With 4 simple steps we can convert a dull avatar base into an interesting coloured avatar with just some gradients and textures. Don't miss any step and let's begin! We will achieve an avatar like this one:
Open your base with photoshop, or open the image you like and crop to your desired size. I took one of the Nana bases you can find there. Click Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C and paste it onto a new document (Ctrl+N and Ctrl+V). Duplicate the image layer and change the blending mode to Overlay.
Take the gradient tool and apply a layer to your icon with colors of your choice. Change the blending mode to Hard Light and the opacity (if it's too strong) to around 50-60%.
Make a new layer and take a big soft brush, around 150 and 200px and make one or two dots with a color of your choice. Change the blending mode to Overlay.
Now I take one of my textures you can find at the textures section. Paste it on top of all layers and change the blending mode to Overlay (or Soft Light if Overlay looks too strong).
And the final touch, a little text taking one of the final colors of your avatar. It's finished!
Tutorial © Melfina. Do not reproduce in any way without previous permission from the author. Printed from http://celestial-star.net