• Emoticons have evolved past the simple smiley.peeking smiley face image by sparkia from Fotolia.com
  
  With their shy smiles, flowing tears and unhinged maniacal laughter, emoticons put the tired old happy face to shame. It might seem simple enough to slap eyes and a mouth on a yellow dot, but Adobe Photoshop's vast array of options can be daunting to the inexperienced user of the graphics software. Fortunately, you don't need to be an accomplished artist or a Photoshop expert to make an emoticon. A few basic tools should suffice.
  
  

Elliptical Marquee

• The Elliptical Marquee makes the circle for the emoticon's "head." This tool is located "beneath" the Rectangular Marquee, which is the dotted rectangle in the top-left corner of the toolbar, on the far left of the Photoshop window. Right-click on the Rectangular Marquee and select the Elliptical Marquee. Hold "Shift," then click and drag to draw a circle.
  
  

Fill

• This function makes the emoticon's head yellow. It's located in "Edit," on the top toolbar. When you click it, a dialog box opens. When you click "Use" and choose "Color," a color picker window appears. A vertical bar allows you to choose a color range. A main window allows you to choose a specific color.
  
  

Free Transform

• Free Transform changes the size of the head. If you select the layer containing the head, click "Edit," and choose "Free Transform," Photoshop will place a square around the layer. You can click and drag the corners of the square to change the size of the head.
  
  

Dodge

• The Dodge tool provides shading. In the toolbar on the far left, it is the circle with the line coming out of it. Selecting it displays options in a bar just below the top toolbar. To brighten an area of the emoticon, click "Range" and select "Highlights." The tool will brighten any area you click. Most emoticons have a bright upper left (or right) corner and shading at the edges opposite this bright spot, making the head appear 3D. The Dodge tool darkens areas you click when you hold down "Alt."
  
  

Layers

• Layers break images into sections. When making an emoticon, the shaded circle should be on a separate layer from the face. This allows you to reuse the circle for every new emoticon you create. You can open new layers by selecting "Layer" from the top menu, then "New."
  
  

Brush

• This is a freehand drawing tool. It is the brush in the toolbar on the far left. With this tool selected, open the color picker by clicking the black box at the bottom of the far left toolbar. Anything you click will create a mark in the color you've chosen.
  
  

Duplicate Layer and Flip Horizontal

• These functions help create symmetry. Let's say you want the emoticon's eyes to look exactly the same. First, draw an eye with the brush. Then, go to "Layer" and select "Duplicate Layer." Photoshop will add a new layer containing the eye you just drew. Go to "Edit," and select "Free Transform." Right-click on the layer and choose "Flip Horizontal." This creates a mirror image of the layer, giving you two identical eyes.