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Julie Gaffney - Washed-out Images - Tutorial by thestalkycop
From this: to this: or this:

This tutorial assumes you are comfortable with making new layers and changing their properties (to screen or exclusion, for example).

I started by cropping my cap of Julie to 100x100

I sharpened it twice, then cleaned up the skin using the soften brush.

I duplicated the layer and set it to Soft Light at 100% opacity.

I duplicated the layer again and set it to Screen at 100% opacity.

Next I made a new layer and flooded it with a deep blue (#050C3F) set to Exclusion.

Next I made another new layer, set it so 20% opacity and flooded it with #DCC7A6.

I made another new layer and flooded it with the same colour #DCC7A6, again set to 20%, this time I used Dodge as the layer property.

Then I merged the layers and sharpened them once. Once again, I softened the skin where needed.

Then I made a new layer and flooded it with my sexy gradient set to Screen at 100% opacity.
(You can make it yourself, have white at both edges, then #C29C98 at 20%, #656281 at 50%, #C29C98 at 80%. If that doesn't make sense, just right-click the gradient, copy it, and then paste it as a new layer on to your icon.

Merge.

Next I adjusted the Brightness and Contrast to Brightness -47 and Contrast 45 (Colours > Adjust > Brightness & Contrast).

<--- Believe it or not, that's a texture. I've outlined it and made it huge to show you. The real one is here -->
Make a new image 4x4px in size with a transparent background. Fill the top two pixels with #EBAA83 and leave the other half transparent.
Go back to your icon.
Create a new layer, set it to Burn at 30% opacity.
Go to Fill, and choose Pattern, you should be able to select the little "texture" you've just made. Set it at an angle of 45 degrees and flood fill.

You should end up with this.
You can skip that step if you preferred the second version of the icon.

I realised that if I wanted my text to be readable, I’d have to switch a few things around. I selected the background layer (the picture of Julie) and went to Image > Mirror.

Use this brush, on #EBAA83 set to Soft Light

This is the result.

Next up, the text I used Violation (from dafont.com) size 12, colour #78598D set to burn. It says "to show the world", you can duplicate the layer if you think the text isn't strong enough.

I made a border by making a new layer, and selecting all (Ctrl + A), then contracting the selection by 2 pixels (Selections > Modify > Contract) then inverting (Selections > Invert) then flood-filling with #78598D set to Burn.
Or you can just copy the one here and paste it in!

And to give it the final touch, I blurred the Border layer, using Gaussian Blur (Effects > Blur > Gaussian Blur) set to 2.00.

If you skipped the step with the "texture", then you'll have this.

And that's it.

To Recap:
#050C3F - Exclusion
#DCC7A6 - 20%
#DCC7A6 - 20% - Dodge
Merge layers. Sharpen.
Gradient - Screen
Texture - #EBAA83 - 30% - Burn
Brush - #EBAA83 - 30% - Soft Light
Text - #78598D - Burn - Violation Size 12
Border - #78598D - Burn - Gaussian Blur 2.00

Whew! That was harder than making the icon. Was it clear, or was it crap?

Icon Tutorials by thestalkycop

main site

	I started by cropping my cap of Julie to 100x100
	I sharpened it twice, then cleaned up the skin using the soften brush.
	I duplicated the layer and set it to Soft Light at 100% opacity.
	I duplicated the layer again and set it to Screen at 100% opacity.
	Next I made a new layer and flooded it with a deep blue (#050C3F) set to Exclusion.
	Next I made another new layer, set it so 20% opacity and flooded it with #DCC7A6.
	I made another new layer and flooded it with the same colour #DCC7A6, again set to 20%, this time I used Dodge as the layer property.
	Then I merged the layers and sharpened them once. Once again, I softened the skin where needed.
	Then I made a new layer and flooded it with my sexy gradient set to Screen at 100% opacity. (You can make it yourself, have white at both edges, then #C29C98 at 20%, #656281 at 50%, #C29C98 at 80%. If that doesn't make sense, just right-click the gradient, copy it, and then paste it as a new layer on to your icon.
	Merge.
	Next I adjusted the Brightness and Contrast to Brightness -47 and Contrast 45 (Colours > Adjust > Brightness & Contrast).
	<--- Believe it or not, that's a texture. I've outlined it and made it huge to show you. The real one is here --> Make a new image 4x4px in size with a transparent background. Fill the top two pixels with #EBAA83 and leave the other half transparent. Go back to your icon. Create a new layer, set it to Burn at 30% opacity. Go to Fill, and choose Pattern, you should be able to select the little "texture" you've just made. Set it at an angle of 45 degrees and flood fill.
	You should end up with this. You can skip that step if you preferred the second version of the icon.
	I realised that if I wanted my text to be readable, I’d have to switch a few things around. I selected the background layer (the picture of Julie) and went to Image > Mirror.
	Use this brush, on #EBAA83 set to Soft Light
	This is the result.
	Next up, the text I used Violation (from dafont.com) size 12, colour #78598D set to burn. It says "to show the world", you can duplicate the layer if you think the text isn't strong enough.
	I made a border by making a new layer, and selecting all (Ctrl + A), then contracting the selection by 2 pixels (Selections > Modify > Contract) then inverting (Selections > Invert) then flood-filling with #78598D set to Burn. Or you can just copy the one here and paste it in!
	And to give it the final touch, I blurred the Border layer, using Gaussian Blur (Effects > Blur > Gaussian Blur) set to 2.00.
	If you skipped the step with the "texture", then you'll have this.