Make An Alert Icon

In this tutorial, we’re going to learn how to make a very simple alert icon. This is a good jumping-off point for anyone who wants to start building pixel icons. These little guys are very easy to do but do a great job of demonstrating some basic principles to icon building.

Let’s start by making a new 32×32 px image (I’m doing mine at 200% so it’s easier to see). Create a new layer and select a light grey color (#ebebeb). Draw a line across the bottom of the canvas, leaving 2 pixels on each side. Repeat this process. Now take a slightly darker grey (#e1e1e1) and draw an identical line, right on top of that. Repeat this one more time with a slightly darker grey again (#d7d7d7). Your image should now look like this (I’ve added a border, just so it’s easier to see the boundaries of the image):

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Alert Icon Fig. 1
We’ve just drawn the shadow that our icon will cast. I like to start with this, because it lets me better see the width of the finished icon, so that I can draw the sides easily, without having to go back and adjust things later.

Now let’s select a nice color for the border of our icon. Since this is an alert icon, I’m going ot use a bright orange (#ff9900). Using your pencil tool, draw a fourth line atop the other three, only this time it should be in your orange color. Next, we’re going to create the sides of the triangle.

This is very important. The geometry has to be exactly correct. This must be done with the pencil tool, with all anti-aliasing turned off. The line and shape tools just won’t cut it. Take your pencil tool, and for every 2px your line goes up, it must go over 1px. See the illustration below for details.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Alert Icon Fig. 2

Once you’ve done that, take your magic wand tool and uncheck “Anti-alias” in the tool options. Now click inside your triangle to select it. We want to fill the new selection with a foreground to background gradient (at a 45 degree angle), going from a light yellow to a yellow-orange (#fff799 to #fbaf5d).

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Alert Icon Fig. 3

Now take your pencil tool again and select white as your foreground color. We’re going to draw a highlight along the left side of our icon. do this the same way you did the edge, just make it inside the icon. You can double the width of this line (making it 2px) if you want your icon to have more depth.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Alert Icon Fig.

Now, while it’s not necessary, I recommend creating a new layer for your exclamation mark. This will allow you to move it around and center it exactly without having to re-draw things.

Again, using your pencil tool, in the color we used for the icon border (#ff9900), draw a simple exclamation mark. by making it 4px wide, it should center nicely within the icon.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Alert Icon Fig. 5

Finally, let’s finish with the inner shadow on our exclamation mark. Using a darker orange (#d1622d), draw a 1px liine along the top and left sides of the exclamation mark. This will give it an inset look and finish off our icon.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Alert Icon Fig. 6

Shameless Plug: Like this icon? I have a free set in a similar style that you can download.

Added Thursday, May 25th, 2006 at 5:07 pm under Interface Elements.