Everyone loves emoticons! In this tutorial, learn how to create a simple emoticon base that you can easily interchange with any emotion. Perfect for beginners, enjoy these quick tricks using the Shape Tool and Blending Options in Photoshop.
Software: Adobe Photoshop CC
Difficulty: Beginner
Completion Time: 1 hour
Make the Emoticon Base
Step 1
Let’s begin! Create a 200×200 pixel document in Photoshop making sure that the background is Transparent. Use the Ellipse Tool (U) to create a white circle.
With the circle layer selected, right-click to go to Blending Options. Set a check mark next to Gradient Overlay. Create a warm gradient using bright yellow colors with the following settings.
Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Style: Radial (Reverse check marked)
Angle: -90 Degrees
Scale: 104%
With Blending Options still open, now select the option for Bevel & Emboss, and Contour. First go to contour and select the option for a Linear Contour. Then select Bevel & Emboss and apply the following settings.
Style: Inner Bevel
Technique: Smooth
Size: 84 px
Soften: 16 px
Highlight Mode: Screen at 100% Opacity
Shadow Mode: Soft Light at 70% Opacity
Let’s add more dimension to this base. Go back to the Blending Options for the circle layer and place a check mark next to Inner Shadow. Create a soft red inner shadow with the following settings:
Blend Mode: Multiply
Opacity: 30%
Distance: 30px
Choke: 28 px
Size: 27px
Size: 8px
Position: Center
Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 82%
Finish off the emoticon base by adding highlights. Control-J to duplicate the circle, then right-click to Clear Layer Styles. Free Transform (Control-T) to resize the duplicate so that it’s smaller than the original circle, then fill it with a Yellow to Transparent Linear Gradient.
Now let’s work on the different emoticon faces! First add a new layer and use a Soft Round Brush to paint red blush for the “cheeks” of the emoticon at a low opacity.
Step 7
To create the first expression, use the Ellipse Tool (U) to create two red circles. Select both shapes and Merge the shapes together. Then select the new shape layer and right-click to go to Blending Options. Add a simple brown Drop Shadow, and place a check mark next to Bevel & Emboss with the following settings:
Bevel & Emboss
Style: Inner Bevel
Technique: Smooth
Depth: 83%
Size: 13px
Soften: 13 px
Highlight Mode: Screen at 100% Opacity
Shadow Mode: Soft Light at 76% Opacity
Blend Mode: Normal
Opacity: 40%
Distance: 5px
Choke: 0%
Size: 1px
Here’s what the final eyes should look like in the end.
Use the Pen Tool (P) to create a slight curve for the smile. Right-click and select Stroke. Stroke the curve with a Brush stroke of 5 pixels with the same red color. Add an Inner Shadow and Drop Shadow to match the settings of the eyes. Here is the first expression.
Step 9
Use these shapes to help you create the other expressions by creating duplicates of the eyes and smile. Copy and paste the layer styles to the new shapes. Flip the smile for the sad face, and add lines for the brows in surprise and anger. Add a quick circle for the mouth to evoke a surprised expression but switch the white color used in the Inner Shadow for a black color.
Continue experimenting with different expressions until you have the complete emoticon set that you desire! Add hearts or other cool shapes for extra expressions like falling in love. If you’d like to keep the transparent background, save each emoticon as an individual PNG file.
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