Making custom folder icons

Want to make your own badass custom foler icons? Well you came to the right place. This tutorial is for photoshop users but can be easily achieved with other software like GIMP, etc.

So here's what you need:

• Photoshop
• Template files
• Some cool art
• < 30 Minutes
• Raleway Font (optional)

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template_2.psd
File Size:	485 kb
File Type:	psd

Download File

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raleway.zip
File Size:	1192 kb
File Type:	zip

Download File

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Open up "template_2.psd" with photoshop, it should look something like this.

We are going to be making the Saga folder shown above. I got the image from google and you guys can use whatever image you want for your folder. Just make sure the image is big enough to cover the whole folder and high enough quality so it wont look pixilated. Another quick tip, try to pick an image without a lot of background noise. The simplier the image the easier it will be for you to identify what's in the folder when you are browsing through your files.

So, with the template_2.psd opened, go to File>Open>*Your Image* Now you should have the template and your image open in two separate tabs.

With the image file open, go to Select>All and copy that selection.
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Now switch back over to the template_2.psd and paste your selection. It might look really big or small depending on the size of your image. That's OK just resize it until it looks about right, we can always adjust it later.

Hit enter to place the image after you resize it. Another quick tip, holding down the shift key while using your mouse to drag the corner will allow you rezise without messing with the aspect ratio of the image. 

Once you place the image, change the opacity to 50% or so. This will let you see the outline of the folder behind the image to give you a better idea of how it will look when we're done. Now that you can see the folder it's a good time to adjust the image before we go to far. Make sure it sits just how you want before moving on.

You should have something like this now.
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Next step, click on the "Front" layer in the bottom right so it's selected. Now click the tab above it to switch to "PATHS". You should see "Front Vector Mask". Right click Fron Vector Mask and choose make selection. You have the option to give it a feather radius, I just chose 1px.

At this point you should have a moving dashed line outlining the front of the folder. If not, go back a bit and see if you missed a step or two.

Now select the Layers tab again in the bottom right. With the image layer highlighted, go to the top and click on Select>Inverse. This will select everything but the front of the folder.

Your selection should look similar to this.

Now with your inverse selection and Layer 1 (or whatever you named your image layer) also selected. Go to the top and click Edit>Cut.

Looks pretty good now right? Now that the image is beautifully placed on the front of the folder, change the opacity of the layer back to 100%.

Select the "Template" layer and the text tool. Use this to change the name on the actual folder. I included the font I used at the top of the page but you can use whatever you think looks best. Just remember, the folders are going to be fairly small on your system so use an easy to read font.

You should now have something like this!

That's it! Save the file as a PNG. You can turn the PNG files into ICO files for use on your PC with websites like ConvertIco. You can also create favicons there too. 

After you have your ICO files all you have to do is right click the folder you want to apply them to. Select Properties, then go to Customize. At the bottom select Change Icon and select your fresh new ICO file! Here's a few examples of ones I've made before.

If you're still having trouble figuring it out don't worry. It took me a while to get the hang of it as well. Here's a great video by the original creator of the templates if you're still stuck. No instructions just a video of the process but it helped me a lot.

How to make movie folder icon

If you want your folders to be horizontal like in the video go to Image>Image Rotation>90 CCW. I like the vertical ones because I think it displays better in file explorer, plus comic books are mostly vertical art anyway, but do whatever you think looks good!

If you have any questions hit us up on Facebook! If you don't have photoshop or can't figure it out let us know we will be taking requests for making some custom folder icons for the community as long as the demand is there. We will also be posting the PNG files on the site here. So you'll still have to convert them but it's easier than starting from scratch.