We don't need no stinking badges! (OR: Making a Merit Badge with Photoshop)
Click any image to see the full version.Click here for a printable version.
1. Your first job will be to figure out what you want to put onto your badge and to find an image of it. Then, find an image of a badge itself. For the purposes of this tutorial, I will be stitching an NES controller onto this Eagle Scout badge. Remember that if you stretch out your badge, it will look distorted.
2. Clone out all the garbage on the badge. You want nothing but a clean surface, so use the clone brush to leave only the background. Be careful for cloning "artifacts;" those are spots, loose strings, etc. that will really stick out if you just clone mindlessly. Changing the brush's source will help to prevent them. (For my image I will also rotate the badge 90 degrees to make the controller fit better, but you may not have to do this.)
3. Bring in your item, and use either the eraser or a layer mask to get rid of the outline. You should have only the item itself, sitting on top of the badge. (Fun fact: Because you will be recreating the majority of the item, you CAN stretch it out if you need to. However, it won't look good to stretch a 20x20 px icon to 1000%, so pick sizes carefully.)
4. The fun part: draw lines. Keep these tips in mind:
- Real badges' stitches can only go a certain distance. Don't try to use as few as possible to cover a long stretch; end them and start new ones.
- -You won't see hundreds of colors on a real badge. Likewise, limit yourself to only necessary colors.
- -This will take some time. Stick with 1px lines, and don't try to cheat by making the lines bigger. It looks horrible if you do.
- -Set your item to be transparent so you can see what you're doing, but remember to make it opaque again if you need to sample a color.
- -Use a layer set to catch all of the lines, if possible.
5. Finally done with the lines? In that case, your next step is to bevel the stitches. Flatten the stitch set, select it, and click the "Layer Styles" button (small Ä underneath the layers palette). Then, select "Bevel and Emboss" and choose an Inner Bevel of Depth 1. Depending on your stitchwork, you can play with different values.
6. Next, you'll want to paint underneath the stitches. You can do this by taking your original image and setting it to "Multiply" mode. (Note: If you have lots of black, as I did, another option may work better. I used "Soft Light" for this example.)
7. Painting Under the Stitches, Pt. II: This time, start sampling colors and drawing them underneath the stitches normally. Put this on its own layer, and don't worry about going all the way to the edges. Again, as above, you should play with different layer types to find the one that fits best. Here, I used "Screen" to make the lighter color stand out.
8. Now, the "last" step: play with some airbrushing to add depth. This means make a new layer and pull out the brush tool. Set it to 20% opacity, 2% flow, the softest setting, and click the airbrush button. This will allow you to drag over one spot multiple times, darkening or lightening each time. Find the direction of light; in my example, the shadows on the edge of the badge show that light is going from right to left. Shade according to your own light direction; when in doubt, use the edges as a guide. Also, keep in mind that shading will be subtle, but definitely gives an extra kick to the image.
9. If you'd like, you can add some lettering to the image as well. Simply find a good font and spread the word as you want it on the badge. Stitch as before, but make your lines VERY close. Follow Steps 5 and 7 above, possibly changing the depth to make the letters "taller."
And there you have it!
