Best Of: 2016
The results of bestof_icons for 2016 were posted awhile ago but as is my way I'm just getting around to posting about the results now. Also, this is long and word-y.
Top 10 of 2016 (as voted by others):
1: This was for a circular challenge at iconsomething. I chose the texture first then the image which is the opposite of how I usually work. It was finished and submitted about 10 minutes before the submission deadline so I had to rush the coloring and keep it simple. I like it but I don't love it. But it won 1st place so I guess other people liked it. :\
2: When I claimed The 100 as my 10in30 entry I tried to make icons of all different characters. This was the last icon I made (and my fave of the batch) and I really wanted to make a Murphy icon cause I love that sarcastic lil bastard. It started out as a simple negative space icon but it was just too simple and flat. The whole thing (text, color, textures) eventually fell together quite nicely.
3: This was for a challenge at elitesimplicity featuring this palette. It was a super easy icon to make. I chose a cap with similar tones to the palette in it, amped up the coloring and contrast and rotated it slightly so the hair/lips/eyes details lined up straight down the middle and close cropped it.
4: This was a provided cap for a battle. Since the other participants would be using the same cap I had to try to make it unique. I decided to make the image smaller and use negative space against a stock background. The image was still too recognizable so I rotated it a bit. It looked sad so I added some text. :)
5: For a colorful challenge at iconsomething. I colored the cap but it looked really low quality no matter how I cropped it so I resized it and then needed a way to hide the top her hair being cut off. So I threw textures at it. All the textures. There's like 10 of them layered on there. But then I had this void of space to her right so I slapped some text on it. Voila! An icon was born.
6: I believe this was from a battle prompt that called for heavy texture use. There's a crap ton of textures used there but you can't really tell because I layered and masked the hell out of them. Only I could make an icon that calls for a lot of textures, use like 15 of them and make it look like I only used 2. Sigh.
7: I don't remember exactly what I made this for but I believe it was a provided cap. I was still getting used to using my new computer so it was a simple crop/recolor. I think the almost monochromatic coloring and pop of color keep it from being too boring. I hope.
8: A rare icon not made for a challenge comm! I was iconning The 100 and lamenting the fact that I never saw any Indra icons because she is fairly awesome. I fell in love with this cap, cropped it and spent an insane amount of time enhancing certain details like her lashes, scar and tattoo. I'm glad it got some recognition because it's a deceptively simple icon that took a lot of work.
9: Another provided cap for a battle. Again, I knew other makers would be using the same cap so I tried to make it more unique by rotating and cropping it creatively.
10: Same circular challenge as #1. I colored the cap and ended up loving the fit of the fancy texture with the fancy dress/hair. I recolored the dress to match the red background and added a grungy texture.
Overall I'm not that surprised that those icons got the most votes. Most of the icons I made last year were from battles or for challenges so I already know from previous feedback how much others liked or didn't like them. Last year was rough for me, as I suspect it was for most people. I just couldn't seem to find much inspiration so I used challenge comms to try to keep my muse alive. I feel like it worked to a degree. I've been iconning more stuff this year simply because I want to.
Anyway these were my favorite icons from last year, in no particular order:
1: I fell in love with the character of Doc after watching the 1st season of Wynonna Earp and wanted to make an icon to use myself. This was a happy accident. I couldn't recreate it if I tried. I know that after I colored the cap I used a layer with Diffuse Glow set to Hue somewhere in there. The result turned out weird and cool and I really like it.
2: This was for a grey challenge. I'd already made a few other icons for it and so I cheated and made one with a teensy bit of color. I like the vampy hair/red lip combo.
3: I made this icon to use myself. I loved Clarke's punky pink braid and messy hobo hair and decided to focus on them. The crop was a bit more unusual than what I normally go with but I think it works.
4: I really like Miller's character on The 100 and can't remember ever seeing any icons of him so I wanted to make one. It was a great cap with fantastic light already so I didn't have to do a lot of work. Still, I love the deep shadows. And those lashes!
5: This is maybe one of the most used caps in The 100 fandom but I still wanted to use it anyway because I'm stubborn like that. I tried to do something a little different with a recolor job and some textures. I just really like how all the warm colors came together.
6: One of the first icons I made at the beginning of the year. I wanted to try my hand at more unusual cropping because I felt it was a weak point for me. This was one of my first successes and inspired me to take more risks with cropping. I also love how vibrant it is, which isn't something I do a lot of.
7: I remember saving this cap because it was so powerful and dynamic but thinking at the time that it would be impossible to make a decent icon out it. It was one of the first icons I made on my new computer after a hard drive crash so I had no access to my old textures, gradients or colorings. I ended up keeping it really simple because I thought the odd angle and negative space gave it a strong look by itself.
8: This was made for a 10in30 challenge and I was trying to unify the set with a bright, colorful look. This cap was from a flashback scene with a really pale washed out tone so I had to do a ton of recoloring to get it so bright. But I just love how strong and clean it is.
So I'm pretty happy with how much better I've gotten at cropping over the last year. It's become much more natural to look at an image and see what details would make good focal points instead of just going for mid-range center crops all the time. I think I use a good mix of close, mid-range and far crops now. I also think I've gotten better or at least more broad with my coloring. It's cool that some people have a signature style of coloring that they like to use but I like to jump around and try to fit each coloring to the icon. I think I'd like to work on more complex compositions this year. Maybe try to to integrate some stock in there. And blocking. Fucking blocking. I just suck at it. As much as I love my negative space and simplicity I'd like to try to expand my skillset a bit. I'd also like to try to get better with text. Tru Fact: I attempt to put text on nearly every icon I make (probably about 75% of them really) but end up scrapping it cause it just doesn't look right. Text and I just never seem to get along though, so we'll see how that goes.
We're only 4 months into the year but I've already watched an ungodly amount of tv. I really do need to get a real life. But anyway, since I've been sick or injured quite a bit lately I've saved a ton of caps that I haven't really gotten to work on. Some shows I watched and might icon in the future: The OA, Legion, Skam, Preacher, Emerald City, Dirk Gently, The Expanse. With spring in New England it's also coming up on yard work/gardening season, so I might not have a ton of time or energy to spend online though, so don't quote me on that. And many thanks to anyone and everyone who remembered I exist here and took the time to vote for my icons. And an extra thanks to rizbef for all the work she does over at bestof_icons. Thanks guys!