...::: Small World :::...

This tutorial is going to explain how you can make those sharp, high-quality avatars you see on 'professional' sites and forums.

First, open an image in Photoshop. This is the one I used, it is Sora from Kaleido Star: image.

Now it's time to select which part of the image we want to work with. To do that, grab the Crop Tool (third tool on the basic tools window) and drag a shape where you want the image to be cut. It doesn't need to be perfect, that will be taken care of when it comes to resizing.

And it has! It's time to make sure the image is square (because avatars are square, of course!). Unless you're extremely lucky and got it right the first time, you'll need to transform your rectangular image into a square one. To do that, go to the Canvas Size option (Image -> Canvas Size or hit Alt + Ctrl + C). A new window will pop up with the dimensions of your image, which are by default in inches. Change that to pixels by using the drop-down menu. Next, change one of the values so it is similar to the other one. After that, hit 'OK'. A message will pop up telling you the canvas size will be reduced. Hit OK again.

Now, to have a standard-size avatar, go to Image Size (Image -> Image Size or hit Alt +Ctrl + I). Enter '100' in one of the fields, making sure you have the Constrain Proportions option checked. So far you have an 100x100 avatar.

Let's make it clearer! Right-click on the Background layer (the one in Italic font on the layer palette) and select the "Layer from Background" option. This will make your background layer easier to edit and move around, should you need it. Duplicate this layer (Layer 0 now) and apply a Box Blur (Filters -> Blur -> Box Blur) with a size of 1 to the second layer (Layer 0 copy), then set the blending mode to Soft Light. Apply a Sharpen (Filters -> Sharpen -> Sharpen) to Layer 0. You should have something like this by now.
Note: if you think the image isn't clear enough, repeat the Sharpen filter (press Ctrl+F) until you get the desired sharpness.

Let's spice it up a bit! Create a new layer (which will be named Layer 1) and drag a gradient on it. Set the Blending Mode to Lighten. You can play around with the Opacity and Fill options until you get something you like. Here's my result. You can create a new layer and put some random brushes on it (some black and some white), then set the blending mode to Overlay or Soft Light for a neat difference in lighting. Text is also welcome :) My final avatar.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and didn't find it too difficult/boring to follow ^^ Now you can create lots of beautiful avatars, play around with filters and invent wonderful effects!

This tutorial was written by Olivia. No part may be reproduced without the author's approval.
Pictures used, Sora Naegino and Kaleido Star are © Gonzo