Cre­ate a Glossy Volt Icon in Photoshop

This Pho­to­shop Tuto­r­ial will equip you with the abil­i­ties to cre­ate a fan­tas­tic glossy icon in the style of the logo from the movie “Bolt”.

Step 1: Cre­ate a new document

First of all cre­ate a new white doc­u­ment 1000×600 and then cre­ate the thun­der shape using the Polyg­o­nal Lasso Tool (L).

Step 2: Apply Color

Cre­ate a new layer and with the selec­tion still acti­vated fill it with #ff9c00.

Step 3: Cre­ate the 3D effect

Next you need to dupli­cate the layer two times and change the color of these 2 lay­ers to #ffc66c. Also move them behind the first layer and place them like in the image below.

Step 4

Next you need to merge the two lay­ers you just cre­ated in step 3 and using the Polyg­o­nal Lasso Tool (L) make selec­tions like below and fill them with the same color as the shape.

Step 5: Add shadows

Using the Burn Tool set to Shadow and 60% Expo­sure you need to draw over the cor­ners of the layer cre­ated in step 4.

Step 6: Darken shape

Again using the Burn Tool (O) you need to select the first thun­der layer and burn the cor­ners of the shape.

Step 7: Add stroke

Hold down Com­mand key and then click on the first shape layer thumb­nail to make a selec­tion around it, cre­ate a new layer above this then with the Lasso Tool (L) select and press the Right + Click on the screen and cre­ate a 3 px stroke with this color #ffab45.

Use the Blur Tool ® to soften the edges of the stroke.

Step 8

Cre­ate a new layer on top of all the lay­ers and using the Brush Tool (B) set to the same color used for the stroke #ffab45 you need to draw on all the cor­ners of the thunder.

Step 9: Shadows

It is time to add some more intense shad­ows. For this select the layer behind the orig­i­nal thun­der shape and using the brush set to #800300 draw on the cor­ners like in the image below.

Step 10

Dupli­cate the stroke from step 7 and go to Image > Adjust­ments > Brightness/Contrast and set it to (bright­ness –150, con­trast +30). You will also have to move the new layer right a few pix­els like below.

Step 11

Use the Eraser Tool (E) and erase the cor­ners of the stroke and use the Blur Tool ® on the stroke to make it blend in with the other shapes.

Step 12: Light colors

Cre­ate some more light col­ors on the thun­der using the Brush Tool (B) set to #ffa93c. Make a selec­tion like below, cre­ate a new layer on top of all the lay­ers and start adding some color. Remem­ber to use a soft brush for this.

Step 13

Cre­ate a new layer and make a selec­tion like below. Draw with the Brush Tool (B) set to #6b000 and set the layer to Over­lay.

Step 14: Improv­ing the shape

Next you need to work some more on the layer behind the orig­i­nal thun­der shape. You need to change the shape of the layer a bit by mak­ing some selec­tions like below and draw­ing over the layer with some more col­ors and shadows.

Step 15

Cre­ate a new layer and make a selec­tion like below and using the Brush Tool (O) draw on top of the selec­tion with #e20001 and on the bot­tom of the selec­tion with #ffa739.

Step 16: Details

Use the Eraser Tool (E) and erase the cor­ners of the stroke.

Step 17: Add Gloss

It is time to add some more gloss on the shape. Cre­ate a new layer on top of all the lay­ers and make dif­fer­ent selec­tions like below, then using a yel­low color and a soft brush you need to sim­ply draw some faded shades of light on the shape then set the layer to Over­lay or Soft Light. You can also erase some parts of the gloss and make it fade out. In the end add some final strokes, smudge them and lower the opacity.

Remem­ber that you will have to cre­ate dif­fer­ent selec­tions for each gloss you apply.

Final Result

Down­load the PSD

Glossy Volt Icon in Pho­to­shop PSD Source (25)