Photoshop Tutor

Designing a Safety Icon

By Michael in Tutorials

I was thinking on how to add onto the addition of my icons that i am working on. Many of you have read my Creating a Calendar icon, if not visit http://www.pstut.info/?p=18. Anyways, a new family member arrives and it is the Safety Icon. Once you complete this tutorial, you will having the following results:

Lets begin with the first and foremost basic step which is creating the environment or the background for our icon. I have overlayed and added some shadows to my back ground so you can just save my background and start working straight from it.

Our first step would be creating the custom shape which will be the Diamond Card from your Custom Shape Tool’s selection. So grab that shape, set the background to white, and create an average size icon to the left hand side of your background.

Now that we have our shape, lets add some base to it so that it will look more bulky. I have put together a list of Layer Styles you should apply so go to Layer > Layer Style > … and begin!

Looking good. Our base is complete so lets begin to add details that will start the finish cut of our icon. Grab the same Diamond Card Shape and create the same icon except smaller and inside the base of our icon. Oh and set the background to #ff6c00.

We are getting closer to home so now that we have the finish cut of our icon, lets put some more detail on it. Duplicate the shape you just created and apply the following Layer Style:

Results

Dupliacte the same shape again and clear all layer styles. Now rasterize the shape and grab your Burn Tool. Start touching the left hand side of the orange diamond and moving to the bottom. Grab the Eraser Tool to do some minor touch up on the area’s that stood out a little.

Results

Now lets add some shine to it. Duplicate the original orange diamond again, clear off any layer styles and grab you Dodge Tool. Set the size to110 and touch up on the top side of the diamond. Grab your Eraser Tool and finish touching up on the area that stand out.

Results

We are almost in shape, a few more details and our icon is ready to be used. Duplicate the orange diamond again, set the background to white and rasterize it. Then grab your Eliptical Marquee Tool and cut off a nice chunk, you can follow my guides beneath. Once you have cut the shape, set the Blending Options to Overlay. Use your Eraser Tool to touch up on the areas that stand out.

Results

You can give your self a nice pat on the back as we have just completed the most diffucult part of the tutorial. Everything else should go with an ease, so lets get to it. Go back to your Custom Shape Tool and from the list select School. Place the shape in the center of the orange diamond and go to Edit - Transform - Flip Horizontal.

Results

Lets add some detail to our newly installed shape. Go to your Layer - Layer Style and apply the following styles:

Results

You are now done, you can go ahead and duplicate the icons and resize them. After playing around a little, i got this:

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Eli
Posted on November 23rd, 2007

Beautiful outcome from this tutorial! Keep up the good work.

Ado Be
Posted on November 25th, 2007

An easier way to get the orange part, select the pervious layer, create a new layer and go to select - modify - contract - 10 pixels

SanderD
Posted on November 29th, 2007

Wrong, Ado Be
Contract does not keep anti-aliasing in mind, and the end result of a contraction might be pixelated/ have choppy edges.

Best thing would be to keep this vectorized, duplicate the layer, and center-resize it (ctrl-t, shift+alt+drag corner)

12 Methods for Creating Icons in Photoshop
Posted on December 2nd, 2007

[...] Use gradients in Photoshop to create a safety sign icon that looks great. [...]

stephanie guillaume
Posted on December 3rd, 2007

I would like to contact you. Could you sent me an email ?

Regards

Stephanie

Colurz Blog » Safety Icon Tutorial
Posted on December 3rd, 2007

[...] diesem Tutorial wird ein recht ansprechendes Safety Icon erstellt. Ein einfaches Tutorial, dass sich eher an Anfänger richtet, aber vom Ergebnis her [...]

Michael
Posted on December 3rd, 2007

Colurz Blog,

Thank you for the article on your website. I appreciate the support! Stephanie, i cant wait and see you publish this article in your magazine!

I have a few more tutorials lined up for release which hopefully will come by the end of the week or earlier so stay tuned

stephanie guillaume
Posted on December 9th, 2007

Here it is !!!

http://www.photoshopmagazine.com/psmag/index.php?2007/12/09/325-tuto-creez-un-panneau-icone

Your tuto is online in french

Thanks again

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[...] Pstut.info : Designing a Safety Icon (create a nice, glossy safety icon) [...]

mawan kjp
Posted on January 8th, 2008

thank’s is very good is program

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starry
Posted on January 10th, 2008

Excellent tutorial!!

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Verie kewl

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Masgenteblog
Posted on March 2nd, 2008

Excelente tutorial, muy didáctico y con mucha factura a nivel gráfico.

Aukcje
Posted on March 8th, 2008

Thank’s is very good is program

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bill
Posted on March 26th, 2008

What is the utility, in terms of communication, the bluish background of the bottom half. Reduces clarity. Plus it simply looks weird and seems to distract from the message.

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