bestof_icons 2015 results and discussion
My top 11 icons made in 2015, according to the bestof_icons polls! :> (there was a tie, so it's not a top 10)
Thoughts:
- I'm incredibly pleased with the winning icon! That one would have been my own choice as well, I was crazy happy with the composition and coloring. It's also a very surprising result because it got barely any attention when I posted it, while many of the other icons in the poll had gotten lots of positive comments during the year, especially the Lydia set, so I kinda expected something from there to win. But this was a positive surprise of course :)
- the next two actually tied with it, which I don't mind either, I like both of them, especially the Lydia one. I don't have much experience with animated icons so the Simon icon getting votes was definitely a surprise, and encourages me to try making more of these icons in the future!
- the next two are icons I made in less than an hour each, so I would have been disappointed if one of them had won. I'm very happy with the coloring in both but otherwise they're not really me.
- the next two make me happy again, since I'm super happy with the text use on Lydia and the composition and color scheme on the Banshee icon.
- the next three are very lazy and uninspired, I made them during a massive icon inspiration drought, so on the one hand I'm happy that I was able to make some half-decent icons despite the circumstances, but on the other hand I'm definitely not a fan of any of those, especially the Vala icon, so I'm a bit ehhh about the fact that there are people who think of those were the best I did last year x)
- and finally, that Bocke icon was the first one I made last year and it was a great start to the year. Initially I was so in love with it but looking at it now I see it's not quite that awesome, I wish Ben and Locke were a bit clearer, but well that scene is a nightmare to work with so I guess I did alright. Anyway, very happy with the text in this one so I love seeing it on this list!
- however the votes were very evenly spread in my poll, there was no clear favorite, nothing got more than 10 votes. Last year it was the same, while in my first two years there were one or two very clear favorites. I'm not sure what to make of this but I thiiink (hope) it means that there were more technically good icons to choose from these past two years, while in 2012 and 2013 most of my icons were mediocre with only a few standouts. But of course the alternative intepretation is that I don't make icons as good as my 2012 and 2013 winners anymore. Or that there are simply way fewer voters now so all things considered 10 votes might actually be a lot?
Personal top 10 from my 2015 icons: (atm, my faves change all the time)
Huge thanks to people who voted for or nominated any of the above, or basically any other icons I was happy with. I'm super thankful for everyone who likes some of my icons, but on top of that I definitely have special appreciation for those who like my icons for the things I particularly enjoy about my stuff, for what my icons really are like.
So, this far all of my bestof_icons winners have been:
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015
From those, I was very happy with my 2012 and 2013 picks. The Rose icon from 2012 was my personal fave from that year and one of the first steps towards my style. I had a few icons I liked even more in 2013 but that winner was definitely in my top 10, and I'm still proud of that idea I got and how I executed it. 2014 was a big WTF, I did waaayy better icons that year imo. It has my signature coloring style so that's nice, and that was the first time a text icon won from me so that's some sort of progress?, buuut I don't really think the text is very good, I'd actually like it more without it, and it has this LQ plasticcy topazy look that I hate, and using closecrops in my icons is so not my favorite thing (I love them on other people's icons, but those are folks who can actually use them better!). But seeing the newest winner besides the old ones is interesting cause it's almost like it combines the best elements of each of the previous winners: coloring style and (the presence of, not the style of) text from 2014, arrows and shapes used for composition from 2013 and complex blocking and color choices from 2012.
I hope all of you who participated are also happy with your winning icons :) looking forward to next year's bestof_icons!
Thoughts:
- I'm incredibly pleased with the winning icon! That one would have been my own choice as well, I was crazy happy with the composition and coloring. It's also a very surprising result because it got barely any attention when I posted it, while many of the other icons in the poll had gotten lots of positive comments during the year, especially the Lydia set, so I kinda expected something from there to win. But this was a positive surprise of course :)
- the next two actually tied with it, which I don't mind either, I like both of them, especially the Lydia one. I don't have much experience with animated icons so the Simon icon getting votes was definitely a surprise, and encourages me to try making more of these icons in the future!
- the next two are icons I made in less than an hour each, so I would have been disappointed if one of them had won. I'm very happy with the coloring in both but otherwise they're not really me.
- the next two make me happy again, since I'm super happy with the text use on Lydia and the composition and color scheme on the Banshee icon.
- the next three are very lazy and uninspired, I made them during a massive icon inspiration drought, so on the one hand I'm happy that I was able to make some half-decent icons despite the circumstances, but on the other hand I'm definitely not a fan of any of those, especially the Vala icon, so I'm a bit ehhh about the fact that there are people who think of those were the best I did last year x)
- and finally, that Bocke icon was the first one I made last year and it was a great start to the year. Initially I was so in love with it but looking at it now I see it's not quite that awesome, I wish Ben and Locke were a bit clearer, but well that scene is a nightmare to work with so I guess I did alright. Anyway, very happy with the text in this one so I love seeing it on this list!
- however the votes were very evenly spread in my poll, there was no clear favorite, nothing got more than 10 votes. Last year it was the same, while in my first two years there were one or two very clear favorites. I'm not sure what to make of this but I thiiink (hope) it means that there were more technically good icons to choose from these past two years, while in 2012 and 2013 most of my icons were mediocre with only a few standouts. But of course the alternative intepretation is that I don't make icons as good as my 2012 and 2013 winners anymore. Or that there are simply way fewer voters now so all things considered 10 votes might actually be a lot?
Personal top 10 from my 2015 icons: (atm, my faves change all the time)
Huge thanks to people who voted for or nominated any of the above, or basically any other icons I was happy with. I'm super thankful for everyone who likes some of my icons, but on top of that I definitely have special appreciation for those who like my icons for the things I particularly enjoy about my stuff, for what my icons really are like.
So, this far all of my bestof_icons winners have been:
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015
From those, I was very happy with my 2012 and 2013 picks. The Rose icon from 2012 was my personal fave from that year and one of the first steps towards my style. I had a few icons I liked even more in 2013 but that winner was definitely in my top 10, and I'm still proud of that idea I got and how I executed it. 2014 was a big WTF, I did waaayy better icons that year imo. It has my signature coloring style so that's nice, and that was the first time a text icon won from me so that's some sort of progress?, buuut I don't really think the text is very good, I'd actually like it more without it, and it has this LQ plasticcy topazy look that I hate, and using closecrops in my icons is so not my favorite thing (I love them on other people's icons, but those are folks who can actually use them better!). But seeing the newest winner besides the old ones is interesting cause it's almost like it combines the best elements of each of the previous winners: coloring style and (the presence of, not the style of) text from 2014, arrows and shapes used for composition from 2013 and complex blocking and color choices from 2012.
I hope all of you who participated are also happy with your winning icons :) looking forward to next year's bestof_icons!