Your computer's desktop may be full of tiny little graphics shaped like folders, pieces of paper, waste buckets and other designs. These small pictures are called icons, and while they come with your operating system, they may feel generic or boring. Instead of settling for your system theme, make your own icons by using Photoshop, a graphics software program from Adobe. With a couple of clicks, you'll have a custom icon ready to greet you each time you boot up.

Open Photoshop, click the "File" menu and click "New." Type "Icon" into the "Name" field and type "50" into both the "Width" and "Height" boxes. Pull down the dimensions boxes and select "pixels" for each; it may already be the default. Pull down the "Color Mode" menu and select "RGB Color." Pull down the "Background Contents" menu and select "Transparent."

Click the "OK" button and a small checkerboard box opens on the Photoshop screen. Pull down the "View" menu at the top of the screen and select "Fit on Screen," enlarging the workspace.

Double-click the top-left square of the "Color Picker," the two overlapping colored boxes on the "Tools" palette. Select a main paint color for the icon and click "OK."

Click the "Brush" tool, which looks like a paintbrush, on the "Tools" palette. Pull down the paintbrush size selector, which is the second button from the left on the toolbar at the top of the screen. It is not labeled, but it has a small number near its drop-down menu.

Select a solid, round brush head and reduce the brush "Size" slider to "1." Position your cursor on the "Icon" box and draw the outline of the icon, such as a hand, paw print, cat head, your initials or other design.

Click the "Paint Bucket" tool, which looks like a tilting can of paint, and click inside the icon to fill it with color. If you don't see the paint bucket, right-click the "Gradient" tool, which looks like a rectangle made of shaded lines. These two tools share the same space until they're used. Select the "Paint Bucket," click the inside of the drawing and it fills with color.

Switch back to the "Brush" tool, select a new paint color and add accents to the icon design. Continue to switch colors to complete the icon.

Click the "File" menu, click "Save As," select "GIF" from the "Format" menu and save the icon to your computer.

• How to Make a 50 X 50 Icon in Photoshop [09/26/2010 09:45:02]