How to Make Helpful Icons for Your Windows Desktop Folders

Hello and welcome! In this brief tutorial, I'm going to show you how to transform black and white drawings into nicely colored folder icons for your Windows desktop. I'll demonstrate how to turn simple line drawings into colorful icons and set them up as folder images.

Setting Up Folder Images

In Windows, you can customize folder icons easily. Simply right-click a folder, go to customize, and look for "folder pictures." Click "choose file" and select a picture that's inside the folder. It's easiest if you place the picture directly in the folder you want to customize. Once you select your image and click open, your folder will display the new icon.

Creating Custom Icons

I start with line drawings that I've previously created and cropped into smaller pieces using Paint. When I want to add a nice icon to a folder, I first save the chosen picture to that folder. Then, I open the image in Paint.NET to customize it.

Coloring Your Icons

Here's how to add color to your drawings:

1. Open the image in Paint.NET
2. Go to Adjustments > Temperature/Tint
   • You can tint it blue or yellow
   • Mix it up by moving different knobs for various colors
3. For more color options, go to Hue and Saturation
   • Adjust to create colors like pink, making them look like nice sticky notes
   • Experiment with different hues for various effects

Enhancing Line Visibility

For drawings with thin lines that need enhancement:

1. Open your image
2. Go to Adjustments > Highlights
3. Use the highlight adjustment to make lines thicker
4. This creates a more visible icon

Applying the Custom Icon

Once you've created your colored icon:

1. Create a new folder
2. Place the image inside the folder
3. Right-click the folder and go to Properties
4. Select Customize > Choose File
5. Select your image and apply

This technique helps you navigate your desktop more efficiently by creating visually distinct folder icons.

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