for nothing, will fall for anything" - Malcolm X


    "When we look at modern man, we have to face the fact that modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit, which stands in glaring contrast to a scientific and technological abundance. We've learned to fly the air like birds, we've learned to swim the seas like fish, and yet we haven't learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters." - Martin Luther King

    In the name of the best within me, I radiate a light by which others may see their own way in dark streets of life while I pursue my quest for excellence with an urge to serve others at whatever cost as I rise to the occasion, staying true to my ideals, beliefs and commitments and as the heroes of all time have guided me by example, so shall I guide you with my strength and dedication to persevere and endure all responsibilities on this trail of bliss and perfection-the path of The Exalted.

  10. #9

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    Sorry to ask i was wonderin where you get these fonts they are awesome and i cant get it.i tried googlin also ,can you pls tell where to get awesome fonts thanx in advance

  11. #10

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    Nvm about the fx button post, found it..

    Here's my first try, the background color 1f1f1f... didnt work for me, I probably did something wrong.. but here it is:





    Again, really nice tutorial
    Last edited by qE^; April 5th, 2010 at 05:42 AM.

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