Photoshop Icons - Gray Spike Arrow Icon

In this Photoshop Tutorial I will show you how to create the gray spike icon in my image. Please see the image that I have provided to see the ending results of this Photoshop tutorial. This is a two part tutorial. The first part is creating the icon and the second part is adding the arrow to the icon. I will write this tutorial in detail so that the new Photoshop users can follow along too.

How to Create a Gray Spike Arrow Icon in Photoshop

Click File > New at the top of your window to create a new canvas. Create your canvas about 100 pixels by 100 pixels. Set the background color to the color that you need. Then click the OK button on the box. You can crop the icon when you have finished apply the effects to it.

Locate your Layers Panel. It should be on the right side of your screen. Press F7 on your keyboard if you do not see your layers panel. F7 will bring your Layers Panel up. Click on the icon in the bottom of the panel that looks like a sheet of paper with the corner curled up. That will create a new layer. Double click the name of the layer to rename it. Name your layer Icon Background.

Select your Custom Shape Tool from your toolbar. Go to the top of your Photoshop window and drop the Shape box down. Click the little arrow on the right side of the box and click Banners. That will load your banner shapes in the shape window. Double click on the Seal shape. Then draw your shape on the canvas.

Now, you will need to rasterize the layer to make the edges of the seal smooth. Right click on the Icon Background layer and click Rasterize Layer from the pop up menu.

Right click on that layer again and click Blending Options from the pop up menu. You will need to apply the following effects to the icon.

Inner Shadow

Blend Mode - Multiply
Color - # 989898
Opacity - 25%
Angle - 90
Distance - 11
Choke - 25%
Size - 22
Contour -- Linear
Anti-aliased - Unchecked
Noise - 0%

Inner Glow

Blend Mode - Multiply
Opacity - 50%
Noise - 0%
Color - # 9a9a9a
Technique - Softer
Source - Edge
Choke - 0%
Size - 6
Contour - Linear
Anti-aliased - Unchecked
Range - 50%
Jitter - 0%

Bevel and Emboss

Style -- Inner Bevel
Technique - Smooth
Depth - 100%
Direction - Up
Size - 11
Soften - 3
Angle - 90
Use Global Light - Unchecked
Attitude - 67
Gloss Contour - Linear
Anti-aliased - Checked
Highlight Mode - Screen
Color - White
Opacity - 100%
Shadow Mode - Multiply
Color - Black
Opacity - 0%

Color Overlay

Blend Mode - Normal
Color - # f7f7f7
Opacity - 100%

Click the OK button on the Blending Options window.

The next step is to add the arrow to your icon. This is fairly easy since we have done the first part. You will need to create a new layer to work on. Name this layer Arrow. Next, you will need to select the Custom Shape Tool again. Change the shapes to Arrows. Double Click on Arrow 2. Draw your arrow on the icon.

Next, you will need to rasterize the arrow layer. Rasterize the layer the same way that you did above. Open your Blending Options window and apply the following effect to the arrow.

Stroke

Size - 1
Position - Outside
Blend Mode - Normal
Opacity - 100 %
Fill Type - Color
Color - # cacaca

Click the OK button on the Blending Options window.

You are finished. Now you can crop your canvas if you need too. If you have any problems with this Photoshop Tutorial, please feel free to leave me a comment at the bottom of this page.